Helpful Board for Health Anxiety

[kimbrett]

I came across this very helpful board through the health anxiety board, which has also been very helpful to me. I've read many of your posts and you've been helpful to so many.
Over a month ago I started w/ pins and needles all over for one day,
then a week later just in my right leg also for one day- ofcourse I think MS!!! Or possibly a thyroid condition (I had one half removed and two parathyroids and was never put on meds). With this I became very stressed out and consumed with anxiety, I was not able to work, sleep, or eat. I went to an MD she said pins and needles was anxiety wanted me on Paxil, and also said she do an MRI to "ease my mind". MRI came back normal, saw a neuro, he said he could not see anything wrong with my Central Nervous System- it was like a routine neurological exam. I too had a sinus infection, and for the past three weeks or so I have been constanty having these leg twitches, calves, upper thighs front and back, occasional upper arms and now sometimes in my stomach and slightly in my back. They are driving me insane!!!! I also have like a vibrating feeling sometimes. Sometimes I can literally see my leg twitching_ I have turned into this raging lounatic consumed with health anxiety. My neuro never mentioned BFS, no one has. I now worry about ALS because my hands seem weaker and little painful sometimes. I try to keep in mind that from my panic I was laying down for practically a month pretty much immobile.
Maybe weakness is from that. I am 24 on no meds except the occasional Xanax to help me sleep. I've been to an MD twice, a neuro once, ER, Walk-IN, a Optometrist, Opthamologist (Iwas also seeing halos around lights and have a double eye infedtion from what they say from the sinus infection)I'm seeing an Endocronologist(sp) on the 25th, the neuro again on Oct. 3. Everyone is brushing me off saying I'm a hypo and that it is all somatic... Somatic muscle twitches everynight and day? I just need some advice, twitches or more so when I'm sitting and esp when I'm laying down, there are also pulling sensations, muscle aches and what I think to be darker veins all over my body. If I had Als would my neuro be able to tell? He attributed the twitches to anxiety.. Pleases help me...Thanks in advanced.

 

[kimbrett]

If anyone else could offer me some advice, I'd apperciate that too.

 

[LetsGoBucs]

I think you need to calm yourself down. It is a good sign that MRI came back normal. I know what it is like to be consumed with health anxiety, but by all means continue to see the doctors you already have appt. with and see what they have to say. Have you had blood work done? Lymes test? I have never had the doctor tell me I have BFS but they both have said to me that it is benign and I feel get otherwise. I went to doctor yesterday and everything is fine, I get anxiety too and then my symptoms get alot worse and I can feel very out of control. You are a young person (like me!) and I would not worry about the ALS if your doctor does not seem concerned. Weakness is almost always the first symptom of muscular diseases. Your pins and needles could be poor circulation as well. Try and find something you like doing and get your mind off of it, since I have I have been symptom free for awhile now. Best of luck.

 

[asJonasnurse]

Simbachik, Let me try and put you at some ease until aaron responds and will most certainly put you at ease. Iam a chiropractic physician and i have seen hundreds of patients with pins and needles feelings. From what you have described and the tests you have had do not worry about ms or als! First of all in ms the demylinzation of the nerves would have shown up on the mri you had, besides you have not descibed typical syptoms of ms ( of which for reasons i will not open that can of worms and tell you what other symptoms those may be as then just like many of us you may begin to believe you are experincing them).
As far as ALS your neuro would have picked that upon examination. As far as all the other symptoms you have mentioned including twithches all over the body, vibration feelings etc, i have had them all! I can email you my story if you wopuld like but the bottom line is that you are describing what most of the posters on this site have described = BFS. Also to help comfort virtually no general m.d.'s and few neuros are familiar with "bfs".
They just call them benign, and that is ok because that is exactly what they are benign, harmless just a nusence. I believe that your muscle weakness is due to two things. 1. it is perceived muscle weakness (extremely common with bfs) and 2) Anxiety will cause a feeling of muscle weakness becase there are a lot of stress hormones being release as well as adrenaline. This is part of your 'fight or flight' mechanism, which we sometimews need for survival under extremely stressful situatuoins such as when you are in a frightened situation. The problem hear is that due to anxiety the adrenaline is being release in response to a "precieved" fear and since you are not fighting or running away your body goes into defense mode shuts down certain sytems (muscles, digestion and others)hence the feeling of musclke weakness.
Also you should know the muscle weakness you would feeel from als is real, like trouble in holding a pen! Can you do a squat? See what i mean?
The panic is real and can lead into a spiraling cascade of ongoing health problems if you let it (been there done that).
Mu advice, go to what ever ather doctors and test that you personnaly need to feel convinced that this is nothing that can huet you. this is absolutely nothing you will die from. If after that and readign these posts your mind is still in "another world" (been there too) i would reccomend antianxiety meds. Imediate help from xanax is good and i also feel that if you can find the right ssri it can be a life savor. (zoloft, celxa, effexor seem to be well tolorated and non addicting).I would only try paxil if non of the other 8 ssri's on the market did not work.
I hope this has been helpful, and you can always email me anytime!
I am willing to jhelp anyone avoid the year of hell i went through becase i was never informed that there was a such thing as benign fasiculation syndrome.

 

[kimbrett]

Thankyou both so much, you've but some light into my life, hopefully I can come out normal again!!

 

[Alonzo]

simbachik, Dr. Jon pretty much summed it up. A neuro would have found ALS the minute you walked through the door. ALS twitches do not come and go, nor does the weakness. The twitches with ALS are secondary, meaning that they are a RESULT of the dying muscle nerves, not the other way around. So if you have twitches and no weakness (I mean real weakness) then it is benign. ALS weakness comes-on fast and it starts in one or two places and progresses from there. It wouldn't "jump around" to your back, neck, thighs, arms, feet etc. It would start in like your left foot, then progress until you could no longer use that foot and in the mean time, it will work its way up your leg. "Usually" it spreads from the extremities and works it's way to your torso. I know all too well your fear and it is real. It also makes the symptoms of BFS much worse as it amplifies your symptoms. Use your Zanax or try another type of Benzo such as Ativan if your Xanax isn't working to relieve your anxiety. I have used Ativan for decades and it is a god send! And don't worry that no one mentioned BFS to you. This is a relatively new "label" pasted on a "syndrome" that is known but never had a name. You certainly sound like you have the classic BFS symptoms to me, so hang in there and try not to stress over it all. Your test results so far have been great. Benign, benign, benign!