Terrified that I might have MS

[themcjayster]

Hi everyone. So I was an otherwise healthy 30 year old active guy. And I've been having symptoms the past 5 years that I believe are all related to one thing that I believe is MS. I'll start out by saying that I have hashimotos and underactive thyroid. But little by little things have been going numb. It started out with stiff muscles and a stiff neck, and I also have really bad TMJ. I would start getting electric shocks all over my body and face when my TMJ was really bad. Then after masturbating one day I got a recurrent red rash (that i thought was fungal) on my penis that would come and go, but strangely every time it flared up my penis would get more numb. Doctors have never been able to explain it, and now it basically totally numb. Within the span of the last two weeks, my neck has gone numb, parts of my arms have gone numb, and I noticed my esophagus seems more narrow and difficult to swallow. (I have GERD too, so not sure if that's related.) Anyways, I'm basically terrified that I won't be able to live the life I once was, and may have a progressive form of it that will end up killing me. Does anyone have any similar experiences or advice? (and yes I already have doctors appointments set up.)

[supermum_ms]

Hi there, i understand your afraid of what this could mean but the types of issues you are mentioning are either not associated with MS, rarely associated wtih MS and or typically associated with the peripheral nervous system of which you have mentioned more than one diagnosed medical condition known for causing numerous peripheral nervous system related issue so you are genuinely more likely to be dealing with a comorbid situation to what you already know than for it to be a medical condition like MS.

Rapid progression, including multiple neuro pathways, upper/lower left/right so all peripheral limbs spreading and or moving from one are to another, unexplained rashes etc basic red flags that point away from central nervous system causation, which is what neurological conditions like MS are. Rashes you'd be reading about are generally a side effect of MS related treatments and medication so not in itself caused by the medical condition so if you put it all together you have so much pointing away from a neurological condition like MS causing what you've had to endure, that MS would way way down on your list of possible causes.

I would suggest you make an appointment with the dr thats treating your Thyroid condition because its likely the link and if its not you can if not what else could it be?

Hope that helps......JJ

[themcjayster]

I should also mention that I was recently diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy at the ER as well, but feel there is a much larger issue going on. My teeth have slightly also gone numb and it's hard to feel my bite.