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Possible multiple sclerosis at 19?

Hi I'm a 19 year old male. Just to get this out of the way, I have had generalised anxiety disorder for a number of years now and my biggest anxiety is always specifically about my health. Anyway, yesterday I woke up and I felt fine. A couple hours later I noticed a weird sensation in my left cheek that I have felt before but usually I get that feeling when I have an upset stomach or when I feel like I'm going to vomit. Although at the time It came on, I didn't have an upset stomach. This lasted all day yesterday on and off throughout the day.

And then last night I had a full fledge stomachache (I have acid reflux disease as well), and my cheeks felt sour as ever and the sensation was there in both cheeks. Eventually the stomachache went away and I went to bed. I woke up this morning and everything felt normal just tired. An hour or so later I faintly started to feel a weird sensation in my cheek again this morning. I also noticed I was no longer having a stomachache though. But the sensation still was similar to the sour-ish type feeling in your cheek when you are about to throw up except I wasn't feel sick at all.

The more I came to think about it and observe the feeling, it almost started to feel like a sensation of slight numbness. The more I continued to search online I found out it could be ms or even stroke but I doubt I had a stroke. The more I started to pinch my cheeks and feel if they were numb my face began to get a constant tingle and from then on easier this morning my face has been slightly tingly and it hasn't let up yet. I was wondering if this all goes in line with onset of multiple sclerosis? It's making me extraordinarily anxious and I feel like the tingling won't stop, and my face feels like it's sagging but when I look in the mirror or smile it's not at all. I'm not having a panic attack of any sort but I'm constantly very anxious about possibly having ms.
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987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome,

Your post is actually a perfect example of what happens when a persons anxiety is centred on their health............sxs get worse with focused attention and sx's get worse the more you read about the condition your becoming worried you might have, the more you read the more sx's of that condition you start to believe you have.

As your thoughts start to spin and focus more and more on your health, your anxiety will keep escalating and escalating and as you are probably already aware, it can only go in one direction if you don't do something to get your attention focused on something else.

Distraction will help get your mind off your health, when your busy, having fun, focused on an activity, sport etc. your thoughts won't get the opportunity to spin out of control, simply because your health concerns are not getting all your attention anymore, as it does when you don't have something else to occupy your thoughts.

Speak up and get the help you need to deal with your health anxiety, anxiety will rule your life if give up on finding what helps you take back and stay in control of your thoughts. You have the opportunity to make a stand today and change your tomorrows, your 19 with an anxiety free good life ahead of you...............if you want to fight for you, please speak to your doctor!

Best wishes...............JJ    
Helpful - 0
667078 tn?1316000935
If you are concerned you could have your Family Doctor give you a Neurological Exam. My GP gave me a Neurological exam with my yearly exam. She then thought I had MS and sent me to a neurologist. The Neurologist did a Neurological exam and which was all off and then sent me for a MRI. The MRI showed MS but it took two more years of tests then I was finally diagnosed with MS. There are over 800 Neurological disorders and over 30 non MS mimics which share symptoms with MS so it would be hard to determine if you have MS by way of the internet.

Alex

Helpful - 0
6881121 tn?1392830788
First, yes, 19 year olds can have MS (my daughter for instance, was officially diagnosed just after turning 18, after a couple of years of symptoms). 9 year olds, in fact, 2 year olds can.  It is rare, but not so rare as most MDs had been taught.

On the other hand, one day symptoms does not ever make MS.  It could not even be diagnosed based on one day of symptoms.  
MS currently is diagnosed by the concept of, "Disseminated in time, disseminated in space", meaning that there have to be separate attacks (at least 30 days apart, and an attack is not considered a 24 hour or less event) and/or demonstrable to multiple different parts of the brain/neck or upper back (rib cage section) of the spinal cord.  

For now, just breathe, relax.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello and welcome to the forum.

Very little is totally impossible, but I'd say the likelihood that your symptoms come from MS is pretty close to none. MS does not come on overnight, and does not seem to get more intense the more we analyze it. It rarely if ever has anything to do with nausea.

The reason MS pops up so often when symptoms are googled is that there are a great many possible MS symptoms, though only a relative few appear over and over, making MS a more likely suspect. Meanwhile, things that feel 'wrong' could be just about anything, or more likely, not much of anything if they are mild and fleeting.

Why do you continually search online to try to identify what could be causing your symptoms? You are 19, a time when life is good and good health feels as if it will last forever. That's a positive thing! Take it from someone who knows--enjoy all the good parts of youth, because they don't last forever, that's for sure.

If you have health anxiety, my advice is to channel your efforts into getting to the bottom of that, and very possibly getting rid of it forever. That can often be accomplished through cognitive behavior therapy. Wouldn't it be a relief not to perseverate over health issues?

Many people, especially young males, pass through here, people who are very worried about health-anxiety, which they are aware of, but for whatever reasons do not want to address. I feel very bad for them because they are suffering needlessly, but suffering all the same. If this could be you, please get help for it as soon as you can.

I'm sending you my best wishes.
ess
Helpful - 0
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