How is MS found?

[autumnbee123]

I got my MRI and everything was perfect. Can MS be found with an MRI?? I'm still really freaked out that I have something else now that I know it's not a brain tumor.

[ZodiacCatz]

what symptoms do you have?

[raggamuffin]

Why are you so convinced you have something other than anxiety? I know how scary pains or symptoms can be but when tests show nothing wrong then you have to realize that they're right. We might convince ourselves we're a special case and that they've missed something, but it's highly unlikely. I used to fear this too, but you know the reality? We're not that special to have this happen. The tests are done, they come back fine, it means it's anxiety. If you spend all you time fretting, panicking and Googling symptoms you wind up making your symptoms last longer and feel more intense. You wind up being your own worst enemy. It's hard to undo because it's become instinctual but you can do it

Quick fact from NHS (National Health Service in England) website:

"Over 9 out of 10 people with MS are diagnosed using an MRI scan"

So here's the thing; you need to stop worrying. It doesn't help the situation and yet anxious people become so accustomed to it. If you had say a headache before anxiety what would you do? Rest, water and some pain killers. Shapow the headache goes. How about when you're anxious? Headache, it must be a tumour, or meningitis or MS. Wind up with complete illogical conclusions from a simple headache. No doubt your inner monologue is frantic and irrational. You tell yourself - I'm going to die, pain killers won't help etc. You make your mind and body go into over-drive and often your fight or flight response is kicking up daily. This results in more adrenaline, more tension (especially in the neck for headaches) and you can wind up with headaches lasting weeks at a time. Happened to me too m'dear i'm afraid to say and took me so long to realize I was causing them myself. Your chances of having a disease causing these symptoms is beyond microscopic at your age and when the tests bring back nothing. What you have to do is start accepting just how varied anxiety symptoms can be. Look at this link to see how wide ranging symptoms can be:

http://www.anxietyzone.com/index.php?topic=17050.0

I have had most of these symptoms and even one's not on here. You know why? Because I used to spend all day fretting about disease and cancer etc. Convincing myself that the Dr's were wrong. I've seen over 30 Dr's and GP's and whilst I assumed I knew my body and sensations better than them in reality I don't have 5+ years of medical knowledge behind me. What an anxious person has is hyper-sensitivity towards symptoms. You spend all day fixating on a symptom you'll make it worse, it'll be at the forefront of your mind. Heck you might even sprout some new symptoms, forget about the first one's and worry about the new one's. It's a vicious circle of:

Worry -> Pain/Symptom -> More Worry -> More symptoms

So we don't have the medical knowledge and yet, we remain so convinced the Dr's are wrong. But when you start to see that you're waking up day after day, and haven't died from these aches and pains that follow you about all day. You start to piece together the puzzle and start to realize...hang on i've had these aches and pains for months or years at a time and what's happened? I'm alive; it hasn't killed me. Surely then...it can't be the diseases I fear it is? When you spend all day searching for illnesses your body can stir up pains and sensations to mimick your own fears. But when you wake up every morning having convinced yourself the night before that you were going to die you will start to prealize that these symptoms aren't going to kill you. It might take weeks, months...for me it took 2.5 years of daily pains and symptoms. So we don't have the knowledge of a Dr or their high tech equipment and tests. What we have is paranoia, fear and Google. Not at all credible for diagnosis is it? :)

You need to start accepting how badly anxiety can affect you, if you let it. Anxiety doesn't control your life, you control it. By the way you phrased your question it seems like you're living day in day out fearing the worst you're giving so much fuel for the fire of anxiety. In fact you're trying to fight fire with a can of gasoline. It makes things worse spending all day living in fear and it stresses the body out that it gives you aches and pains and all other sorts of nasty sensations.

You know why the body and mind gives such symptoms as headaches, dizziness, chest pains, arm pains and all the symptoms in the list above? Stress. It's this stress, over periods of months maybe years, worries, fears, anxiety etc. So it gives out these pains or symptoms to show you; I'm STRESSED STOP IT. But what does an anxious person do? They fret over the symptoms, convince themselves it's something bad, that death is around the corner. Now the fight or flight response kicks in to danger, but death? Convincing yourself you're going to die soon. Day in day out for months or years?

No wonder the body goes into red alert and gives you symptoms lasting weeks/months at a time. But what happens when you're busy? I mean truly busy, in work, with friends, doing something you love. Symptoms often fade if not disappear. The very fact they come and go or chop and change location in the body is already a clear indicator it's anxiety and nothing more. The fact they dull when you're busy or engaged mentall is another sign.

So how do you overcome it? Accept it's anxiety. This can happen in a defining moment or take practice to work out. Once you understand and accept anxiety is causing all this you gradually reduce the fear and worry.

Next you have to practice not responding with emotions to symptoms or pains. no matter how intense or long lasting they get. Don't respond with emotion. Remain neutral, don't convince yourself you're in danger. Carry on as normal, keep busy, keep active. Respond with apathy and NO emotion. Negativity or fear or fighting all flusteres the mind and body and maes things worse.

Hope you feel better soon.

Ed

[u4ea]

I got my MRI and everything was perfect. Can MS be found with an MRI?? I'm still really freaked out that I have something else now that I know it's not a brain tumor.

Yeah, you're good. If you have MS, lesions on your brain show up on the MRI. But as you said, "your MRI was perfect" so don't sweat it!

[alankay]

No MRI can tell that. A neurologist will have to do an exam, take a detailed history, etc, before even thinking of that kind of diagnosis. I mean in the US the incidence is approx 1 in 10000 people. You have some anxiety, not likely MS at all. Anxiety is common, MS is really not so common. Alankay

[autumnbee123]

Thanks ed for that! Lol. My symptoms in my eyes: huge weird spots in my peripheral vision that never go away. I've had for about 10 months. Floaters, visual snow almost all day every day, double vision that's actually getting worse. Black and white flashes in my eyes when I blink. And when I close my eyes I can see all my veins or what looks like my veins in my eyes only they're white. This happens every time I blink as well. Body/brain: numbness and pins and needles in my arms, legs, neck, really bad sharp pains I. My head that can last about 2 minutes. The pain is horrendous. Dizziness, off balance, feeling like I can't move as in my legs won't let me walk because they're paralyzed. And I get this weird body sensation usually every time I wake up. It feels like a seizure. My whole body will be shaking. And moving the bed. It freaks me out every time it happens I hate waking up. And I feel like my heart will completely stop and there's no blood flowing in my body for a few seconds and my head will feel really heavy. Then my heart rate can go to 160 bpm. Any thoughts??????

[shelley15]

MS is tested by having an MRI your fine, I keep thinking I have MS to, I have the same symptoms as you, dizziness, off balance, weird eyes, blurred vision, tingling in my head. If you accept its anxiety your symptoms will disappear I've had really bad anxiety for 6 months and with Theripy I can feel my self getting better by not focusing or worrying over every pain

[alankay]

Maybe good 'ole GAD(the most common anxiety type) with many Somatic symptoms all from the elevated BP, etc. Can effect the eyes too. That would be first off the hip thought. Alankay

[stephanie3126]

Thanks ed for that! Lol. My symptoms in my eyes: huge weird spots in my peripheral vision that never go away. I've had for about 10 months. Floaters, visual snow almost all day every day, double vision that's actually getting worse. Black and white flashes in my eyes when I blink. And when I close my eyes I can see all my veins or what looks like my veins in my eyes only they're white. This happens every time I blink as well. Body/brain: numbness and pins and needles in my arms, legs, neck, really bad sharp pains I. My head that can last about 2 minutes. The pain is horrendous. Dizziness, off balance, feeling like I can't move as in my legs won't let me walk because they're paralyzed. And I get this weird body sensation usually every time I wake up. It feels like a seizure. My whole body will be shaking. And moving the bed. It freaks me out every time it happens I hate waking up. And I feel like my heart will completely stop and there's no blood flowing in my body for a few seconds and my head will feel really heavy. Then my heart rate can go to 160 bpm. Any thoughts??????
I've had almost all those symptoms. Everything will be okay, it's just regular stuff that everyone gets sometimes. Don't worry about floaters. If they really bother you you can get a procedure done. I've had them since I was a kid and I'm 23. They're a pain but you learn to live with them. The leg paralysis thing happens to me sometimes when I'm in the same position for a long period of time. Just relax and try not to worry. I know I should take my own advice cause I do a crap job at it but avoid google as much as you can.