Can anyone relate to the below? I feel very alone and without any answers. I also have a deep fear of new or worsening symptoms - a fear which plagues my mind everyday.
Many of my symptoms are mild and vague but have persisted in one way or another since early April.
- Pins and needles/numbness in hand when waking up most days, rectifies quickly when I straighten my arm beside me
- Mild pain in legs that comes and goes, seems to migrate around different parts
- Ringing in ears, mild (on for days, off for days)
- Occasional mild burning sensation in my soles or hands
- Being hypersensitive about my eyes and convinced I'm seeing the occasional flashes in my periphery. Yet when I'm in a good mood or a positive environment I never notice this. Doesn't make any sense.
- Ongoing pain in my upper left arm with certain movements - probably the most concrete symptom of all of these.
I am 27, eat very well, exercise rarely, have a desk job. I have had numerous blood tests which have come back fine. I have had a neck and back (lumbar) MRI which showed a degree of spinal stenosis in the bottom of my spine (which may explain the burning soles but a far stretch for the other symptoms). They've referred me to a physio for that.
Eye test was also fine.
This all started back in February when I went to the GP complaining of jaw pain. Then a few weeks later these other symptoms happened at various stages. They were convinced the jaw pain was TMD, whatever it was it strangely disappeared in May.
My GP has suggested the likelihood of anxiety being a contributor to some of these symptoms. A second opinion I had also posed this being a contributor. I worry about this a lot but I'm not having panic attacks or withdrawing from normal activities. I have been prescribed sertraline but am yet to take it. I have good days and bad days, but taking ADs still seems a little bit much at this stage. My GP has also put me forward for CBT sessions as a way of managing this. I'm yet to start.
You have symptoms of anxiety and you are tuned into every sensation in your body.Try to learn some relaxation methods eg meditation.Try distraction reading, listening to music etc.Exercise also helps and keep socialising.Therapy should work well for you.
Thanks Marleen. I have tried distracting myself when the thoughts become very intrusive but I can't rid the overbearing thought that it's a neurological cause. I absolutely cannot Google symptoms because it works me in to a frenzy, but I suppose that's the case for many anxious people.
I have every single syptom that you mentioned and I even struggle with my balance because of the dizziness. I have been checked by a number of doctors and each one says anxiety. The first step is accepting that you have anxiety and your anxiety causes you to have these symptoms. They are very real, but not caused by something neurological.
I have googled my symptoms all too many times and been told I have a brain tumor, MS, or something extremely rare. It takes time and don't expect for it all to go away over night. Have you been to a therapist? This will help you break through the barriers of your health anxiety and figure out what is causing you to manifest certain symptoms. Stop googling. The main thing that good doesn't share is the severity of these symptoms. And if they were as severe as needed to have these neurological things, you would be in the ER. Also, remember that you can't talk yourself out of a stroke or something like that. You CAN talk yourself out of a panic attack.
Thanks EbbsnFlows for your comment. I'm yet to start CBT sessions, there's a delay with these kind of things (NHS). I'm still contemplating whether to start the sertraline medication given the delay on the aforementioned.
I'd be very interested to read what your full list of symptoms are and how you deal with them (feel free to PM if you prefer).
Hi all,
Thought I would update on my post from six months ago, hopefully someone finds this of benefit.
In July I began CBT sessions and in August I finally had my first appointment with a neurologist. Both of these I found very fruitful, but it was the advice of the neurologist which (so far) has turned all this misery I've been feeling since the beginning of the year truly on its head.
In short, he suggested the possibility of a chemical imbalance which was having an impact on my neurological system. Whether this was due to anxiety per se he was unable to establish completely. But what is true is these things often come hand and hand.
He'd asked why I hadn't taken the Sertraline my GP had initially prescribed, to which I said I wasn't comfortable with the idea of taking ADs and wasn't convinced this was the root of my problem. He suggested I should consider taking them with the view to restoring the balance of chemicals which may be playing havoc on the neurological system.
So three months after starting on a daily 50mg dose I'm happy to say that by and large the symptoms have disappeared. And in terms of my headspace it is in a MUCH better place than the first half of this year. I do occasionally get some symptoms like flashing in the eyes etc, but these do not occur often. I was advised by my neurologist during a follow-up appointment that it can take a very long time to fully restore order. For now at least he has advised the same dosage until August next year, then cut it by half. The first week on Sertraline was a bit rough but at this point in time I don't notice any side effects.