Let me start by saying that I really love my neuro. She's very thorough, understanding and compassionate. I'm thankful to have found her! That said, I still went into a panic attack just hours after leaving her office last week. Ugh, I hate anxiety! I still haven't had MS ruled out entirely so that is still hovering over me like a dark cloud. My GP told me as long as I could still move my arms and legs and had no numbness that I was fine and this was all benign. Told me to be thankful that I was young and had nerves that worked because he no longer twitches! The paresthesias and electrical shocks is what sent me to the ER and subsequently referred to a neurologist.So, actually it was a surprise appointment. I got a call reminding me of my appointment on Wednesday for the following day. Five weeks ago she had ordered a cervical spine MRI and some blood work. I was able to complete the blood work, but because my husband was traveling and we were in the process of moving I never scheduled the MRI. I had a clean brain MRI back in April, but because I was having some neck pain she wanted the cervical spine done as well. The pain stopped, so I didn't make it a priority. All of my blood work came back normal (ANA, sed rate, CBC, etc.).We went through the list of my symptoms, what had gotten better and what had started. The vibrating foot, leg, and hand were the newest and most bothersome symptoms. That peaked the day that I had to clear out our condo and make it ready for our new tenant and I was operating on virtually no sleep the night before. So, I chalked it up to stress and sleep deprivation. But, it has continued. It's gotten better, but it is still there almost constantly although it has cleared in the hand. We talked about my panic attacks and the OCD that I have developed about the non-stop symptoms. She suggested Cymbalta for the anxiety and thought it would help with the pain that I have experienced as well. Towards the end of the appointment her assistant came in with my vitamin D levels (the lab had forgotten to send initially), which were low at 20. She RX 50k I/U twice a week for 8 weeks to boost them quickly and said this would help with the muscle pain and fatigue and could have something to do with the twitches and paresthesias, however she still wanted the cervical spine MRI. When I asked specifically if this could be MS she said that it was possible, however because my brain MRI was clean she was hopeful that nothing would be found in the spine. I remained calm but during my drive home my anxiety continued to build until I was in a full panic attack when I got home. No time to relax and take a deep breath as I had to relieve my husband from watching the baby so he could go back to work. Went for the MRI this morning and still waiting on results. Should hopefully get a call tomorrow. Cymbalta seems to have started helping with the anxiety, dosage will increase tomorrow. Appointment tomorrow with a therapist to deal with anxiety. Scared silly that this could be MS and praying that I am worrying over nothing. Anyone have a similar experience or concerns and have a good (benign) outcome! Looking for hope! Thanks for listening!
Thankful for My Neuro but Anxiety Lingers
- Thread starter Amaranth
- Start date
AussieSurvivor
Well-known member
Hi Amaranth, thanks for the feedback. It sounds very much like a familar road that many of us have travelled. You mention anxiety a few times. That is the biggest cause of many of your descibed symptoms..it certainly has led me a merry dance. I believe if you get that under control many of your issues will disappear. Sounds like you have a very thorough and caring neuro so that is great, and from what I am reading she is saying you are A OK. Sorry to hear about the panic attacks, I have had those, they are pretty tough to handle, and as you said life does not stop because you are having one!I think you will be fine and over time will some help from the medication..this will all get better..but it does take time... hang in there!cheers and take care Rodger
Hi Amaranth, so sorry that you very much seem to be on the exact same journey I was last year, with a couple of small differences. I showed up at an ER because I had tremors, nausea, very shaky, weak feeling legs and ankles, and just felt real weird, oh and I was peeing like every hour for some reason. Any way, the doc that saw me that night, was an old school ER doc and had seen alot. He was going to send me home with a dxs of anxiety and a stomach virus, but I was dumb enough to tell him my legs were bouncing or shaking when I went down stairs. He asked to check my reflexes, so I hopped back up on the bed and he starting striking different areas with his hammer, and then looked up at me and said "you got some brisk reflexes there girlie", I was like "I do"?? Then he went down to my left foot and did this swift motion with it, and when he did my whole leg started bouncing in his hand. He said "oh, wow, you shouldnt have that, have you hurt your back"?? I was like what the hell is it?? He said you have clonus my dear. WTH... Any way, he explained it was part of brisk reflexes that they see in stroke patients or patients with MS, or a Brain tumor, and he did a CT scan on me that night while I was there to rule out stroke and tumor. It was clean, thank God, but he said I must see a neuro ASAP to be evaluated for MS and a couple other things.I was freaked out BAD. How did I go from a stomach bug to a possible MS situation?? I got in with a neuro within a week, and by that time, I had numb feelings in my legs, arms, tingling, shaking, very weak feelings in my legs, was having a real hard time walking, I was terrified. I asked the neuro straight up if he thought it was MS, and he immediately said "NO". I was like how can it not be, I googled my symptoms and MS came up all over the place, he said "Oh I am going to do and MRI of your brain, but I'm looking for signs of TIA's (mini strokes), but he said very mater of factly that MS would and does not present like this. I said like what, he said, you have crap going on all over, MS would present in one side of the body or in one limb (I think this is what your GP meant), but he said I would have paralysis somewhere and or clinical weakness, he said I had none. I said I do feel weak, he said not the kind of weakness that makes him worry. I had to wait for a month to get the brain MRI, it was clean. His nurse called me and said it was totally free of any lessions or signs of infection, and said the neuro was offering a Cervical MRI if I wanted it, but said to tell me that 9 times out of 10, if there are no signs of MS in the brain, they wont find anything on the cervical spine either, but said he would do it just to give me a little extra peace. That one was clear as a bell also, except for a very small, old injury from way back in the day (had a jerk for an ex hubby) any way, that was it. They saw no reason to check any further for MS, no lumbar no nothing. I asked him repeatedly if I should still be worried, and he was quite confident in telling me repeatedly that I did not have MS.So... the message I guess I'm trying to say, LOL, is dont get all worked up about that C-spine MRI, It will be clean. Well in a MS lesion sense that is, I cant predict that you dont have a disk issue with your c-spine, but I doubt it. You have classic BFS sensory issues, its not MS, but it can be very MS like with the sensory issues, but we dont get the paralysis, or clinical weakness like MSers, thats the huge difference and the key that makes our stuff be dxsd as benign.Sorry to go on and on, just dont want you feeling like I did while waiting to have that MRI done.You will be just fine, I'm sure of it. I'm here if you need more info, unfortunately, I studied on MS way too much, that was my bigger fear.Take careRobynn 
)P.S. I was so messed up in my head about all the sensory stuff leading to MS, that I put very little importance on the twitches I was having. I never googled twitches, didnt even think they meant anything till I found this site, and I couldnt figure out why everyone was freaking out about there twitching, then I saw the word ALS attached to the twitching, and I googled that, then I freaked all over again, now about ALS and MS, LOL
)P.S. I was so messed up in my head about all the sensory stuff leading to MS, that I put very little importance on the twitches I was having. I never googled twitches, didnt even think they meant anything till I found this site, and I couldnt figure out why everyone was freaking out about there twitching, then I saw the word ALS attached to the twitching, and I googled that, then I freaked all over again, now about ALS and MS, LOLThank you both for the reassurance! Rodger - Yes, this all started with extreme anxiety and it only got worse when the freaky feelings started! It's just so hard to believe that anxiety can cause such relentless symptoms. Even when I don't feel stressed emotionally, my body is going haywire. It's just such an uncomfortable feeling to not understand what is happening to your body. Makes me want to jump out of my skin at times! Robynn - Wow, sounds pretty familiar! I went to the ER thinking I had a brain tumor so it was a bit of a relief when they said possible MS. I didn't know anything about it other than I know a couple of people affected who seemingly live normal lives. But then I got scared, went to the neuro and she said she didn't believe anything scary was happening to me. Then said MS was a possibility, so perhaps our definition of "scary" is a bit different! 
I haven't had any numbness, weakness or visual problems, mostly just sensory issues and twitches are in the background like yours. My biggest concern is still that it happens 90% on the left side of my body, which just always feels uneasy. I did tell my neuro that I had developed obsessive thoughts about it only being on the left and she did explain to me that anxiety predominately affects the left side of the body. So, I'm still hoping that she is just trying to be extra thorough to make me feel better in the long run. She did tell me that 90% of the time you won't find lesions on the cervical spine with a clean brain MRI. What a relief that you got good results from your tests! I went to my Tai Chi class last night and felt pretty good, but started worrying on the drive home. I got your replies when I got home which made me feel better and I was able to relax a bit but then watched a bit of TV with my husband. We started watching the series "Mad Men." We are only on Season 1, Episode 2 and one of the housewives started to experience numb fingers to the point she wrecked the car and was referred to a psychiatrist! I don't know where it's going as I was too sleepy to watch more, but thought it was ironic. Another irony, went to the pharmacy to pick up Cymbalta and they were fundraising for ALS. Two years ago that would not have affected me, I would have made my donation and said a prayer for those folks, but now I get anxious and feel rotten! I still made a donation and said a prayer, but I hate this fearful living!Do you work outside of the home? I'm staying home with my daughter and this has been a big change for me as sometimes I wonder if my mind has too much idle time to worry about my health. I used to have a very demanding job with a lot of responsibility so I am very capable of multitasking. I can lay down in the floor and play, laugh and sing to my baby all the while having obsessive thoughts about something being wrong with me! Makes me wonder if I should go back to work!Thanks again to you both! I'm waiting on those test results and seeing a therapist this afternoon!
I haven't had any numbness, weakness or visual problems, mostly just sensory issues and twitches are in the background like yours. My biggest concern is still that it happens 90% on the left side of my body, which just always feels uneasy. I did tell my neuro that I had developed obsessive thoughts about it only being on the left and she did explain to me that anxiety predominately affects the left side of the body. So, I'm still hoping that she is just trying to be extra thorough to make me feel better in the long run. She did tell me that 90% of the time you won't find lesions on the cervical spine with a clean brain MRI. What a relief that you got good results from your tests! I went to my Tai Chi class last night and felt pretty good, but started worrying on the drive home. I got your replies when I got home which made me feel better and I was able to relax a bit but then watched a bit of TV with my husband. We started watching the series "Mad Men." We are only on Season 1, Episode 2 and one of the housewives started to experience numb fingers to the point she wrecked the car and was referred to a psychiatrist! I don't know where it's going as I was too sleepy to watch more, but thought it was ironic. Another irony, went to the pharmacy to pick up Cymbalta and they were fundraising for ALS. Two years ago that would not have affected me, I would have made my donation and said a prayer for those folks, but now I get anxious and feel rotten! I still made a donation and said a prayer, but I hate this fearful living!Do you work outside of the home? I'm staying home with my daughter and this has been a big change for me as sometimes I wonder if my mind has too much idle time to worry about my health. I used to have a very demanding job with a lot of responsibility so I am very capable of multitasking. I can lay down in the floor and play, laugh and sing to my baby all the while having obsessive thoughts about something being wrong with me! Makes me wonder if I should go back to work!Thanks again to you both! I'm waiting on those test results and seeing a therapist this afternoon!GlitterFountain
Active member
The first neuro I went to wouldn't even give me a cervical MRI. He said "No way. You don't have MS. You've already had a brain MRI and that's where MS shows up first."I later had one for peace of mind, but it didn't reveal anything even close to MS.I know, I know. Googling this tells you the exact opposite. You find stories of people who say it showed up in their backs first.
My neuro told me that it can show up in the back first, but its very uncommon almost rare, and if it does show up there first, that person would have some serious walking and sensation issues in there legs, like falling over, failing the Romberg test and such. Just thought I would add that, I use it to reassure my self because he refused to give me an MRI of my lower spine.Take care allRobynn )
)You all were right! No lesions! I haven't spoken directly to my neuro, but the report was "minimal arthritis and degenerative disc" in the cervical spine. I'm not sure exactly what that means other than I'm not 18 anymore! I knew I had some sublaxation from an injury as a child which I imagine has contributed to the degeneration. Just not sure now if this has any part in my symptoms. I imagine it could be contributing to the pain that I've had in my left shoulder, which consequently is what makes me really anxious of course! Feeling better about going through the weekend knowing nothing ominous was found! Now I have to work on my head!
I knew I had some sublaxation from an injury as a child which I imagine has contributed to the degeneration. Just not sure now if this has any part in my symptoms. I imagine it could be contributing to the pain that I've had in my left shoulder, which consequently is what makes me really anxious of course! Feeling better about going through the weekend knowing nothing ominous was found! Now I have to work on my head!