I am sick but i dont know for sure whats wrong do i soud like i have ms

[photographingalaska]

If any of my symptoms are connected or not i do not know but i feel like i have several problems going on. All of this started with just desensitized fingers and what i described at the time as a pounding heart because i could sometimes feel it beating in my chest. This went on for years then one day when I was in my thirties after some kind of depression had set in on me i drank alcohol for several days in a row and I guess because I was not much a drinker i ended up going to the hospital for A fib. I finally came out of it on my own the next day after i had finally slept. Saw a cardiologist for quite some time afterward and he said everything was fine. Needless to say i did not drink for a long time afterward and when i did drink again it was like a onetime thing not several days. As of late i hardly touch the stuff except maybe one or two at dinner. Several years after the A-Fib, I left my husband found a job and lost a lot of weight over that next year. I met someone else and on our first date i had to go to hospital because i could not get my heart under control. This time they said it was anxiety and i was given Xanax. The Xanax seemed to work well and over time i had seemingly less issues with what they called anxiety attack or panic attack. Sometime later I began having a really fast heart rate upon awakening. I would fall asleep and wake up ten or fifteen min later with my heart pounding and beating at super speeds. After i was awake my heart would eventually slow and go back to a normal rhythm. So again they said it was anxiety and put me on Paxil along with the Xanax that i needed every once in a while. The Paxil only made things worse because my heart still did the same thing and the anxiety attacks were more often. I just did not feel it as much but it was still there none the less. I felt like the Paxil actually caused me more problems with my heart so i eventually tapered off the Paxil and eventually quit taking it all together. I did ok after that having no problems with my heart beating fast when I woke up but still had have the pounding sensation. The one thing that has been constant since before and after the A Fib took place was the desensitization getting worse every year. I only call it that because I had a doctor tell me that I was not numb just desensitized and that could be caused from anything.  For some time i resided myself to think that it was just some sort of nerve problem because of the needle used in my back when having my kids. Once I even scheduled a neurological test but they said it was fine even though they only did a very partial test. Her words were i can do a full test but it’s going to be the same everywhere as at this one check. So then when i left the jerks still charged me for the full test. Last year, I had a problem with plantar fascia don’t know how to spell it but I saw doctors and more doctors to try to fix it. Eventually I gave up. Then I started having other problems with both my feet and ankles swelling up with water. I was given water pills twice and told that I should see cardiologist because I could be having a problem with my heart but shortly after seeing the doc I left state and moved here.  These days, I am having more problems than ever. I sometime s think that I am used to the pounding because it no longer bothers me the way it used too but every once in a while I still need a Xanax. Also When I have intercourse it feels like my chest is going to crack open or like someone is sitting on me.  I still have the numbness and I am defiantly calling it that now because its really bad but although my feet are like this they are also very sensitive to their temperature (because when they are cold they are very very cold) and seem to hurt more than they ever did if I hurt one of them. After moving the water and swelling went away but now it is back. I also have been having a multitude of other symptoms. When I walk barefoot through the house it sometimes feels like I have stepped on something and hurt my foot when there is nothing there. I have been getting shocking sensations and stabbing sensations in my feet too. The muscles feels like its cracking when I stretch my foot and I sometimes get cramping too. The numbness has moved up my legs and it sometimes feels like there is a rubber band around both of them cutting off the circulation. I also am having problems with my back. For three days I could not turn my head or look down without getting pain in my upper back. That is gone but I have an ongoing problem with my sciatic nerves on both sides, it just depends on what side or what part of my back feels like hurting this month I guess. The scary part is now I am having problems breathing too. It feels like I am not getting enough air or something. Or like my lungs are not taking in air. Not sure. I also have arthritis headaches and problems with vertigo urination my cervix is to low and now I think I am starting metapause too. My surgery history is two c sections, cervical cone biopsy, and all at once I had gall bladder removal, acid reflux and hiatal hernia. I think the hernia is back.  AND EVERY TIME I GO TO THE DOCTOR THEY LISTEN TO ALL THIS DO BLOOD TESTS AND WHEN THEY SEE I DO NOT HAVE DIABETES THEY DO ABSOULTY NOTHING!! SURE THEY TREAT ANY SYMPTOMS I AM HAVING AT THE TIME BUT DO NOT BOTHER TO FIND OUT WHATS ACTUALLY GOING ON. I’M AT MY WITS END. I CANT AFFORD SPECIALISTS BUT SHOULD I GO TO THE SPECIALISTS ANYWAY KNOWING I CAN T PAY AND HOPE THEY FIND AN ANSWER BEFORE THE BILL IS TO HIGH FOR THEM TO SEE ME? I STILL HAVE KIDS AT HOME AND I AM NOT EVEN 50 YET AND I FEEL LIKE I AM DYING.  what do i do ? is there anyone out there who can help me?

[summerluvr]

is it all your hands and feet?  I have peripheral neuropathy, it affects both feet and hands (right side and left side, and both hands both feet, but more so my feet) when it was really bad I had some swelling- cankles:|  PN usually affects all limbs so it is different then MS symptoms that tend to be one area (like one leg, on hand etc)

I get that feeling of walking on something when I get out of bed until the feeling comes back to normal, so I know what you mean by that. I sometimes said I feel like I'm walking on someone elses feet.   And I get this sensation of freezing feet when I go to bed at night even though they are warm to the touch.  

The racing heart rate is annoying too.  I've had that but I have a serious condition that causes bad anemia, so when my counts are low I get this heart racing feeling (tachycardia)

I should say I don't have MS but i post here because I had some similar MS symtoms and took few years  to figure me out.

Sometimes doctors recomend we rate the top three symptoms to discuss at an appointment. It helps them qualify / rule out various things.

have you had blood work to look for common things like thyroid and anemia?  Your family doc can start with that, and it's not too expensive.

[grannyhotwheels]

I have a horrible problem with swelling in my feet and ankles... It just goes to show you that the symptoms of MS are extremely different in each person... Just because one person swells and the other one doesn't, it does not mean a thing... Some people have severe bladder problems and others don't... some have severe pain and others don't!!!!

This is part of the reason that MS is diagnosed by eliminating everything else it could be... It's amazing that we ever actually get a diagnosis...

I'll be praying,
Carol

[jenniferk86]

Have you been tested for hyper thyroid?

[jensequitur]

Well, you have a number of different symptoms.  Some sound like MS, and some do not.  Swelling ankles are definitely not MS.  I have to wonder if maybe you're experiencing severe anxiety.  Anxiety can cause rapid heart rate, and it can cause your feet and hands to be cold and numb.

All you can do is to talk to your PCP about your symptoms.  I would look at the most urgent ones first - the heartrate and breathing.

[jensequitur]

Hey, a lot of us here have a hard time with large blocks of copy.  It's hard to read and our eyes can't really track it.  So....  here's the same copy, but broken up with returns.

If any of my symptoms are connected or not i do not know but i feel like i have several problems going on. All of this started with just desensitized fingers and what i described at the time as a pounding heart because i could sometimes feel it beating in my chest. This went on for years then one day when I was in my thirties after some kind of depression had set in on me i drank alcohol for several days in a row and I guess because I was not much a drinker i ended up going to the hospital for A fib. I finally came out of it on my own the next day after i had finally slept. Saw a cardiologist for quite some time afterward and he said everything was fine.

Needless to say i did not drink for a long time afterward and when i did drink again it was like a onetime thing not several days. As of late i hardly touch the stuff except maybe one or two at dinner. Several years after the A-Fib, I left my husband found a job and lost a lot of weight over that next year. I met someone else and on our first date i had to go to hospital because i could not get my heart under control. This time they said it was anxiety and i was given Xanax. The Xanax seemed to work well and over time i had seemingly less issues with what they called anxiety attack or panic attack. Sometime later I began having a really fast heart rate upon awakening. I would fall asleep and wake up ten or fifteen min later with my heart pounding and beating at super speeds. After i was awake my heart would eventually slow and go back to a normal rhythm. So again they said it was anxiety and put me on Paxil along with the Xanax that i needed every once in a while. The Paxil only made things worse because my heart still did the same thing and the anxiety attacks were more often. I just did not feel it as much but it was still there none the less. I felt like the Paxil actually caused me more problems with my heart so i eventually tapered off the Paxil and eventually quit taking it all together. I did ok after that having no problems with my heart beating fast when I woke up but still had have the pounding sensation.

The one thing that has been constant since before and after the A Fib took place was the desensitization getting worse every year. I only call it that because I had a doctor tell me that I was not numb just desensitized and that could be caused from anything.  For some time i resided myself to think that it was just some sort of nerve problem because of the needle used in my back when having my kids. Once I even scheduled a neurological test but they said it was fine even though they only did a very partial test. Her words were i can do a full test but it’s going to be the same everywhere as at this one check. So then when i left the jerks still charged me for the full test. Last year, I had a problem with plantar fascia don’t know how to spell it but I saw doctors and more doctors to try to fix it. Eventually I gave up. Then I started having other problems with both my feet and ankles swelling up with water. I was given water pills twice and told that I should see cardiologist because I could be having a problem with my heart but shortly after seeing the doc I left state and moved here.  

These days, I am having more problems than ever. I sometime s think that I am used to the pounding because it no longer bothers me the way it used too but every once in a while I still need a Xanax. Also When I have intercourse it feels like my chest is going to crack open or like someone is sitting on me.  I still have the numbness and I am defiantly calling it that now because its really bad but although my feet are like this they are also very sensitive to their temperature (because when they are cold they are very very cold) and seem to hurt more than they ever did if I hurt one of them. After moving the water and swelling went away but now it is back.

I also have been having a multitude of other symptoms. When I walk barefoot through the house it sometimes feels like I have stepped on something and hurt my foot when there is nothing there. I have been getting shocking sensations and stabbing sensations in my feet too. The muscles feels like its cracking when I stretch my foot and I sometimes get cramping too. The numbness has moved up my legs and it sometimes feels like there is a rubber band around both of them cutting off the circulation. I also am having problems with my back. For three days I could not turn my head or look down without getting pain in my upper back. That is gone but I have an ongoing problem with my sciatic nerves on both sides, it just depends on what side or what part of my back feels like hurting this month I guess.

The scary part is now I am having problems breathing too. It feels like I am not getting enough air or something. Or like my lungs are not taking in air. Not sure. I also have arthritis headaches and problems with vertigo urination my cervix is to low and now I think I am starting metapause too. My surgery history is two c sections, cervical cone biopsy, and all at once I had gall bladder removal, acid reflux and hiatal hernia. I think the hernia is back.  

AND EVERY TIME I GO TO THE DOCTOR THEY LISTEN TO ALL THIS DO BLOOD TESTS AND WHEN THEY SEE I DO NOT HAVE DIABETES THEY DO ABSOULTY NOTHING!! SURE THEY TREAT ANY SYMPTOMS I AM HAVING AT THE TIME BUT DO NOT BOTHER TO FIND OUT WHATS ACTUALLY GOING ON. I’M AT MY WITS END. I CANT AFFORD SPECIALISTS BUT SHOULD I GO TO THE SPECIALISTS ANYWAY KNOWING I CAN T PAY AND HOPE THEY FIND AN ANSWER BEFORE THE BILL IS TO HIGH FOR THEM TO SEE ME? I STILL HAVE KIDS AT HOME AND I AM NOT EVEN 50 YET AND I FEEL LIKE I AM DYING.  what do i do ? is there anyone out there who can help me?