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Is it all in my head?

Quick background, August 2017 I went numb from the waist to my toes... Lesion found... Termed it transvers myelitis... Tested positive oligoclonal bands in spinal fluid. Fast forward to July 2018 legs gave way completely and I fell. I've had to use the walker intermittently during this time. Fast forward to this week I'm having a very difficult time speaking it's like I'm choking on my words, going on five days. MRI from November 2018 are normal except for lesion on spine. My doctors are at Mt Sinai and they said I need therapy that there's no medical connection to these symptoms and that I'm manifesting it. They even suggested anti anxiety pills. I don't feel like I'm at all psychosomatic and these symptoms are very real to me. Yet these are supposed to be the best doctors. I don't know what to do.


  1. It's never easy when you feel like no one listens or tries to understand you. That hurts. I know you must feel lonely and confused right now. Often making a neurological diagnosis is very difficult. Symptoms and evidence to support them can be elusive. Plus just because you are at a great hospital doesn't mean that everyone there is equally great or that they get it right every time. However, I'm afraid; this is your call based on your gut. Is there enough stress in your life that it could be causing an impact on your nervous system? If so, they could have a point in there being a psychological factor. If not, then maybe not. We cannot give you medical advice because your situation is uniquely yours but listen to your instincts. You know your body. Keep asking questions if the answers you get don't make sense. Good luck. We're here if you need more information. Donna Steigleder

    1. This is my opinion MzLynn 86 is this. If you are still having all these symptoms and you are unhappy with the doctors you are seeing, try new doctors. MS is notoriously difficult to diagnose as so many symptoms mimic other conditions as well. Never give up. Keep trying to find your answers. Apparently we have a doctor on this site who works with MS patients regularly. Maybe she can help you find what you are looking for.

  2. My primary care doc said the same to me more or less. I asked if he would say the same to his wife. Then he explained that patients look on the internet and that sometimes causes a lot of stress making it difficult to diagnose a condition.

    I moved on to a neurologist who is running the tests.

    1. Basically what the doctors are implying when they say that is that they have no idea what's going on and hope you will magically go away and be cured.
      It's magical thinking.
      Part of the problem with doctors is they feel a strong need to blame the patient for anything they can't easily cure or prescribe a pill for.
      While lesions are actually "in your head" they are a physical problem that causes physical symptoms and something as severe as numbness, trouble walking, and problems speaking are physical symptoms and not psychosomatic.
      You have spinal fluid tests and lesion imaging proving that FACT.
      Wish we could bring back science into modern medicine and ditch all the magical thinking and patient blaming.

      1. I went through this for years but I was the one making other excuses for my issues. I also have scoliosis that I've had since I was a teenager. Some of the symptoms that I was experiencing I thought were because of my scoliosis. In January of this year I started to have blurred/double vision which I thought was vertigo but after it didn't go away after 2 days I went to the doctor who sent me to the ER where I had a CT scan and I was then transferred to the hospital for a MRI and then admitted. It took them about 2 days to come back with a diagnosis but I was still waiting for test results to come back to confirm MS or something else. That was the scariest week of my life.

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