Neurological Anxiety Symptoms, anyone else?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hello all, I'm making this post because I've found some sort of comfort in reading other posts relating to how I'm feeling.
It all started about 2 months ago when I injured my right knee. I'm very used to being extremely active. I do landscaping all day & then go to the gym or play basketball for hours. Once I injured my knee, obviously I had to cut back being as active so I could let it heal. Fast forward about 2-3 weeks, I caught Covid-19 which completely stopped any level of activity I was still able to do.
I started experiencing random pains in my hip areas on both legs, which I was told by both my regular doctor & Orthopedic that it was probably from walking/laying a certain way due to my knee injury. I've had anxiety for years now, but it's never been as bad as it has been the last few months. With that being said, any time I feel a, what may be, normal symptom/pain, I always imagine it being the absolute worst. So I started googling reasons why I'm getting random leg/hip pains and of course I was told it could be anything from a pinched nerve all the way to a disease like MS. Now since I have sever hypochondria anxiety, I'm thinking its the worst and I make the mistake of looking up the symptoms for Neurological diseases such as MS. Once I saw the symptoms, it was over for my anxiety. I immediately started feeling every type of symptom there was.
Symptoms I feel include -
-Burning/numbing in my legs (mostly left)
-Pins and needles feeling in my hands/feet
-Feeling like I'm swaying when I walk even tho I never actually fall or lose balance
-Feeling like I'm in a constant daze/fog
-Random tremors throughout my body, sometimes I can actually see the body part moving
-Feeling like my legs/arms are weak
-Feeling shaky & like my hands are very figity
-Sometimes feeling disassociated with my own body
These symptoms all feel so real and obviously are very frightening. I've been to the ER for an ultrasound on my left thigh to make sure there's no blood clots & it came back clean. I've had blood work twice, and EKG, blood pressure & X-Rays on my chest/hip and everything has come back clear. My doctor is convinced that this is all anxiety& she, in her words, "bets me her house" that I don't have any neurological disease. She had me start taking anxiety medication about 3 weeks ago & although some days are better then others since then, I still have days (like today) where I feel horrible again & am convinced something must be wrong with me. I have an appointment with a Neurologist in 3 weeks so I'm really hoping that will make me believe that I'm okay and that the symptoms/anxiety will die down a little.
I will add that if I keep busy at work or play basketball, I normally feel fine which tells me it must be anxiety but it was actually a disease, it wouldn't just stop when I'm busy. But obviously my anxiety won't let me think logically & I still think the worst.
Has anyone else experienced something like this? It's very unsettling ans makes me not want to get out of bed half the time. Hearing others share similar stories do make me feel a little better though so please feel free to tell me about it.
0 likes, 7 replies
jan34534 MattAnon95
Edited
Matt I’m sorry you are going through this. I would like to tell you and everybody else who experiences severe anxiety symptoms on this site that I am someone that experienced the same thing when I was in my 20s
i had numbness and tingling in my arms and legs, floaters in my eyes, muscle twitches, foggy head, Derealization, weakness in my arms and legs, and several more.
. I am now in my 50s . The reason I tell you that is because I am still here. None of those horrible symptoms killed me or made me physically challenged. I am very healthy.
However, when it happened to me in my 20s I was absolutely convinced that I had MS.I told my parents that’s what I have. and back then nobody was using the Internet so you can imagine how terrified I was thinking I was the only one in the world with this going on! The reason people think they have MS when they get anxiety symptoms is because anxiety tends to affect the nervous system and cause symptoms that mimic MS symptoms sometimes. Lots of people do that including myself.
of course I always suggest that people get a thorough check up with their doctor at least once a year.
My dad took me to a neurologist who did a Quick exam and basically told me I needed to go take a vacation. he told me I had long term anxiety and stress. which by the way it was absolutely true!
I lived with the symptoms for quite a while feeling alone and terrified.
as Time went on, the symptoms diminished quite a bit but I was still left with muscle twitching, floaters in my vision, some mild weakness but I could get on with my life. no I don’t even notice floaters and if I get a muscle twitch I basically ignore it.
After some counseling and learning about how long-term anxiety and stress can cause the symptoms, I was able to manage them better. And yes I had the MRI, all kinds of blood test, EEG, and a few others that were all normal. i definitely did not have MS or any other condition.
i also learned that WHAT WE THINK AND HOW WE HANDLE LIFE is going to be how we feel it’s going to determine if we get symptoms or not. MENTAL ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!!
THAT is the single most important thing that I learned! If we don’t manage our anxiety and stress we should not be surprised when we get the symptoms!
THE symptoms of stress are NOT the problem! The problem is unmanaged stress and anxiety!
The symptoms are the body‘s way of telling you that you need to make some changes because there’s too much anxiety and stress going on. It’s a wake up call.
Another thing is everybody PLEASE stop googling symptoms! It does absolutely no good and It can do a lot of harm to you .
it Will cause symptoms to continue and to get worse because you are telling your brain that something is wrong.
Do things that are going to make your life better. Get on YouTube and listen to how to live in a more positive manner. Or pick up a book about living your best possible self, or get some counseling etc.
all these things that people do when they have anxiety are just making them go backwards and feel worse. We have to move forward and fight for a happy joyful life!
ONCE The doctor tells you you are OK, then live that way! Don’t let fear control your life otherwise you’ll be miserable!
IVE been through this and learned a lot. Take care of yourselves! ❤
MattAnon95 jan34534
Posted
Thank you for responding, its definitly reassuring knowing that other people have gone through or are going through the same thing as me. I know the chances of it actually being a neurological disease are extremely rare, plus the chances of everyone experiencing these symptoms and having a disease are even more rare, but my anxiety won't allow me to think logically. Its just a back and forth battle. I'm only 23 years old so I'm still really learning how to just cope with it.
jan34534 MattAnon95
Posted
I absolutely know the feeling of when your mind won’t let you think logically and only thinks the worst case. I’ve lived with it for many years and it’s very frustrating. And like I said in the last message , You can find some great talks on this exact topic on YouTube. There are some great speakers Who can help.
I have learned that the reason this happens is because we have actually trained our brain to go in that direction., Through no fault of our own. We have to retrain the brain to think more factually rather than emotionally. It can absolutely be done!
sometimes we need support and one way to do this is through counseling and retraining the brain through CBT. I do wish you all the best and just take one day at a time!
MattAnon95 jan34534
Posted
Do you ever feel this symptoms constantly throughout the day even if you're not necessarily feeling anxious at the time? That's how it is for me. Sometimes it feels as if my hands are so shaky that i won't be able to hold things properly.. even tho I never actually drop anything and when I don't think about it I don't notice anything unusual. It's so crazy how real everything can feel.
Craig2211 MattAnon95
Edited
I am feeling so many similar things to you. Have spoken to a couple of different GP's & they're adamant I'm suffering from anxiety & nothing more. My symptoms are -
feels like I am in a daily battle just to function and go about my every day tasks. I'm withdrawn from family & friends. I don't want to leave the house, but when i stay in the house I lounge around & overthink.
It's like a catch 22 never ending cycle. Really dont know where to turn or what to do next.
The last GP I spoke to only wanted to talk about my headaches and prescribed me medication which targets Headaches & Anxiety. Have been taking them for 3 days & headaches seem to have eased but the daily fogginess & dizziness I'm experiencing is making me miserable & worried.
Trust me you're not alone in this mate. It's a constant uphill struggle for me & many others.
MattAnon95 Craig2211
Edited
appreciate the reply. knowing others are experiencing similar symptoms is relieving because the chances of ALL of us having a rare disease is very unlikely. i'm still going to go see my nuerologist in 2 weeks just to play it safe and hopefully clear my mind a bit. i notice my left leg mostly is where i feel the weakness/numbness & the heel of my left foot has like a numb patch but im wondering if its maybe from just being on my feet all day at work or the boots i wear at work, etc. i just cut trees down today and had no problem holding the pole saw & carrying branches to the truck. if it were a disease im sure i couldnt do that without losing strength/balance. my anxiety over it wont allow me to understand that though.
jan34534 MattAnon95
Edited
yes I have absolutely had symptoms 24 hours a day seven days a week even when I was not feeling anxious. What happened with me was that I would have a sudden neurological breakdown when I had about 15 symptoms all at once and then they would linger for a very long time eventually diminishing but sometimes one or two would hang around and I’m saying for years such as ringing in my ear has never gone away. Even now when I get a little anxious I get some muscle twitches but I basically ignore them because I know they’re harmless.
So you don’t have to feel anxious for this to happen to you. What it means is that there is an underlying anxiety that you may not even be aware of.
the thing to do is make yourself as healthy as possible so you have a healthy immune system to fight the anxiety. No matter how I feel, I walk 2 miles a day and I go to the gym and do the weight machines to build core strength. Very important! I also cut out all sugars in my diet and I’m eating mostly greens for chicken salad with all the anti- inflammatory foods mixed in. sugar is an inflammatory agent and will make anxiety and depression worse as well as other conditions. take care