Anxiety ?

[owlman441]

Hi

I am a 28 year old normally healthy male who lives in the u.k as a falconer which is a active job. Prior to seeing the doctors recently, the last time I visited the doctors was when I was 18 with a ear infection. In late september last year 2010 I noticed my small finger on my right hand was feeling numb which i noticed when I was driving. I kept a eye on the problem for a 2 days then when iI was walking around my right leg went numb. I went to the doctors who suggested i attend a stroke unit which I did the next day. I had all the tests done with regards to a suspected TIA. All came back normal and the doctor thought it may be a virus. I continued to have the problem with my leg and fingers and with my hand also now feeling numb. I was experiencing a numb head, pain behind the eyes, pain in the right of my chest now and then, acid reflux, bit of a blood taste in my mouth, blurred vision if i stare at something for to long, A sort of detached feeling from reality, twitching of limbs in arms/legs and also i would find I would jump at the smallest things like my friends dog just putting his paw on my knee. I also had one evening where i felt very faint and thought i would pass out feeling very hot then cold. Paramedics came out but nothing screamed anything and the next day was given some medicene for the acid reflux and told not to drink to much tea. i have had a head scan (MRI) which came back normal as well as several blood tests for Lymes Disease and Diabetes. I did worry a great deal over the december/january period as no one new what was going on and i was off work. Things have got abit better i.e not so acute but i'm still having problems with the numb hand and arm on the right side .. when i wake up it can be numb .. it does get better but still aches and feels weak throughout the day and my heavy feeling right leg. I also have the blurred vision thing, a odd bit of acid reflux, sometimes feel abit wobbly and faint, occasional pain under my right arm, occasional muscle twitching when lying in bed and a numb/heavy head. I dont think i'm worrying really as much as i was as im back to work but concerned whats up with my health. Do physical symptoms on anxiety take awhile to go and do i need help for it or does this sound like another problem ? Any help would be greatly appreciated as the doctors dont really seem to no whats up ..

Many thanks

Mark

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there. Your multiple neurological symptoms are suggestive of a chronic demyelinating neurological condition known as multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating neurological disorder where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. You have many of these symptoms. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI and a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Take care.

[ggreg]

Also, could be a blood pressure problem is bothering you, either high or low, which also can affect the eyes sometimes.  But I would have thought when you first went to your doc, they would have checked that.  I look forward to hearing what the doc finally settles on as a reasonable diagnosis and can fix you up soon.  GG

[owlman441]

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I will let you no how I get on regarding my next visit to the doctors.

Kind regards

Mark

[ggreg]

You mentioned tea, and if it's green tea you drink, stop drinking it right away.  It can cause a person to be very jumpy and nervous.  If it's regular tea and you drink, say, more than five cups a day, then too much caffeine can also make you nervous...just drink a cup of regular tea in the morning, and perhaps another mid-afternoon, no more.  The noises from moving your mouth and neck is just normal arthritis type stuff that happens as you get older, where joints rub and make a clicking sound.  I have a bad back, and when I lay down on the floor to make it stop hurting, it crunches and makes all sorts of racket.

Many of your symptoms point to a circulation type problem, where you are not getting enough oxygen to your extremities, so they get numb.  So, could be your heart or lungs are not working like thy should.  Also, sometimes bloodwork will show if your blood cell count is normal or not, like if you have anemia.  Occasionally people get peripheral neuropathy, you can look it up, and a neurologist can determine if that's what is going on. As for your blurred vision, that could be allergy, or you may need eyeglasses.  If you want to visit a doctor again, those are the things that even a general physician can do an initial evaluation on, perhaps send you to a specialist if warranted.

But I think also you may not be sleeping very well, not getting good solid deep sleep.  This could be connected to the tea situation, or even to stress brought on by being very nervous over any number of reasons.  For example, if you don't eat well and don't exercise regularly, you can wind up feeling just awful.  Many of your symptoms made me think of how your daily habits might be off for some reason.  You need to get up and do some form of exercise, be it jogging or biking or stretching, eat a great breakfast with eggs or hot cereal and OJ, and then at lunch relax from work and eat a sub type sandwich and milk, and then before dinner you could exercise at that time instead, a long steady walk through the neighborhood, or swimming laps at a pool, timed runs on a track, these are good tension relievers.  Your work already takes a lot of physical effort, but rhythm is sometimes needed to get aerobic effects.  

At dinner, you must include protein foods, like steak with baked potato and carrots, fish and fries with a salad, or baked chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy plus peas.  I like a cheese omelet with onions and mushrooms for Sunday supper, and husband keeps a stew soup going in the crock pot and makes fresh baked bread to go with it.  Also, you should drink plenty of water throughout the day, an extra half-dozen glasses is good for you.  In addition, everybody should have a hobby they enjoy doing, could be almost anything, artwork, practicing an instrument like guitar, anything that will use the left side of the brain or will distract your attention from everything else.  Working with falcons is like that, actually, so could be something focused like wood whittling or beading or even soduku puzzles might be a complementary activity.

You can see a psychologist for some tranquilizers, perhaps, short-term on an as-needed basis for your nerves, they also make a person hungry and sleepy.  Also, could be talking to a psych doc might find a source for all this, if it's mental.  Rhythmic exercise may improve your circulation, but I do think your pulmonary system needs to be checked out and your blood cell numbers.  I know what it feels like to be you, a car accident I was in has been insidious in its affect on my moods, I feel frustrated a lot and angry, all because of this lifelong discomfort in my back.  So, it's possible your nerves come from some part in your life that you haven't quite gotten straight in your head yet, or even maybe you wrenched your back on one side whilst doing your falconry and didn't notice it.  An X-ray of your spine might reveal an injury, perhaps, that is bothering you subconsciously.  Or maybe if you switched sides that you carry the birds with, the numbness might go away (and come back on the left side!).

There is no question that your regular doctor needs to do some more evaluations, to discover the source of your various symptoms, and I've said what I think might be wrong... not enough oxygenation either from heart or lung trouble, allergy, a problem with blood cells indicating anemia, poor daily habits from not eating and exercising enough (which more bloodwork might indicate a vitamin deficiency), poor hydration, back injury on one side... I think those were the main items, other than just ordinary anxiety from lots of sources.  I REALLY hope you get well, I am fascinated by your work, and I think it's important that you keep up with that, so your health has got to be figured out by your doc in a systematic way.  Keep us posted.  

[owlman441]

I also forgot to mention when i move my muscles in the back of my mouth i get a popping noise and when i move my neck it does click alot which i've never had before