Worried daughter of parent with MS
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:20 pm
My mom was diagnosed with MS when I was 11 years old. Ever since then, I've been scared that one day I would get diagnosed. It's a fear my mom has as well, which is why I can't talk to her about my concerns.
I finally got health insurance this year, so I've been dealing with a lot of doctor's appointments for issues I've had for a while, or new issues I didn't realize I had. I'm on medication for an underactive thyroid. I have issues with anxiety and depression. I've had hearing issues for years, and just recently an ENT told me he thinks that it's TMJ, because my hearing test came back great despite me having muffled hearing. Point being, I feel like my doctor thinks I'm a hypochondriac, and I don't want to be leaving my job to run to the doctor for every little issue. I'd like someone who actually is familiar with MS to tell me whether or not I should be seriously concerned.
This year, I bought a corset (like, the actual steel-boned ones) because I thought it'd be cool, I love the Victorian era and wanted to modify my body and all that junk. Okay. After putting it on one day back in July I believe, my left leg started feeling slightly numb and tingly. I took it off, numbness and tingling remained. My left arm was numb and tingling as well. I was sure I'd pinched a nerve or something, that I had worn my corset too tightly (it had only been about a half dozen days of me wearing it), and it was a great ordeal for my arm muscles to tighten and loosen the laces.
...but now it's been nearly 2 months and the tingling and numbness in my leg is gone, and usually is gone in my arm, but I'm tingling in parts of my lower back, my left shoulder the left side of my head/scalp. It's not happening all the time, mostly when I'm sitting but not specifically just then. The scalp/facial tingling started just a few days ago, and I can't imagine why. I thought whatever pinched nerve problem I had was originating from inside my left shoulder blade somewhere, but can't be sure. I didn't see anyone about it.
I spend a lot of time sitting (I work as a secretary and spend my free time on the computer...sitting on my bed) and I know my posture isn't great. I haven't had any other symptoms, but my mom was terrified when I complained about my "pinched nerve" because her first symptoms were numbness in her body, and then what triggered her to go to the hospital where she was diagnosed was that her head went numb in the shower. I'm not numb, I'm just...tingling. Sometimes. Not all the time. It either stops or I notice it less when I lie down, and it's much more noticeable when I'm sitting. As I'm writing this right now, the top of my head is really tingling, but nowhere else is.
I've read through others' posts on here, and I know there are so many other possibilities besides MS. I'm just scared. My mom has been suffering with this for more than half of my life, and I know it's her greatest fear that one of her daughters would get diagnosed, too. I'm afraid to ask for more details about her initial symptoms because I don't want to worry her, and there's a part of me that would definitely rather live in the dark than have a formal diagnosis... I know I should go see a doctor. I know that I should have tests done. I'm just scared and feel very alone, can't really afford to miss work to go have a million tests run, and am questioning whether or not I'd even get an answer considering my last experiences with doctors on other matters (aka tests were run, showed nothing remarkable, sent off to "keep an eye on it" with no clear answer).
Could it be that the corset set this all off as some kind of cause-and-effect? Because why in the heck would I start developing symptoms while wearing one? Or does it sound like I very seriously need to consider that I might be the next generation in my family to be diagnosed?
I finally got health insurance this year, so I've been dealing with a lot of doctor's appointments for issues I've had for a while, or new issues I didn't realize I had. I'm on medication for an underactive thyroid. I have issues with anxiety and depression. I've had hearing issues for years, and just recently an ENT told me he thinks that it's TMJ, because my hearing test came back great despite me having muffled hearing. Point being, I feel like my doctor thinks I'm a hypochondriac, and I don't want to be leaving my job to run to the doctor for every little issue. I'd like someone who actually is familiar with MS to tell me whether or not I should be seriously concerned.
This year, I bought a corset (like, the actual steel-boned ones) because I thought it'd be cool, I love the Victorian era and wanted to modify my body and all that junk. Okay. After putting it on one day back in July I believe, my left leg started feeling slightly numb and tingly. I took it off, numbness and tingling remained. My left arm was numb and tingling as well. I was sure I'd pinched a nerve or something, that I had worn my corset too tightly (it had only been about a half dozen days of me wearing it), and it was a great ordeal for my arm muscles to tighten and loosen the laces.
...but now it's been nearly 2 months and the tingling and numbness in my leg is gone, and usually is gone in my arm, but I'm tingling in parts of my lower back, my left shoulder the left side of my head/scalp. It's not happening all the time, mostly when I'm sitting but not specifically just then. The scalp/facial tingling started just a few days ago, and I can't imagine why. I thought whatever pinched nerve problem I had was originating from inside my left shoulder blade somewhere, but can't be sure. I didn't see anyone about it.
I spend a lot of time sitting (I work as a secretary and spend my free time on the computer...sitting on my bed) and I know my posture isn't great. I haven't had any other symptoms, but my mom was terrified when I complained about my "pinched nerve" because her first symptoms were numbness in her body, and then what triggered her to go to the hospital where she was diagnosed was that her head went numb in the shower. I'm not numb, I'm just...tingling. Sometimes. Not all the time. It either stops or I notice it less when I lie down, and it's much more noticeable when I'm sitting. As I'm writing this right now, the top of my head is really tingling, but nowhere else is.
I've read through others' posts on here, and I know there are so many other possibilities besides MS. I'm just scared. My mom has been suffering with this for more than half of my life, and I know it's her greatest fear that one of her daughters would get diagnosed, too. I'm afraid to ask for more details about her initial symptoms because I don't want to worry her, and there's a part of me that would definitely rather live in the dark than have a formal diagnosis... I know I should go see a doctor. I know that I should have tests done. I'm just scared and feel very alone, can't really afford to miss work to go have a million tests run, and am questioning whether or not I'd even get an answer considering my last experiences with doctors on other matters (aka tests were run, showed nothing remarkable, sent off to "keep an eye on it" with no clear answer).
Could it be that the corset set this all off as some kind of cause-and-effect? Because why in the heck would I start developing symptoms while wearing one? Or does it sound like I very seriously need to consider that I might be the next generation in my family to be diagnosed?
my 2c, don't focus on the straw. look at the whole system. spend equal time, at least, in the pursuit of *optimal* health as you do wondering about or seeking diagnoses. if you can't afford tests, you can evaluate your routine. if status quo is causing problems, seek help on the healthiest way(s) to shake it up. it's a good idea to make sure you don't have small solvable problems messing up any doc's ability to diagnose real symptoms.