MS or something else???!!!

  Hi,
  I have been struggling with doctors for a while now.
  For the past few years I have had a series of symptoms that have still gone undiagnosed.
  I have had the following:
  cold hands and feet
  numbness in my right foot
  band feeling around my right toe
  burning pain in my right shin bone
  hand and body tremors
  legs that feel like lead weights
  difficuly breathing
  dry mouth
  pins and needles in my left hand
  my left eye has developed Amblyopia
  burning feeling in the top back portion of my skull
  panic attacks
  short term memory problems
  balance difficulties
  leaky bladder and frequent urgency
  severe diareah
  pain running down my spine when I put my head down
  heat and cold intollerance
  medication sensitivities
  alcohol sensitivities
  hyper-reflexes
  Does this sound to you like it could be MS and should I persue a diagnosis further?
  So far all the doctors I have seen have told me that it probably is all stress related...but, after having this go on for so long, I tend not to believe them.
  I am a 34 yr. old mother of 4 kids, and need to know what to do next?
  My last visit to the neuro, refered me to a pschyc....who inturn kept trying to just medicate me for depression (which I am not)...and after 3 fifteen minute visits this doc decided that I had no "reason" to be forgetting things at my age...
  HELP PLEASE!!!
  Diagnostic limbo is the pits!
  thanx
  Cheryl
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Hello Cheryl!
The short answer to your question is "something else." Multiple sclerosis will not typically produce most of the symptoms you describe. Numbness associated with it is typically from a certain level of the body on down to both legs. If you have been thoroughly examined by a neurologist and there were no demonstrable abnormalities on examination, that would virtually guarantee that you do not have multiple sclerosis. Most if not all of the symptoms you describe are compatable with somatic (physical, bodily) symptoms of an underlying anxiety disorder (different than depression, although sometimes treated with antidepressant type medications among others). It is important for you to understand that such symptoms are every bit as "real" as those caused by more serious medical diseases. Multiple sclerosis is often a scapegoat diagnosis used when many of the somatic symptoms are neurologically oriented such as dizziness/vertigo and numbness and no other medical explanation can be found. It is also important that you understand that such symptoms and disorders are surprisingly common, and they do not indicate that you're a "psycho" or a kook. Most actually are being found to have an underlying genetic or biochemical basis, and often but not always run in families depending on the particular problem. Although many people do not particularly like seeing psychiatrists, if you can find a halfway normal one that you can tolerate, I'd suggest sticking with her or him to try and control the symptoms so they don't end up driving you crazy---- then you will be a psycho!!! There are a variety of excellent drugs (now more than ever before) that much more often than not can suppress or even eliminate these bothersome, often embarassing and ill-timed symptoms that can lead to multiple expensive and sometimes dangerous medical evaluations that can  end up inflicting the type of permanent physical harm that they are trying to find an explanation for!! Good Luck. Please remember that information provided on the forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only, and that the actual diagnosis and treatment of your specific medical condition should be strictly in conjunction with your treating physician(s). If you are interested in a second opinion at the Cleveland Clinic, our number is 1-800-223-2273 extension 45559. We hope you find the information helpful.