Early Symptoms?

[Dobbs87]

I am a 19 year old female and for several months I have been having muscle tremors and just an overall weirdness in my legs and occasionally arms. It almost feels as if individual muscles or nerves are moving. I also sometimes get a shaky, jittery feeling in my whole body. As if i have had loads of coffee. I've also started having terrible migraines for the past several months. Occasionally, i feel as if parts of my limbs are about to fall asleep or an extreme heat for several seconds in some parts. I've also had terrible balance my whole life. About 3 years ago I developed a facial tic on my right eye when ever i was extremely nervous however it wasn't bothersome. About 4 months ago I started having the a tic in my right hand. In december of this year (finals week!) i had a severe episode of jitteriness, shakiness, muscle tremors, and just a weird feeling in my legs (mostly) and arms. I have seen a doctor however he believes that it is stress related but he didnt perform any tests (not even blood work) so I am still concerned. Since december, i feel the weird feeling in my legs almost every day but it is not severe. It isnt painful just extremely irksome. I also began having a slight ringing in my left ear almost a year ago.
I am 5'9 and i weigh about 145 lbs. The past year has been the most stressful time of my entire life. My parents are in the middle of a nasty separation, I broke up with my boyfriend of 3 years, began college, and moved. In the past I have had terrible reactions to stress. As a child, i used to vomit. And last year while apply to colleges i developed terrible stomach cramps (they drove me to tears) for 2 months which cleared up on their own. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer and just sitting. I also cant remember the last time i exercised. I have pretty normal eating habits for a teenager and i dont drink coffee or soda anymore.
Im beginning to think that these are the early symptoms of MS. Please help because I am beyond frightened. and the more I worry about these symptoms the worse they seem to get.

[kwarendorf]

Hi JJK - Welcome to our group.

This thread is a tad old. It was last updated over 4 years ago. Many of the original posters no longer visit. I have not seen Dobbs87 here since I joined 3 years ago. Just didn't want you ti think you were being ignored :-)

Kyle

[jojokev131958]

It took 36 years to figure out what I had. My symptoms were identical to yours and progressed over time. I have myopathy and only found out through an EMG test. Good Luck

[Karen99]

Hi.  All of the suggestions given above are good, but I would like to add that it would be prudent for you to have a physical.  While your symptoms could be caused from stress and anxiety, there could be a simple underlying cause of responding excessively to stress.  What comes to mind is to make sure you are not anemic or have an under-active thyroid function.  

I'm no doctor either, but I would ask for a little more investigation before taking an antidepressant.  Having a counselor to help you manage stress would be very helpful as you have a lot on your plate.

Good luck to you.    

[essdipity]

Do you have to see that same doctor? He has pooh-pooh'd your symptoms before, and is likely to do it again, which will only cause you anguish. He would hardly say such things to his own daughter in similar circumstances, I'm betting.

Take aspirin, eat well, don't worry just don't cut if for you. That's so dismissive when clearly you are suffering. As I said before, you need actual treatment, which is likely to be, for you, both medication and talk therapy.

Please let us know how things go.

ess

[Dobbs87]

Thanks so much for your help.
My symptoms do come and go and are never really in the same spot. I've definitely tried reducing the amount of stress in my life and I realize that these symptoms could be aggravated by stress. For a while the symptoms improved but a few days ago I started feeling jittery and shaky all over which is when I began to worry all over again. Also, some of the tics (and the weird feeling as if something is moving) in my legs are present almost every day but with varying severity. Some days they are worse than others.
I'm definitely seeing my doctor again about this. Last time he just seemed to brush off my concerns.

Once again, thank you for the reassurance.  

[Dobbs87]

My doctor simply told me to stop drinking caffeinated beverages, eat healthier, sleep more, and not to worry about it. He told me the same thing at my follow up appointment. He also told me to just take aspirin for the headaches.
I've started keeping a diary of my symptoms. The jitteriness and the muscle tics improved quite a bit after the first major episode but I had another one again.
Thanks so much for the post!

[essdipity]

Hi, Dobbs. You have provided a very complete picture of what's happening to you, and I really think you've reached your own diagnosis.

I'm sorry that your life is so stressful. You also seem to be highly sensitive to the stresses you have, dating from childhood. That's okay--we all deal with issues in our own way, which is not necessarily under our conscious control. But I think it's important to realize that once the event you were worrying about had past, so did your level of anxiety, and also the symptoms it caused. Not totally, but significantly. You also have long-term issues to deal with, such as your parents' break-up. That's a huge amount in itself.

I'm not answering as a doctor here, because I'm decidedly not medically trained. I do have a lot of experience in life and its problems. I feel bad that you have not gotten help that you very much need, why I don't know. It's unconscionable that you should suffer when relief is available. If you don't have a therapist then maybe your college's health services can help you. Between medication and talk therapy, you can feel a lot better.

But as to your questions about MS, I can say for sure that MS does not present this way. Odd sensations that come and go and move around a great deal are not consistent with the way MS operates. MS symptoms are caused by lesions in the central nervous system. These lesions do not form and recede day by day. Small muscle tics are called fasciculations and are pretty normal, but seen more often when people feel nervous or upset.

I urge you to seek help for your stress, and see if your symptoms subside as well. If they don't, then would be the time to try for other answers.

The best of luck to you. I hope you soon will feel much better.

ess

[Wobbly]

Hon... I would see your Dr and let them know how you are feeling...you seem to be having alot of stressful things happening in your life at the moment.. when you saw the Dr before and stated he thinks it's stress related...WHAT did they recommend you do for HELP?  

when a Dr states something like that and brushes you off...you have to wonder what type of Dr that is... if you need to see a councellor or meds or whatever... you need some help with these symptoms...

please ask the Dr for help and keep a record of all you symptoms.. let us know how things go
wobbly
dx