My doctor says it's just anxiety but MS runs in my family...

[CatherineKC]

On December 1st 2014, I was getting ready to go to college when suddenly a ringing occurred in my right ear accompanied with hearing loss. Just recently I found out from an ENT that the ringing is most likely caused by the hearing loss. But since then I have had balance issues that have only gotten more severe as time passed. Because of this I had to drop out of college since I do not think I could have handled it, especially with the long bus ride and the fact that it worsened my motion sickness severely to the point that walking can even make me feel sick.
Also I have been getting sharp pains sporadically all over my body [more often in my chest], and severe weakness. The weakness has gotten worse over the months where it's gotten to the point that it is extremely difficult to go up and down stairs. And the balance issues make it so that I can barely walk. Last month I was able to walk to the store 8 minutes from my house. Now I can no longer do that. Needless to say I use a cane to walk as well. Which does give me some pretty bad stares from strangers since I'm 22 and need a cane.
In February I had an MRI to check for a tumor in my head which thankfully came up negative. Tomorrow I have my next MRI to test me for MS since it runs in my family.

This is just the basics of my situation but I just found this forum and I wanted to see what you guys think. Do you think my doctor is right and it's just anxiety? Or does it seem possible for me to have developed MS?

[Jjewelz1987]

I ALWAYS tell people that they should look into undiagnosed Lyme disease when they start experiencing strange and sudden neurological symptoms.  Especially at such a young age. I had symptoms very similar to yours when I was 23 (4 years ago) and I went from doctor to doctor without diagnosis and  they all told me it was just anxiety.  I also ended up testing negative for multiple sclerosis.  I ended up having untreated Lyme disease.  There is a great forum for  Lyme disease on this forum so you should really check out that forum and post on it!

Hang in there!

[essdipity]

Well, it's possibly MS, but your family history increases your chances only slightly, so I wouldn't pin anything on that. MS is naturally in your mind because of this, but still, lots of things can cause symptoms found in MS. Some of yours fit this, but not necessarily all. So don't draw any conclusions, as it's way too early.

I think you need a VNG test, administered by an ENT doc. Motion sickness, vertigo, ringing in ears are very likely to be in the ENT realm. Balance is often a vestibular issue. The VNG should clarify whether the problem is a central nervous system thing or from your ears.

Sharp pains all over are definitely not MS, because MS does not, really cannot, cause anything 'all over.' It's the nature of the disease. It's possible that your problems are related to anxiety, which is a very powerful force capable of causing countless physical symptoms, and it's possible that you have some disorder, and anxiety about this is causing further symptoms.

Your first line of defense is certainly a good ENT who will test you for everything in his or her purview. If this isn't your current doc, move on.

ess