Hi all, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. For the last two years I’ve had nary a run in with health anxiety. I even grew so bold as to ween myself from Zoloft.
My sister was given a preliminary diagnosis of MS about two weeks ago after suffering two sudden muscle spasms and MRIs showing lesions on her brain and spine. I blissfully knew little about MS until that news came across. To try to assist with a call with her clinicians, I dug in to learn more about the disease. While my intentions were good, that was a huge mistake.
I learned that MS is slightly heritable (it’s not genetically determined but certain heritable factors predispose one to developing it). That was a bad start. A couple of days later I woke up after sleeping on my arm to numbness / pins and needles in my left hand. The true numbness went away quickly as usual, but I’ve been dealing with “tingling” on and off primarily in my left hand but occasionally in both hands. It goes away in the presence of other stimuli (for example while swimming or sitting in a warm bath I don’t notice it while my hands are under water) and sometimes randomly when I’m doing something that requires focus (for example, playing guitar or driving).
I know I have HA issues. I’ve been dealing with them my entire adult life (and I’m now in my mid 30s). Despite logically understanding the absurdity of my worries, I’ve been on and off struggling immensely over the past week. For many reasons, I REALLY want to avoid going and getting an MRI, etc. My parents are suffering enough as is, I don’t want to add to that with going down my own rabbit hole chasing concerns that are 99.99% unlikely to be anything other than anxiety.
Can you let me know if you’ve had similar sensations / concerns that ended up being nothing? I know we have a vast well to draw upon collectively (I think I’ve had at least 3 brain MRIs 😣 in my time), and I’m hoping hearing from you may help. Also any tips on beating this back without going to the full battery of tests showdown would be greatly appreciated.
