MS or Anxiety?

[PennySS]

I had a virus (or at least they think) that lasted about 5 weeks. During that entire time I had a low grade fever (that fever meds would not make go away). I also had a bread fog that never went away and was just exhausted! If I got up and moved around, the fever would spike to 101. They chalked it up to a virus, but blood work all came back good (and I had blood work done 3 times). Prior to that, for several months I had tingling in my feet and legs that would come occasionally and last for a couple of hours. I was a little nervous about it, but not too badly. During my virus, and not given an answer as to why my fever would not go away, the tingling in my feet/legs came back and stayed. Then my hands/arms, face/neck started tingling. At the end of that 5 weeks the fever and fog finally lifted, but the tingling stayed. They sent me to a Neurologist who did a nerve conduction study and EMG. My EMG was clean, but NCS showed a few abnormalities. Since then, they have run another set of blood work (more specific to peripheral neuropathy) and that all came back normal. I am set to have an MRI and I am terrified! I don’t know if that means MS or what? Of course I googled the symptoms and it came with MS being a possibility. After reading this I have gotten a weakness and fine motor issues in my right arm (I can button and do small things, but it just feels off). I also have burning in my left ankle and sometimes pain going all the way up the back of that leg and they feel heavy. My foot on that leg feels weird as well. I also have started getting quick twitches all over the place, but especially in my legs and thighs. My back also gets a burning sensation from the middle of my spine down to the bottom (which usually begins at night) and the next day my back will hurt. I am not sleeping well…I am usually up by 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning for good and it does not matter how late I stay up. My anxiety attacks have gotten so bad I feel like I cannot get my brain to quiet down (feels like it just spins with no specific thought). I also feel like my body is buzzing or has some sort of electric current that runs through it. It is all very scary and it is hard to believe it is all anxiety related, but I certainly hope so. I just don’t know if MS could start showing this rapidly, or maybe it was gradual and I just was not aware of some of the more subtle symptoms until all of this. All of these things come as together or alone and can last from 1-4 days.

[PennySS]

Hi JJ,

Thank you again for responding to my post. I am so happy I found this site...everyone here is so nice and helpful. I am trying to keep and open mind...and my anxiety in check. Some days are harder than others.

[supermum_ms]

I totally agree with Alex! What ever this is for you, it's clearly NOT being caused by a mental health condition, your anxiety will definitely not be helping any but because your diagnostic evidence is 'abnormal' something other than your anxiety is causing this....what that something is, is 'unlikely to be MS' because from what i understand about MS, mixed axonal/demyelinating poly neuropathy hasn't been associated with MS but it's 'not' all in your head....sorry if i wasn't more obvious in what i was trying to say!

One step at a time, having to face having a neurological condition can be very scary but there are many different things that may have caused this, that it's really in your best interest to try and remain open minded until you've been diagnosed. With your anxiety issues, it is harder said than done but it is better to wait, than potentially escalating your anxiety reading about all the different conditions that it 'might' be....deep breath!

Hugs.........JJ

[PennySS]

So sorry you are going through all of that. You obviously have a very kind spirit to come here and take the time to talk to people like me (in limbo land). The wait I think is the worse part. Although I would prefer to hear "You have nothing wrong with you," I know that is not the case. I'm not saying I KNOW I have MS, but I do know something is not right. The sooner someone gets disgnosed, the sooner you can maybe breath, make a plan and get on with taking care of your self (whatever that may mean in any particular case). But for those just left unknowing, especially those of us with anxiety/panic attacks, it's horrendous. Thanks again for responding to my post

[HVAC]

I am not sure what your doctor is looking at. I do not think it is all in your head. I think they are saying you have neuropathy or nerve damage in several area and it could be demyelating disease, stripping off the nerve sheath. MS is a demylelating disease. Something is going on. It may not be MS. I deal with anxiety. I have both MS and terminal cancer. I try to do all I can to not worry. Worry to me is trying to control things I can't control. I also get scared about my health. I have learned through the years that freaking out only makes it worse. I exercise, write, talk to people and take medication for anxiety. Oh and distraction is really important. I also get really angry and can't take it out on others so I take it out on myself. I have to release the anger which becomes anxiety. It can take awhile to be diagnosed with anything. MS can take years after you start with a neurologist. They like to follow you over time. It took me two years after they first decided it was MS. I was followed ever six months. When I started with anew neurologist they started at the beginning. My first neurologist took a new job and left town. The second was a headache specialist and knew nothing about MS. The third was a MS Specialist and diagnosed me a year and a half later. All my MRIs showed MS., so did all my tests and it still took time. I felt better when I found out I was not just being dismissed. The more illnesses you have the more complicated it gets. I am happy these days now that I have accepted my illnesses and that medicine is limited. A lot about my MS can't be fixed.

Alex

[PennySS]

Hi everyone. I just got the results to my NCS and wondered if anyone could make sense of it. I had blood work done to look for any hereditary sensory and motor neuropathy (such as diabetes, autoimmune disorder, hypothyroidism, vitamin B12 deficiency, toxins like chemotherapy, lyme disease, hereditary causes)  and all came back in normal range, with the exception of B12 being high at 1640; which my doctor assured me was okay as no one has ever died from B12 toxicity. My results NCS results were as follows:

*Evaluation of Left peroneal motor nerve showed decreased conduction velocity (B Fib-Ankle, 35m/s)

*The Left tibial motor and Right tibial motor nerved showed prolonged distal onset latency (L6.9,R7.7ms)

*The Right superficial peroneal sensory nerve showed prolonged distal peak latency(6.4 ms) and decreased conduction velocity (14 cm-Ant Lat Mall, 22 m/s)

*The Right sural sensory nerve showed prolonged distal peak latency (4.3 ms) and decreased conduction

*All remaining nerves were within normal limits.

*All examined muscles showed no evidence of electrical instability.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :-}

[PennySS]

Thanks JJ,

I appreciate your comment and I am really trying to keep my anxiety under control. I guess the scary part is I keep coming back to abnormal NCS findings...that makes it harder to convince my self it's all in my head :-(

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome Penny,

It can be hard to believe that a mental health issue like  issue can mimic 'symptoms' of a neurological condition like MS but it most definitely can!  Google can be a great informational tool and be very reassuring but when you have an anxiety related mental health issue, googling symptoms will typically just feed and escalate the anxiety and fears.

With health related anxiety, it actually can cause 'similar symptoms' to the medical condition that's being focused on but their diagnostic evidence will not support what they believe them selves to have because their test evidence will 'not' be consistent, suggestive or even abnormal.

Experiencing additional or worsening symptoms after reading about MS, rapid progression over a short time frame, predominantly sensory symptoms, all over, all peripherals, widespread, moving around muscle fasilation or twitching etc are all the common red flags, because of the way MS lesion damage works, neurological conditions like MS just can't cause those types of symptom patterns but other conditions including mental health conditions definitely can...

One thing is apparent to me from reading your story and that is, you've definitely been sick with something but MS doesn't cause fevers! What ever illness caused you to be running a fever for 5 weeks, will have more likely caused havoc on your entire body, the nervous system can become sensitive, irritated etc by viral infections, vitamin deficiencies eg iron, B12 etc.

Take a step back for a moment, you've recognised your anxiety is running high so try if you can to get this one medical issue back under control eg challenge negative and fearful thoughts by focusing on known facts, don't jump to conclusions without evidence, stop googling, distract your self by keeping busy or doing things you enjoy, be proactive and speak to your psychologist, therapist, psych or GP about your current mental health situation etc etc

Going through medical tests to work out what is going on, can be scary for anyone, something is/was medically wrong but from what you have mentioned, it honestly more likely 'not' because of a neurological condition like MS, so try if you can to not let your anxiety focus on any specific medical condition and make the situation worse....    

Cheers..........JJ      

[supermum_ms]

sorry the above should read 'It can be hard to believe that a mental health issue like anxiety can mimic 'symptoms' of a neurological condition like MS but it most definitely can!' JJ

[PennySS]

Thank you both for your response. I hope you get answers soon as well 24inPortland.
HAVOC, for some reason my doctor is only doing MRI w/out contrast. I was concerned that may overlook something, so thank you for your response that it still was able to detect MS....just in case. Do either of you know what What mixed axonal/demyelinating poly neuropathy means and what diseases are associated with it? This is what my doctor wrote as his impression/findings in my NCS. My EMG was clean.

[HVAC]

If they are thinking MS they will do the MRI under MS protocol. That is with and with out contrast. They will also do more slices or views. If it is just a general neurological MRI it could still pick up on MS. My first MRI was looking for something else but it found MS. I hope you get some answers.

Alex

[24inPortland]

Hi Penny,

I'm going through much of the same. Viral illness accompanied by numbness, weakness, and tingling that have stayed and even worsened since. With anxiety mixed in as well, it's been a terrifying few weeks!

Some of the community members here have assured me that there is really no clear correlation between viral illness and MS. Peripheral neuropathy was a fear of mine as well, but I've tested negative for everything that might be a cause. MS just seems to be that final frontier in figuring out what's wrong with us.

I went to the optometrist today after a few weeks of syptoms in my left eye (pain, blurriness, anisocoria) and was told that there is absolutely no evidence of neurological damage. It gives me some confidence that even the more unusual and scary symptoms might really be attributed to anxiety after all.

I go in for my MRI this week, and it sounds like you've got something coming up too. Keep us posted on what you find out!!

-JW