RLS.. has this been anyone's first symptom?

[Srahjayne17]

Hello MS community!

First I should warn you that I am a bit of a hypochondriac but when it comes to my health I figure better safe that sorry.
For the past 2 years I have been experiencing RLS. I should also note that I have general anxiety and suffer from obsessive thoughts (it's like I can't get a thought out of my brain sometimes and it goes on a loop). I did a quick Google search one day regarding my symptoms and MS practically popped off the screen and hit me in the face. Sometimes my pinky toe goes numb but I dont really have any numbness. It's more like a pulsing/slight burning/annoying feeling and I move around a lot before I go to bed. I took an Adivan today and the RLS symptoms went away and then my legs felt heavy and clumsy. They usually don't feel like that.

I plan on seeing a Neurologist ASAP but I wanted to hear from the community if you felt like this was a cause for concern, a possible first symptom of MS.

Thank you guys!

[kwarendorf]

Hi SJ - Welcome to the group.

As JJ mentioned, Dr. Google can be unnecessarily alarming. Because MS attacks the central nervous system, the list of possible symptoms is huge. That doesn't mean that the cause of the symtoms is MS.

I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that if you can relieve a symptom by changing position it's not like caused by MS. The pain in my feet does not lessen if I move my feet.

I think seeing a neurologist is a good idea, THey will likely be able to provide information that will help put your mind at ease :-)

Kyle

[supermum_ms]

Hi there,

One of the main problems with Dr Google is that MS will always come up, because there are a lot of associated sx's but the thing that usually gets over looked whilst googling, is all the 'other' more common causes. The additional problem when being a hypochondriac is google feeds the anxiety (health anxiety?) and the cycle of obsessive thoughts continues to escalate the more your mind spins, before you know it you loose your perspective.....

RSL is entirely diagnosed (dx) by what the patient describes, paraethesia (abnormal sensation) is a common issue in MS and could be similarly described, though MS is unlike RSL because the sensation doesn't alter with movement, routinely occur at night etc as RSL is known to do.

Some RSL articles worth reading:
https://www.bcm.edu/healthcare/care-centers/parkinsons/conditions/restless-legs-syndrome
http://brainfoundation.org.au/medical-info/50-restless-legs-syndrome

You probably need to keep in mind, that RSL is a very common disorder, there are literally millions of people dx with RSL and whilst its classed as a neurological movement disorder, it's most often a stand alone dx. If you are truly concerned, i suggest you consider discussing this with your RLS dxing physician or family doctor.

Cheers..........JJ