Brain fog, weakness, neck soreness, tingling, dizziness, is this normal?
Posted , 13 users are following.
Hi all,
A couple weeks ago I (23M) had a partially numb area on my upper right thigh, shortly after that I started to get dizzy, nauseous, and have a tension headache which is where everything started to go downhill. I got severe anxiety believing I had a brain tumor or something similar, so I went to the ER. They did blood tests and a CT Scan which all came back perfectly fine. Then I had some other symptoms show up like brain fog, burning feeling in feet/hands, and like I wasn't really there. At this point I was convinced I had sCJD and I was going to die soon. I went to the walk-in clinic several times, had a head MRI done, and went to a massage therapist and Chiropractor. The MRI came back clear and everyone else said they couldn't find anything wrong with me. I then went to a Naturopath who had me do some more blood tests and am also waiting to see a neurologist. I've also noticed my muscles started to feel weak/fatigued, more notable on the left side (leg and arm). Now my neck muscles have also started to feel weak/sore. I'm basically convinced I have some serious neurological disease like ALS or something else, I'm just getting really tired of all this. I've had many symptoms coming and going during this time while some persisted/got worse.
At this point I feel like I either have ALS, lyme disease, depression/anxiety, or some serious neurological disease.
I currently have or have had:
- Brain fog and very bad short term memory
- Dizziness/unstableness (feeling like I'm swaying when walking, especially bad after extended walks)
- Full body weakness (more prominent on left side) with muscle twitches, trembling, stiffness, and soreness. This has prevented me from being able to jog and go on long walks now too
- Neck stiffness/weakness/soreness making it seem like I can barely support my head
- Fatigue
- Loss of sensation all over body
- Chills and random sweats and night sweats
- Insomnia (trouble either falling asleep or randomly waking up at night)
- Weird internal electric feeling
- Noise sensitivity
- Vision issues (seems jittery/shaky and random bright spots)
- Get numb easier and have tingling in hands and feet at times
- Anxiety/panic attacks
- Ringing in ears
- Burning feeling in feet/hands
- Headaches and nausea
- Chest pain
- Lack of interest in many things
The worst of these is the Brain fog, Dizziness, and Body weakness (as they seem to affect me the most in life) and are also the ones that have persisted most since the start of these symptoms (about 5-6 weeks ago).
Does anyone else have these symptoms with their anxiety? Or could this perhaps be something else?
2 likes, 15 replies
jan34534 reislerart
Edited
I had just about everyone of your symptoms starting in my 20s. They sound exactly like the symptoms of anxiety, depression.
als is not a sensory disease. So you’re not going to feel tingling or twitching or anything like that. Doesn’t sound at all like that condition
. Have you been tested for Lyme? My sister-in-law has it but she had mostly symptoms of arthritis. it took over a year to diagnose her.
if you had a complete physical check up with all the testing and everything was OK, then yes, anxiety and or depression make complete sense. think about your life and what could possibly be causing you anxiety or depression or even panic. it’s not the symptoms that are the problem it is the cause of the symptoms that need to be addressed. Are you able to speak with a counselor?
i have weekly online virtual counseling sessions which helped a lot! Try not to focus on the symptoms and I know it’s difficult not to but it only makes them worse.take care
reislerart jan34534
Edited
Thanks for commenting, It's comforting to know I'm not alone on this. I've had countless tests done (Blood tests, CT Scan, MRI) and all were clear.
I have not yet done a Lyme test as apparently all the tests here in Canada are very unreliable/inaccurate and all tests outside of Canada are quite expensive, I'll probably leave this as a last resort.
I definitely think my anxiety is contributing to some degree, but it also seems like something else is going on, although I could be wrong. One thing of note on my blood test was the iron level, mine showed 52 ug/L which isn't really all that low, but it's also not in the optimal range. I think I'll try some iron supplements and see if that will help (Note, my CBC was normal, so I'm not anemic or anything). If you haven't done a iron blood test that might be something to consider, as I've done some research and apparently you can have symptoms without actually having anemia.
I'll see if supplements will help and also be seeing a neurologist next week, so I guess I'll also see what he thinks.
ben41166 reislerart
Edited
I have personally spoken to at least 6 people just in my area (including myself) that have had this happen within the last 6 months. Exact same symptoms, all between 25-35 years old. I know this doesnt help you, but something strange is going on. I'm on week 5 of it now. My symptoms have slowly dwindled to: noticable heart beat, constant pressure in my sternum, hand numbness, cant sleep, waking up every hour, and no appetite, weight loss (20lbs).
The first 2 weeks were a living nightmare and it gradually started to dissipate. idk what it is, but hang in there. it's happening to tons of us.
reislerart ben41166
Posted
That is very odd indeed...
The only thing I can think of that could be causing some of my symptoms according to some of my blood tests might be low iron (52 ug/L) which isn't super low or anything, but it's also not in the optimal range. I'll try some iron supplements and see if that will help (along with trying to manage my anxiety), but you're right, the first two to three weeks for me were much worse in some aspects, especially the brain fog, insomnia, lack of appetite, weird body sensations, and dizziness.
Hopefully it'll pass soon. Good luck!
crispy76 reislerart
Edited
Hi,
From your list I experience the brain fog, stiff neck and balance issues as a result of what I believe is anxiety / depression. The balance feeling is very weird, the other day a sudden 'whoosh' feeling in the head nearly blew me completely off my feet. Have had all tests and all came back clear, have been prescribed meds but nothing seems to work for me....
This problem seems to be triggered when I am around other people for too long (or maybe it is just certain people, I don't know). First thing in morning I feel 'normal', however after a few hours at work (normally kicks in around 11:00am) I start to feel the dreaded brain fog / head pressure move in. It builds and remains like this all day until I get back home when after I few hours I start to feel back to normal again.
During the period of fogginess, it is almost unbearable talking to other people - if another person talks to me for too long the head pressure nearly pushes me over. I think I am very sensitive to other people's 'energies' or vibes they give off, but seem unable to turn this off.
Just about every working day feels like climbing a mountain......
reislerart crispy76
Posted
Yeah, the past several weeks have been a drag at work, and they would barely let me take any time off even though I could barely function (lol). The dizziness and brain fog have been especially weird, as it seems to get worse at times and sometimes seem almost gone. Hopefully we can get it worked out soon.
jan34534 reislerart
Posted
just to reassure everybody, this is nothing new. When my symptoms started in my mid-20s, that was way back in The early 80s. And in today’s world there is a lot more stress coming from every direction so it’s no wonder that there’s a lot of people getting the symptoms of anxiety and stress!
. Back when I had these symptoms appear I didn’t know anybody else who had them. But there’s way more now .
crispy76 jan34534
Posted
I agree with the above, it seems in today's world everyone is in some great rush and don't care who they trample over to get there. Although great inventions, sometimes I think that the modern world of mobile phones and the internet also do contribute to the general nature of a lot of people today.
nesty reislerart
Posted
Hi Reislerart
I am a lot older than you but same sex, your symptoms seem very similar to what happened to me 2 years ago. I went through a rough 6 months, then I started feeling hot like couldn't control my temperature, headaches also present, couldn't sleep and started getting sensitive skin. I got referred to neurology, had all blood tests, MRI and nerve conductivity test all came back clear.
The neurologist said possible Fibromyalgia, I do think my mum has this as well (but undiagnosed), with your age and sex, your in that minority group of developing it, but there are strong genetic links if a family member has it I never heard of this until I started feeling unwell.
Have a look at the symptoms especially the brain fog, called Fibro fog. Naturally, I don't want to alarm you, but GP's do dismiss this as they want to check out everything else prior just saying.
Regards
reislerart nesty
Posted
Hi Nesty,
Fibro was definitely in my suspect list, but the generalized weakness doesn't seem to be a symptom with Fibro? Did you have brain fog, generalized weakness, and noise sensitivity as well? Or was it just brain fog?
suzanne98338 reislerart
Edited
I've had many of the same symptoms and never attributed it to Depression or anxiety. Admittedly I was getting pretty scared and waiting to see a neurologist after seeing 2 ENT's but betahistine has cleared my head at least and gave me my ability to function back. Obviously cant say it's the same but after seeing people on here suffering similar issues I want to get the word out'. Have a peak at found my own solution on here for more details.
jessica39229 reislerart
Posted
sometimes i get this brain fog sensation as well and i have found it difficult to focus. i realize that sometimes its because i am staring at my computer screen for too long. i have downloaded a software on my computer to get rid of the blue light and wear blue light glasses and that has helped.
ente18647 reislerart
Edited
Hello there. I've had all of your symptoms. I continue to live some of them. Since I worked as a neurosurgeon at a university, I was able to have my brain, whole spine, cervical and lumbar plexus mr, needle emg, conventional emg and all my blood tests in one day and was examined by a neurology professor. If you are wondering what the result is, all tests and examination are normal. This is the case when you have been working in an extremely stressful way, only 5 days off in the last 3 years. all you have to do is go to a neurologist, do what they say, and believe what your doctor says. Even now, my left facial numbness has started, but facial nerve examination is completely normal 😃
babs2022 reislerart
Posted
Wondering how many of you had Covid right before your symptoms started? I had it August of last year and a lot of these symptoms started the following month and I've had them, worsening, for a year -- sore joints and muscle pain spasms as well. My pcp has not been helpful and I cant find a physician who will see a patient with post-covid ailments.