Does this sound like MS? Please help.

[yoshapman]

So basically I have been a pretty big hypochondriac all of my life. I am 30 years of age (male). I go to my internist at least 6 times a year, and I see specialists multiple times a year, mostly for peace of mind. Usually, once I see a doctor, my symptoms magically disappear (a lot of what I feel seems to be related to anxiety and stress). However, my latest symptoms have me really worried. About 2 months ago, I started noticing a shaking feeling in my hands, and my legs were a little shaky/weak when walking. I didn't have tremors per se, but I noticed my hands shaking a lot, especially if I moved my fingers in certain ways (bending my thumb forward, etc). However, when I tried to show people (including my wife, friends, and the doctor), no one noticed anything. My regular internist thought it was stress/anxiety (as I am a very stressful person). He did a lot of blood tests, and all came back negative. I had had a brain MRI done about 4 months prior (since I have migraines and have been treated for 3 years or so by a headache neurologist for them), and everything came back normal, so my internist didn't think I had MS, though he said it's not impossible. I went to a neurologist as well, who did a couple brain tests and also didn't see shaking, and thought everything was normal. I asked him about everything I had researched online, and he said I didn't have ALS or Parkinsons, and because of my brain MRI, didn't have MS either. He said it was just stress (I had just finished studying for the CPA exam, and the week after I passed, this all started). He said sometimes when people have a lot of stress (which I had while studying) and then stop, the stress symptoms can continue. Anyways, also magically once he said he didn't see shaking, my shaking feeling stopped. However, the legs feeling continued, and seems to be getting worse (though I do focus on it all day). I walk 25 minutes to work and 25 minutes back, and though I've been able to keep doing that, it's difficult walking, and I feel very uncomfortable. It's not necessarily painful, but it is hard to walk. I feel this feeling most near my knees, and at the knees, and then the top of my legs. If I am sitting or lying down, I generally feel fine, though I do feel a little stiff when I get up. I also feel like my muscles at my arms are weak as well, though since I'm not "walking" with them, I don't notice it as much as my legs. I tried riding a bike this week for 10 minutes, and though I was able to do so and even went uphill, when I got back from riding, I could barely stand, and my legs felt like jello. Also, today I worked out for a few minutes, and then went outside to rake some leaves and other stuff in my yard, and felt very tired after. In addition, today my thumb would twitch a lot if I moved it forwards at all. This also happens now if I move push-ups. Also, I have been having some joint pain in my hands and legs too. My knees also seem to crack a lot when I work out, which I don't believe they've done before. Doing crunches now is really hard on my legs (which is never was before), and they feel stiff and hurt while I'm doing them. One more thing I noticed is that when I wake up, parts of my hands, arms, etc are a little numb. They do however have red marks on them like I've been lying on them and that's why they're numb, and it always goes away after a couple minutes, but I've never noticed it before now. I've been holding off on going back to a doctor since I'm in the middle of getting a life insurance quote, and didn't want to take any chances before I get the policy finalized. However, all of this scares me very much. I did read that lyme disease mimics some of these symptoms, and I did move 8 months ago to the suburbs and spend a lot of time outside, but I don't see any bitemarks. I do feel fatigue in my arms/legs, but I know I am also focusing on it a lot. Any thoughts would be helpful, or direction into what you think I should do next. When I look online, a lot of my symptoms seem to point to MS (I really don't see anything else with the legs/arms weakness and stiffness except MS). I know I had an MRI, but online it seems there is a 5% chance that it won't show up in an MRI, but would show up in a spinal tap, or even a small chance it won't show up at all, but still be MS. Any thoughts? I'm also curious if I should apply for certain things now like long-term disability (which I have with work, but not my own policy) or long-term care. I am having trouble focusing on normal life, but I also don't want to see a doctor again until everything I need for my family is taken care of. Anyone's thoughts on anything else it could besides MS? The age seems right. I know I'm a male so it's more rare, but obviously still possible. Stress/anxiety seems to have always played a part in the past, but this has now been going on for so long that I'm really worried. Thanks.

[immisceo]

Hi there!

First things first, a lot of people with MS have vision issues and will skip right past your question, not out of lack of concern, but simply because it's too overwhelming to consider reading in one single block of text. But I'm feeling stubborn this morning, so I'm going to take a crack at it!

It doesn't sound like MS is what you're dealing with. Have you pursued treatment for your health anxiety? It sounds like it's really impacting your quality of life. Health anxiety is very real and there is treatment available, from behaviour and traditional therapy to medication. Have you undergone any sort of treatment to help you bring your health anxiety under control?

It does sound like that's what you're dealing with and it sounds like on a certain level you acknowledge it as well, at least as a possibility. I would be seeking out referrals to someone with experience in treating this specifically. They would be able to help develop a treatment plan to help get your life back from something that sounds as though it's overwhelming everything.

[supermum_ms]

HI and welcome, please try to break up your future posts, many of us have visual/cognitive issues which makes it extremely difficult to read large chunks of text. ta

Admittedly, i struggled to read though your post, but from the very beginning you admit to having a cyclic behavioural pattern of being overly concerned/anxious about your health, a part of the process is getting the reassurance that there is nothing wrong and then the cycle starts again. What you are describing sounds very much like health anxiety to me, and i would suggest you consider the possibility that it is the route of your problems.

The numbness etc that you describe on waking, is due to the disruption of the circulation to those areas, the red marks are the clue that its being caused by your sleeping positioning. I suggest you seriously consider you are again focused on finding something wrong with your health, and that you discuss with your dr the behavioural pattern of your anxiety, so that you can work on dealing with this pro-actively.

Cheers..........JJ