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Avatar universal

Obsessed with MS

I'm 23 years old female. I Developed a Lhermitte sign (when I turn my neck I get buzz in the arch of my foot). I'm so scared that it might be MS. I went to neurologist that ordered and MRI(but I won't be getting it till July). I had a whiplash injury 2 mounths ago.
I'm so anxious about possibility of having ms. I convinced myself that I do. Now everyday I get new "buzzing spot" on my body(my hip, my finger). The whole body is aching. The only thing that's on my mind is MS. Waking up every morning, I feel so hopeless. I don't know whether my anxiety kicking in or it's a reality. Please hepl me
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Avatar universal
Thank you very much. I'll keep you posted after my MRI
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147426 tn?1317265632
My gut feeling is still that this is not MS, but as with anyone who has a spot or so of paresthesias, no one can say that it is not.

Quix
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Avatar universal
Hello, I've tryed to calm down a bit. Now I can actually describe all my symptoms:
1. Lhermitte (when I turn my head I get buzzing in the foot)
2. Rt outer thigh buzzing almost constantly
3. Two days later Rt hand buzzing (lower segment of pinky)
4. Occasional Rt side of the tip of the nose buzzing
(I just get new spots in addtion to old ones, but they don't go away).
Is it consistent with MS (sounds like it?).
Thank you in advance
Helpful - 0
560501 tn?1383612740

Hi there and Welcome to the Forum Molly.

     I was reading your post and all the responses.
Bless your heart <3     I can certainly feel for you. ANxiety is such a horrible
thing to deal w/ especially to the extent that you are going through. If you do not mind I am going to hone in more on the anxiety part of your post. Now I am in NO WAY saying that you could not (possibly) have some Neuro stuff going on.

    What I am saying is that you have FIRST and foremost you have got to get that Anxiety Monster under control so that you can see what symptoms you are having are Neurological and what is provoked by anxiety..........

     Molly, Crying is OK!  It is actually a good thing :)  I know that as you were typing,
that many emotions were coming to the surface. That is not such a Bad thing..Really!
I remember when I had my first "Bouts" w/ anxiety...I had NO idea what it was!  i had never heard of Panic Attacks nor Anxiety disorder.  That was until I met a lady at the doctors office who was telling me of these "Feelings" she was having (she knew about anxiety). I could not believe it!!!!  There was someone else out there in the world "LIKE ME"!  

      I guess the point to my liitle tale is that at least you know that that you have anxiety and what it can do to you!  Now, Here is the catchy part.......when those feelings start to come on.......you have to be strong mentally and talk to yourself (not out loud unless your alone or people will look at you as they did me, like I was a space cadet...Lol), and just say..."Ok I refuse to let these fellings of anxiety and Extreme worry take my life from me"....you can worry all day, every waking minute but it WILL NOT change the outcome of ANY situation but rather continue to take over your life and make things worse.

    Molly I wish you the best. please continue to post on the Forum. We are here for you!
Maybe you can call and be put on a cncellation list so that your MRI can be moved up??  
      Here is a nice quote I would like to share w/ you:
“You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.”

Have a great night,
~Tonya
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you for your support
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
And I hit send before I added my two cents here - this doesn't sound like MS to me, either.
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
Get some help for yourself, honey.  I know that health professionals often have trouble asking for help, but you need to.  Seems you have a genetic susceptibility for anxiety.  You need to get some help and it certainly may need to be pharmacologic help.

If all the symptoms of MS are appearing very quickly, then it is even less likely that this is MS.  MS just doesn't cause problems all over the body.

Get your thyroid checked along with a CBC, B12 level, and a check for Lyme Disease would also be a good idea.

Take care,

Quix
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
Hi Molly,
Let's look at this from another angle since you can't shake this feeling.  

Having MS is not a death sentence.  In fact, treatments for MS has really come far in the past 20 years and we now have a life expectancy that matches the general populaiton without MS.

The vast majority of people with MS will remain ambulatory their entire life, and not need any assistive device to walk (cane, wheelchair or walker).  

People with MS still fulfill their dreams, sometimes they have to do it a bit slower, but they still accomplish them. People with MS still meet someone special, fall in love, get married and have a family.  

The familiar face of MS being a person in a wheelchair is not that majority anymore, thanks to the newer drugs that slow the progression of this disease.

If you can't shake the worry about MS, then take control and spend some time learning all you can about this disease.  We need more people educated about  MS.  Knowledge is power.

I hope those are tears of relief and not more worry.  Come back here and stay in touch - we're happy to answer your questions.

be well,
Lulu

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Avatar universal
Tears just streaming down my face
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for your responses guys. Though, I went over to neurologist, GP and chiro and they all tell me that it doesn't sound like MS so far. But it's taking over my life. Only thinking about it, I feel vertigo. I also feel like I'm experiencing all the symptoms and they appear very quickly. I get pulsating sensations all over my body. I cannot concentrate, I cannot sleep. It's taking over my life. I'm a nurse and even my patients noticed that something going on with me. Within two weeks from strong lifeloving person I became miserable. I lost about ten pounds within two weeks, I don't feel no hunger or thirst no more.
And everything just started with so-called Lhermitte sign.
I'm sorry for pouring it all out here but this is the ony thing I can do now. Thank you very much again
PS. My mother has very bad anxiety about everything in her life.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi molly.
I wouldnt worry to much, right now, your lhermitte sign, may be coming from the car crash,
The MRI scan, and a lumber puncture, will diagnose MS. if it is that.
I lived 12 years with being told i had MS, and i wouldnt worry yourself or get yourself anxious at this time.
The more you worry the more of the symptoms you will bring on, and theres nothing you can change at this time.
Be strong, i know thats easier said than done.
You might have a neck injury from the whiplash, get your MRI out of the way, and then if the neurologist says it isnt MS
Then you may benefit from going to a good chiropractor
Have you had an x-ray on the neck?
Im wishing you well, and keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you.
Im here if ever you need a chat, or feel anxious, or just need a vent.
Nicola
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
Hi, Molly, Welcome to the forum.  It's a good place to hang out if MS truly is in the picture.

Does this sound like MS?  It's hard to say.  The consistency of the symptom when you trun your head does sound like an very atypical L'Hermitte's Sign.  And, though L'Hermitte's can occur with other conditions, MS is the most common.

However, the rest of what you are going through does not sound much like MS.  Getting a new buzzing spot on almost a daily basis is not how MS presents.  Because the strange sensory things we get like tingles, buzzing or pain are caused by actual spots of damage to the central nervous system, the symptoms we get last longer than a day and don't move around as much.  The damage doesn't heal up and move around in quite this pattern.  These false sensory signals are called paresthesias.

Do all the new buzzing spots continue to be joined by others?

The whole body aching is NOT typical of MS at all.  This is more suggestive of viral infections, infections like Lyme Disease and of other disorders like fibromyalgia.

I know you've already perceived that your anxiety is taking over and ruining your life.  Right now this is the greatest problem you face.  Health anxiety will take away your ability to live in the here and now and will rob you of your present.  You must seek some help for this as soon as possible.  I was so pleased to see you posting on the Anxiety Forum.  I hope you get some good info there.

It is the nature of Health Anxiety to become hyperaware of all the sensations we all feel throughout our bodies.  Most of the time people don't notice the twitch here and the tingle there, but they happen to everybody.  As a person becomes more anxious these sensations can be magnified into things that seem like a major problem - filling most of our waking thoughts.  As anxiety grows, the mind can actually begin to create these samll sensory sensations.

I tend to try not to invoke anxiety as a factor in people's symptoms.  I think that is done too much and too soon by our doctors, but in your case, you even know that the anxiety is huge.  The other problem that anxiety creates is it can muddy the waters with regard to which symptoms might be real and which might be magnified normal sensations.  When this happens the doctors often only see the anxiety and dismiss everything.

So, the best thing you can do while you wait for the MRI, is seek help for the anxiety.  This help can come in many forms.  Talk therapy can help, meds are available, meditation is something you can learn and do on your own.  Staying busy and exercising can help also.

I know the fear is real, and the sensations you are having feel real also.  They may or they may not be.  Time will tell.  But, please get help.

Now, the hopeless part.  The very word suggests a depression that is accompanying the anxiety.  This is common.  the widespread "aching" is also common with depression.  Does depression run in your family or is it something you have fought before?  For this reason, I do not think you should tackle the anxiety all by yourself.  Please see your doctor or a counselor.

Now, lets talk about MS and hopeless.  The two do not belong together.  The image that most people have in their minds about MS is wrong.  It's the rare one of us who is in a wheelchair or who is severely crippled.  Many people with MS continue to work full time and have the occasional bout with a relapse of the disease.  Our life expectancies are normal.  A fair number will have very few symptoms, mostly sensory, for their whole lives.  IF this is MS, and I don't think it sounds like it, you have three faactors right off the bat that suggest that your risk of bad disease is low.  These are young age, female gender, and sensory only symptoms (as opposed to weaknesss or muscle problems).  There is not much about MS that is hopeless.

You are welcome to post here, but mostly I urge you to get help for the anxiety.  Once it is under control you will have a much better idea of which symptoms are real and not magnified by your mind and emotions.  By then the MRI will be much closer and you will be closer to knowing more.

I hope this helps.

Quix, MD
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