I've been long interested in the mind-body connection, especially with respect to anxiety and what it can cause with respect to symptoms. Recently I have developed symptoms that may be TMS, in the following order: feeling of trembling/vibrations in various parts of my body, sometimes all over, sometimes one arm/leg, sometimes all limbs, and it varies in intensity. About a month later I developed twitching which started in my right rib cage, now occurs all over. At about the same time as the twitching started I developed pain in my limbs/feet/hands, and it has worsened to the point of moderate pain after I have used my hands to the point of flexing hard, carrying something heavy, etc, although they often hurt even when I am at rest. This has been going on for about 3.5 months. The pain occurs at all times, the twitching does not seem to occur when I am busy/moving, only (or at least 95%) when I am at rest.
I have seen my GP and been tested for electrolytes, magnesium, lyme, etc, and all have come back normal. He also did basic weakness/reflex tests, both of which are normal. My entire family (and prob my GP) thinks all of this is due to stress but I cannot stop worrying about ALS and am literally scared to death as I feel I have no future. If this worsens or does not resolve within the next several weeks he is going to refer me to the Neuro for EEG or EMG testing, but as of now he does not seen overly concerned about it. Wish I could say the same. The other day I started to worry about it and the twitches tripled in numbers and seemed to be mainly in my hands although as it has been they are rarely in my hands, prob 10% of the time or less.
I have had 2 big health scares in the past 2.5 years.....numbness and tingling in my limbs which was though to be MS but turned out to be not much of anything, my MRI was normal, but it worried me quite a bit. I also went through a lot of upper abdominal pain last summer and had an endoscopy after thinking I was getting esophageal cancer, but the endo was normal with not even one indicator that there was any reflux or inflammation, the GI doc literally told me, "I don't know what is causing your pain, but it isn't due to any problem within your upper digestive system." That was on Oct 31, 2014, abt 3 weeks after the trembling/vibrations started. Coincidence? Dunno, but I surely hope so. Perhaps that pain was a manifestation of TMS, especially since it dropped by 75% within 2 months of hearing the GI doc say that and is better than 90% gone as of now. I find it very interesting that in both cases my symptoms were alleviated considerably after being told by the specialist that there was no major problem. During the months of Sept/Oct I was also going through quite a stressful time at work as I was assigned a very important job......not difficult, but high profile, and that was stressing me as well. I don't usually talk much about work to my wife, but during this time I complained to her almost every night until the darn thing was completed!
Recently I have been pretty much useless around the house and my wife deserves better that what she is dealing with right now. My appetite has also dropped and that is making me feel weak, of course.
Picked up a copy of Healing Back Pain yesterday (wanted the mindbody connection but BN didn't have it stocked and didn't want to wait several days for it to come via Amazon) and read about half of it last night. I don't feel I have much repressed rage but I have been a worry wart of sorts that past several years with these 2 prev health scares. The only internal anger I can think of is toward my father-in-law, and since we don't talk I haven't thought about it much. And believe it or not, it has not strained the relationship between me and my wife, the only thing seeming to strain it is my constant worrying.
There is also anxiety in my family, my mother and all 3 of my sisters have been (or are) on some sort of anti anxiety medication at one time or another.
The worst part of all this is not the pain but rather the worrying about what it might be. It was also suggested that the arm/hand pain could be RSI but that would not explain the full body symptoms.
Thanks for listening, so to speak.
I have seen my GP and been tested for electrolytes, magnesium, lyme, etc, and all have come back normal. He also did basic weakness/reflex tests, both of which are normal. My entire family (and prob my GP) thinks all of this is due to stress but I cannot stop worrying about ALS and am literally scared to death as I feel I have no future. If this worsens or does not resolve within the next several weeks he is going to refer me to the Neuro for EEG or EMG testing, but as of now he does not seen overly concerned about it. Wish I could say the same. The other day I started to worry about it and the twitches tripled in numbers and seemed to be mainly in my hands although as it has been they are rarely in my hands, prob 10% of the time or less.
I have had 2 big health scares in the past 2.5 years.....numbness and tingling in my limbs which was though to be MS but turned out to be not much of anything, my MRI was normal, but it worried me quite a bit. I also went through a lot of upper abdominal pain last summer and had an endoscopy after thinking I was getting esophageal cancer, but the endo was normal with not even one indicator that there was any reflux or inflammation, the GI doc literally told me, "I don't know what is causing your pain, but it isn't due to any problem within your upper digestive system." That was on Oct 31, 2014, abt 3 weeks after the trembling/vibrations started. Coincidence? Dunno, but I surely hope so. Perhaps that pain was a manifestation of TMS, especially since it dropped by 75% within 2 months of hearing the GI doc say that and is better than 90% gone as of now. I find it very interesting that in both cases my symptoms were alleviated considerably after being told by the specialist that there was no major problem. During the months of Sept/Oct I was also going through quite a stressful time at work as I was assigned a very important job......not difficult, but high profile, and that was stressing me as well. I don't usually talk much about work to my wife, but during this time I complained to her almost every night until the darn thing was completed!
Recently I have been pretty much useless around the house and my wife deserves better that what she is dealing with right now. My appetite has also dropped and that is making me feel weak, of course.
Picked up a copy of Healing Back Pain yesterday (wanted the mindbody connection but BN didn't have it stocked and didn't want to wait several days for it to come via Amazon) and read about half of it last night. I don't feel I have much repressed rage but I have been a worry wart of sorts that past several years with these 2 prev health scares. The only internal anger I can think of is toward my father-in-law, and since we don't talk I haven't thought about it much. And believe it or not, it has not strained the relationship between me and my wife, the only thing seeming to strain it is my constant worrying.
There is also anxiety in my family, my mother and all 3 of my sisters have been (or are) on some sort of anti anxiety medication at one time or another.
The worst part of all this is not the pain but rather the worrying about what it might be. It was also suggested that the arm/hand pain could be RSI but that would not explain the full body symptoms.
Thanks for listening, so to speak.
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