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MS Symptoms
Hello, I have been having odd symptoms for the past few days. My left hand was tingling along with numbness. My right arm has had the feeling of pins and needles along with my right leg. There is some pain along with it. I am concerned about this. I have called to make an appt, but can't be seen due to the pandemic. It will be a video chat. I am wondering what I can possibly gain from this appt. Could this be MS? I am aware that such symptoms can be anything else as well. I am scared and it isn't going away. Thanks!
COMMUNITY LEADER
OCD and HA are very similar so Yes that could help explain why its likely harder for you to turn off your spinning anxious thoughts and reasurance seeking behaviours.
IF your actual diagnosed health issues are a common trigger it' would probably be in your best interest to be proactive with your mental health issues and set up additional support with your treating phsych or psychologist.
Take care........JJ
IF your actual diagnosed health issues are a common trigger it' would probably be in your best interest to be proactive with your mental health issues and set up additional support with your treating phsych or psychologist.
Take care........JJ
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome,
I don't know if you've noticed this or not but 10 years ago back in 2010, after you had the black mole removed, you experienced something similar which was also within a couple of weeks of an unrelated medical issue and you worried about it being MS.
"I have been having tingling in my arms and mostly in my legs for the past 2.5 weeks. I have gone to some medical doctor's about it and seems to me that they do not seem to care. I have some concern about it being MS and want an MRI but the Dr's do not seem to listen. What should I do? Is there a likelihood that it is MS?"
This more recent tingling experience has happened within weeks after being diagnosed with the 'Georgraphic tongue' so it's 'possible' that you might sometimes experience a physical manifistation of your worries if there's been a health realated anxiety/scare. I'm only saying it's possible and to keep in mind that your anxiety levels could be a factor in why its not going away...
As for the benefits or negatives of a tele / vid medical appointment, i've actually experienced 4 in the last 6 weeks and to be honest it totally depends on the Dr and or the area of medicine they're in, as to whether or not it was worth the effort of doing it or not. I suppose the most i've got out of it has been test's and more tests if those pointed in another direction but i'm not better off cause the problem hasn't resolved, lol i'm a bit over the process.......just expect to be asked a lot of questions and then at least sent off for basic blood tests and potentially a spinal MRI, with a follow up appointment organised for in a week or two.
The likelihood of MS is actually low compared with all the other more common explanations, so remember it's unhelpful to be reading up on MS when that will only worry you about having a medical condition that you likely don't actually have, so try to find your calm and keep an open mind on what it might be.
Hope that helps......JJ
I don't know if you've noticed this or not but 10 years ago back in 2010, after you had the black mole removed, you experienced something similar which was also within a couple of weeks of an unrelated medical issue and you worried about it being MS.
"I have been having tingling in my arms and mostly in my legs for the past 2.5 weeks. I have gone to some medical doctor's about it and seems to me that they do not seem to care. I have some concern about it being MS and want an MRI but the Dr's do not seem to listen. What should I do? Is there a likelihood that it is MS?"
This more recent tingling experience has happened within weeks after being diagnosed with the 'Georgraphic tongue' so it's 'possible' that you might sometimes experience a physical manifistation of your worries if there's been a health realated anxiety/scare. I'm only saying it's possible and to keep in mind that your anxiety levels could be a factor in why its not going away...
As for the benefits or negatives of a tele / vid medical appointment, i've actually experienced 4 in the last 6 weeks and to be honest it totally depends on the Dr and or the area of medicine they're in, as to whether or not it was worth the effort of doing it or not. I suppose the most i've got out of it has been test's and more tests if those pointed in another direction but i'm not better off cause the problem hasn't resolved, lol i'm a bit over the process.......just expect to be asked a lot of questions and then at least sent off for basic blood tests and potentially a spinal MRI, with a follow up appointment organised for in a week or two.
The likelihood of MS is actually low compared with all the other more common explanations, so remember it's unhelpful to be reading up on MS when that will only worry you about having a medical condition that you likely don't actually have, so try to find your calm and keep an open mind on what it might be.
Hope that helps......JJ
21 Comments
Thanks for your response! I’m wondering if symptoms can come and go?
Well it depends on what you mean but the rule of thumb is IF your symptoms go away when you are mentally and or physically distracted but then come back when you think about or read about, talk about then its highly unlikely to be due to a neurological condition like MS.
take care.........JJ
btw What are you experiencing?
take care.........JJ
btw What are you experiencing?
My right leg feels heavy along with pins and needles. I notice that after working and trying to drive home it is as though I can't feel it. I went to the ER as nothing else was open and I wanted to calm my mind. They ran blood tests and an EKG, which all were negative. I have a video appt on Wednesday. I'm super scared. I wish I knew what was going on. Do the symptoms sound like ALS possibly? I can't take it anymore. I have read that symptoms of ALS are similar as MS and that ALS can affect the young as well.
I would of expected your EKG to have at least indicated how highly anxious you were if you went to the ER to calm your mind, did the ER by chance mention anything about your heart beat, breathing rate or hyperventilating, anxiety?
The fact that you have fed your fears and have become 'super scared' after reading that symptoms of ALS are similar as MS, i think you seriously need to stop googling medical symptoms because it is only exaserbating your already high anxiety levels and not helping you keep an open mind!
Q: Do the symptoms sound like ALS possibly?
A: No, not at all and how you got to that is basically just leaping to the worst case senario and that alone is a huge red flag that what you are dealing with is more likely to be health anxiety related than a neurologicall disease.
Find your calm.....JJ
The fact that you have fed your fears and have become 'super scared' after reading that symptoms of ALS are similar as MS, i think you seriously need to stop googling medical symptoms because it is only exaserbating your already high anxiety levels and not helping you keep an open mind!
Q: Do the symptoms sound like ALS possibly?
A: No, not at all and how you got to that is basically just leaping to the worst case senario and that alone is a huge red flag that what you are dealing with is more likely to be health anxiety related than a neurologicall disease.
Find your calm.....JJ
Now I am just feeling pin and needles in all my limbs, not at the same time. The right arm consistently and now left foot. If it were MS, would it be in all limbs or come and go?
Q: "If it were MS, would it be in all limbs or come and go?"
A: Neurological conditions like MS have a very typically suggestive/consistent symptom pattern and what you are describing " feeling pin and needles in all my limbs, not at the same time. The right arm consistently and now left foot" is just too disimilar for a condition like MS to be even be on your list of possible causes, so the answer to your question with that discriptive and with a rapid progression over only a few days is definitely no!
Find your calm......JJ
A: Neurological conditions like MS have a very typically suggestive/consistent symptom pattern and what you are describing " feeling pin and needles in all my limbs, not at the same time. The right arm consistently and now left foot" is just too disimilar for a condition like MS to be even be on your list of possible causes, so the answer to your question with that discriptive and with a rapid progression over only a few days is definitely no!
Find your calm......JJ
What does typically suggestive/consistent symptom pattern mean? I had a video appt with a Neurologist and he ordered a MRI with and without contrast of my cervical spine. Will that truly show anything that might be affecting my right side? I have been dropping things and nearly tripping more lately. I am not sure if this means anything or just coincidence. Thanks for your insight.
I am also dropping things and nearly tripping.
Q: "What does typically suggestive/consistent symptom pattern mean?"
A: Like any type of medical condition there are always the more common types of 'symptoms' that are suggestive/consistent of x and y conditions but not z eg a runny nose is suggestive/consistent of a viral infection, asthma etc but not a broken leg....
MS is a condition that effects the central nervous system, unfortunately that means that most of its associated symptoms are not actually unique to MS and are in fact more commonly found in numerous other types of medical conditions.
So it's not just the type of symptom(s) experienced that makes something more or less suggestive / consistent with a neurological condition like MS but also the symptom pattern ie how it first presented, does it follow neurological expectations of abnormality, how it's developing over time, if its locations are rapidly multiplying, symptom types multiplying etc etc
Multiple Sclerosis literally means many scar's (lesions) and it's these brain and or spinal cord lesions that are what cause these symptoms and some of what you describe are generally what are known as red flags that point away from a neurological condition like MS being a causation...
Q: "I had a video appt with a Neurologist and he ordered a MRI with and without contrast of my cervical spine. Will that truly show anything that might be affecting my right side? "
A: Only if it your sympoms are caused by a spinal issue, but it's not been in just your "right side" as its also been happening in your left side to some degree too "My left hand was tingling along with numbness" so IF this is spinal related, it is more likely to be the cause of both upper and lower bilateral parasthesia as you've been describing.
It would be fair to assume you had a mini neuro exam, along with the blood tests and EKG at the ER, what IF anything abnormal showed up?
Find your calm........JJ
A: Like any type of medical condition there are always the more common types of 'symptoms' that are suggestive/consistent of x and y conditions but not z eg a runny nose is suggestive/consistent of a viral infection, asthma etc but not a broken leg....
MS is a condition that effects the central nervous system, unfortunately that means that most of its associated symptoms are not actually unique to MS and are in fact more commonly found in numerous other types of medical conditions.
So it's not just the type of symptom(s) experienced that makes something more or less suggestive / consistent with a neurological condition like MS but also the symptom pattern ie how it first presented, does it follow neurological expectations of abnormality, how it's developing over time, if its locations are rapidly multiplying, symptom types multiplying etc etc
Multiple Sclerosis literally means many scar's (lesions) and it's these brain and or spinal cord lesions that are what cause these symptoms and some of what you describe are generally what are known as red flags that point away from a neurological condition like MS being a causation...
Q: "I had a video appt with a Neurologist and he ordered a MRI with and without contrast of my cervical spine. Will that truly show anything that might be affecting my right side? "
A: Only if it your sympoms are caused by a spinal issue, but it's not been in just your "right side" as its also been happening in your left side to some degree too "My left hand was tingling along with numbness" so IF this is spinal related, it is more likely to be the cause of both upper and lower bilateral parasthesia as you've been describing.
It would be fair to assume you had a mini neuro exam, along with the blood tests and EKG at the ER, what IF anything abnormal showed up?
Find your calm........JJ
Hello, I agree that nothing going on with me fits anywhere. So I suppose I’d need to wait until something changes. If it’s ALS, there’d be permanent disability along with muscle wasting. I’m just wondering how long that’d take to know if something like that we’re happening. The tingling /pins and needles are mainly in right arm and leg, along with twitches in arm and tightness in the leg. It’s so strange. And the tightness comes and goes. I’ve been having some pain in my right thumb area. I know I’m rambling...sorry
I honestly think you need to step away from where your anxiety is taking you and apply logic to challenge these your worrysome thoughts before your anxiety leads you to far astray....
By not answering my basic questions again, its not hard to conclude there wasn't anything neurologically abnormal found with your clinical exam, normal neurological might also explain why the ER only ran an EKG and bloods and not any neurologically related tests eg spinal xray, spinal CT or spinal MRI.
IF that is what happened at the ER, then you really do need to pay more attention to your anxiety as a potential causatiion and consider the benefits of seeking out some additional mental health support during this diagnostic situation.
MS and ALS just don't typically present as you have described experiencing, they don't rapidly change from one moment/day to the next, they don't move from one location to another, they don't rapidly progress over a few days / weeks.......i could go on and explain in even more detail than i already have but i suspect your anxiety already has you hyper focused and your not going to be able to believe that the conditions you fear having doesn't present the same/similar symptom pattern as what you've described experiencing and its in your best interest to be open minded as to what could be what you are dealing with.
I hope that helps.........JJ
By not answering my basic questions again, its not hard to conclude there wasn't anything neurologically abnormal found with your clinical exam, normal neurological might also explain why the ER only ran an EKG and bloods and not any neurologically related tests eg spinal xray, spinal CT or spinal MRI.
IF that is what happened at the ER, then you really do need to pay more attention to your anxiety as a potential causatiion and consider the benefits of seeking out some additional mental health support during this diagnostic situation.
MS and ALS just don't typically present as you have described experiencing, they don't rapidly change from one moment/day to the next, they don't move from one location to another, they don't rapidly progress over a few days / weeks.......i could go on and explain in even more detail than i already have but i suspect your anxiety already has you hyper focused and your not going to be able to believe that the conditions you fear having doesn't present the same/similar symptom pattern as what you've described experiencing and its in your best interest to be open minded as to what could be what you are dealing with.
I hope that helps.........JJ
Agreed. So, numbness coming and going in an area isn't either thing, right? Does the same go with tingling? The tingling is more annoying....Thanks
"Well it depends on what you mean but the rule of thumb is IF your symptoms go away when you are mentally and or physically distracted but then come back when you think about or read about, talk about then its highly unlikely to be due to a neurological condition like MS."
Technically numbness and tingling can come and go, in the Relapsing Remitting stages of RRMS it can too BUT you are totally ignoring every other more common cause and anxiously hyper focusing on a neurological condition like MS, or sometimes something even more dire like ALS.
31st May "I have been having odd symptoms for the past few days. My left hand was tingling along with numbness. My right arm has had the feeling of pins and needles along with my right leg. There is some pain along with it. "
5th June "The tingling /pins and needles are mainly in right arm and leg, along with twitches in arm and tightness in the leg. It’s so strange. And the tightness comes and goes. I’ve been having some pain in my right thumb area"
Only hours later and you are bringing up numbness again, Look at how fast this is happening, the speed of your symptoms multiplying and fast location progression are the basic things that makes what your describing not suggestive / consistent with a neurological condition like MS, how youve come up with ALS as a potential causation is a huge red flag pointing towards a possible psychological issues going on too...
Correct me if i'm wrong but you are meaning short bouts of numbness or pins and needles that lasts few seconds at a time, like what happen's if you kneeled down on the floor for hours cutting off leg circulation or your arm falls asleep etc but quickly goes away once the pressure is relieved or you move positions, right?
Hope that helps..........jj
Technically numbness and tingling can come and go, in the Relapsing Remitting stages of RRMS it can too BUT you are totally ignoring every other more common cause and anxiously hyper focusing on a neurological condition like MS, or sometimes something even more dire like ALS.
31st May "I have been having odd symptoms for the past few days. My left hand was tingling along with numbness. My right arm has had the feeling of pins and needles along with my right leg. There is some pain along with it. "
5th June "The tingling /pins and needles are mainly in right arm and leg, along with twitches in arm and tightness in the leg. It’s so strange. And the tightness comes and goes. I’ve been having some pain in my right thumb area"
Only hours later and you are bringing up numbness again, Look at how fast this is happening, the speed of your symptoms multiplying and fast location progression are the basic things that makes what your describing not suggestive / consistent with a neurological condition like MS, how youve come up with ALS as a potential causation is a huge red flag pointing towards a possible psychological issues going on too...
Correct me if i'm wrong but you are meaning short bouts of numbness or pins and needles that lasts few seconds at a time, like what happen's if you kneeled down on the floor for hours cutting off leg circulation or your arm falls asleep etc but quickly goes away once the pressure is relieved or you move positions, right?
Hope that helps..........jj
"MRI of cervical spine was normal" so were all your tests perfectly 'normal'?
I suggest you seriously consider getting busy on a project that has nothing to do with health, get physically active, give strength exercises a go, try some vitamin's or a healthier diet and get off the net for awhile and focus on improving your high levels of anxiety.
Take time to chill.........JJ
I suggest you seriously consider getting busy on a project that has nothing to do with health, get physically active, give strength exercises a go, try some vitamin's or a healthier diet and get off the net for awhile and focus on improving your high levels of anxiety.
Take time to chill.........JJ
Yes, all normal.
Hello, I cant get rid of the tingling and strange twitching in my right and left arm along with right leg. I have been having some cramping in my right calf. I have an appt for Neuro on June 24, but I am extremely scared. I can't sleep or eat. I have taken care of patients on vents whose initial symptoms were sensory.
"I have taken care of patients on vents whose initial symptoms were sensory."
If you work in the field of medicine you should make a point of educating yourself more on Functional Neurologic Disorders - health anxiety, conversion disorder etc so you don't find yourself googling symptoms, self diagnosing and becoming scared of any medical condition you've become hyperfocused on.....health related anxiety seriously requires medical intervention and a lot of psychological support to recover from a triggered episode, so i strongly suggest you contact your family doctor and request a referal to either a psychologist or phsychiatrist who specialise in health related anxiety.
Be brave and seek out appropriate mental health support.....JJ
If you work in the field of medicine you should make a point of educating yourself more on Functional Neurologic Disorders - health anxiety, conversion disorder etc so you don't find yourself googling symptoms, self diagnosing and becoming scared of any medical condition you've become hyperfocused on.....health related anxiety seriously requires medical intervention and a lot of psychological support to recover from a triggered episode, so i strongly suggest you contact your family doctor and request a referal to either a psychologist or phsychiatrist who specialise in health related anxiety.
Be brave and seek out appropriate mental health support.....JJ
Will do.
Would an EMG rule out early onset ALS?
An EMG can dectect different types of medical conditions ALS is just one of them eg ALS, Sciatica, Polymyositis, Peripheral neuropathy, Myasthenia Gravis (MG), Muscular Dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, Carpal tunnel syndrome etc
What you really should be asking your self is 'why cant i stop myself from asking MS or ALS related questions?'
I have OCD that is why.
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