Health Anxiety - Tingling in Leg, MS

[mp1989 0]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some reassurance around some symptoms I've had over the last week, and my accompanying health anxiety.

For the last eight days, I've had a fairly constant 'tingling' sensation, mainly in my right leg (back of the calf), less often in my left leg, and sometimes going up to my right arm and hand. I can feel it almost all the time when I'm sitting or lying down, less so when standing. My right hand also feels more sensitive to the cold than usual, i.e. the fingertips can feel cold and numb after a walk outside which is unusual for me. I've also been feeling more fatigued than usual, even with getting plenty sleep, but know this could be more relevant to the anxiety I've been feeling.

The tingles are there throughout the day, usually for a few seconds each time, they never really go away for say, an hour at a time, unless I'm walking around. I'm still able to jog quite easily without any tingling or discomfort, and my strength is intact as I've been managing to continue gym workouts. It also seems to die down slightly at night when I'm relaxing in bed, or first thing on a morning when I wake up, it isn't affecting my sleep or waking me up in the night at all.

Obviously my main concern here is MS.

I visited my GP a few days ago, who is aware that I have health anxiety, and she didn't seem concerned about MS as the tingling presents itself on both sides, she said it is "vanishingly rare" for it to be bilateral. However it is mainly on my right side which concerns me. She asked me to keep a symptoms diary and to come back in two weeks before referring me to a neuro / MRI, which I guess may be her way of trying to help me combat the anxiety, but I am still terrified that my symptoms are continuing and not going away.

I've tried to calm myself down with exercise, meditation etc. and had some calm nights but still the next day the tingling comes back, which is freaking me out so much. I'm at my wits end, fearing the worst and don't know how to proceed.

Has anyone else had a similar story or can offer any words of wisdom?

Thank you so much

M

[Zazz 20]

So... I'm not here to give reassurance. Honestly, reassurance seeking is a compulsion that will worsen the anxiety over time (it's kinda like addiction, you're looking for relief and over time you'll need more... or hit a meltdown if you don't get it).

I will tell you what I know though... and it may not be totally reassuring.

I have Psoriatic Arthritis and have bilateral (motor) neuropathy in my arms (with a dash of sensory neuropathy symptoms - and a dash of symptoms in my legs --- only the motor neuropathy showed on tests and only the arms). Inflammatory causes for bilateral neuropathy (which it sounds like you're describing - though all your symptoms could also be anxiety) run the gamut and the most common is the zillion forms of inflammatory arthritis. Tingling is much more common in compression neuropathy (which can be over use) - and your symptoms don't follow an inflammatory pattern (which they should even in MS), so it's much more likely that you've overworked your legs a bit recently.

Realistically, if the doctor isn't concerned it's MS it's likely it's not MS. Not saying you'll find something delightful but there's so many other things that are far more common and likely. My sister-in-law has MS and her first symptom was unilateral numbness and virtigo (and let me also state that MS isn't always what we think of... sometimes it progresses slower than that - as it has with my sister-in-law).

It's good you're getting it looked at though and I hope the tests are negative across the board.

Hang in there...

and maybe try to keep your legs straight as much as possible (if it's swelling this can help reduce the pressure on the nerves which can help the neuropathy chill out).

Wishing you the best.

[MARC 431]

I know a few people who have MS and tingling was not a symptom they had.