Strange symptoms

Like the title says, I’ve been dealing with some weird physical sensations for five days now that I just can’t put my finger on. An admin, please move this to whichever sub you think fits best.
35, male, no history of heart disease. Basically, five days ago—just before I caught a cold—I started feeling this massive weakness in my body and muscles, almost like the onset of a heavy flu. It’s hard to describe as actual pain; it’s more like strange sensations in my calves, shoulders, neck, and the back of my head. Plus, there's this constant urge to take a deep breath, like I'm not getting enough oxygen. I spent two or three days waiting for a fever to hit, but while the sensations keep getting worse, there's no sign of infection. I went to my family doctor, who checked my heart, lungs, throat, and lymph nodes—everything came back fine. He sent me for basic blood work at the local Laboratory. I ran everything from glucose, RBC, hemoglobin, HCT, MCV, MCH, platelets, WBC, lymphocytes, and iron; all within normal ranges. CRP is 2.2, sedimentation is 4. The doc basically told me to rest, take some Vitamin C, and magnesium. Classic.
Two days have passed, and this morning the sensations hit hardest. I’ve got this tightness right below my neck in my upper back, where a sort of stiffness or tension radiates from the spine up through my neck to the back of my head. I still feel like I got hit by a bus; I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep, and I'm still struggling to catch my breath. For context, I’ve had panic attacks since my diagnosis, and I've been on Paxil for years, but during these episodes, I don't actually feel anxious or panicked. I haven't experienced anything like this during previous bouts of anxiety. I tried taking Xanax, but it actually seems to make the sensations worse... Naturally, because I'm a hypochondriac, I'm already spiraling toward thoughts of MS or ALS. What should I do? Who do I talk to? I don't want to go back to the family doctor just to be told to take vitamins and Apaurin again. Anyone else dealt with something similar? Some people say it's just the weather changing, which would have cleared this up in six days, but I'm not one to play the victim...

What kind of sensations are we even talking about here? Tingling, pulsing, electrical currents??

It’s probably just somatization—I mean, you already mentioned dealing with anxiety and depression, and there's a huge difference between that and actual hypochondria.
To rule out MS, you need an MRI of the brain and an EMG; if those come back clean, then maybe an MRI of the cervical spine and finally a lumbar puncture.

If you let yourself spiral into hypochondria, you'll find every crazy disease, bacteria, and nonsense thing ever on the internet... so honestly, just stop before you go down that rabbit hole.
It wouldn't hurt to check your Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D levels too!

If you have the cash and the health anxiety is eating at you, just head to a private clinic or a place like Mayo Clinic—or if you have good insurance coverage. Or, if you know a solid neurologist who can squeeze you in somewhere, even though the wait times can be brutal, whereas private doctors see you instantly.
Though, based on everything you're describing, it sounds more psychological.
Good luck..

It’s this heavy sensation, like my arms, shoulders, and legs are made of lead. It feels like someone is sitting right on my neck, trying to drag me straight into the floor... I feel pretty wiped out, but sleep just won't come. It's hard to put into words...

Paul Ramirez59 said:It’s this weird sensation—like my arms, shoulders, and legs are made of lead. It feels like someone is sitting right on my neck, just pinning me down toward the ground... I feel pretty wiped out, but I can't even sleep. It's honestly hard to put into words...

Look, that could be anything from a spike in anxiety to an electrolyte imbalance, or maybe some kind of inflammation or infection... without getting a detailed look at a Laboratory report, it's impossible to say for sure.

But honestly, I don't think we're talking about MS here—that usually comes with neurological stuff like vertigo, dizziness, or vision issues, which isn't what you're describing.

If I were you, I'd get my thyroid levels and electrolytes checked: magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, inorganic phosphates, folate... plus Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D, ANA, and rheumatoid factor.
Did you get your CRP or sedimentation tested? If so, that's a good start.

My sister went through this exact same thing, and honestly, she’s been bedridden for almost two years now after being diagnosed with generalized Myasthenia gravis, which basically
completely took over her breathing and everything else. She spent so much time bouncing from one specialist to another, just getting nowhere, until they finally caught it via an antibody test.

Now, I’m obviously not saying you have this without doing all the necessary testing first, but once I read your description of the symptoms, I just had to weigh in because it was a mirror image of what she experienced
for a long time—that feeling of being completely winded, unable to walk, and just hitting a wall of exhaustion instantly... while doctors kept insisting nothing was wrong until the diagnosis finally hit.

Hang in there.. 😉

Still no diagnosis, but the issues aren't going anywhere. The fatigue is constant, along with aches in my neck, back, and calves. It’s not "emergency room" pain, but it definitely makes getting through the day a struggle—especially the exhaustion.
My doctor just ran another round of tests, and everything looks textbook: CRP, ESR, complete blood count, iron, minerals... even my Calvin Klein levels came back normal. Creatinine, Urea, ALT, AST, GGT—all clear. Now I’m waiting on RF and ANA results for Tuesday, plus some X-rays of my neck and upper back coming Wednesday. We'll see. Since I take Siofor for insulin resistance, she thinks that might be a factor, so she told me to skip it for a few days. Honestly, as far as I know, the only real side effect is Lactic acidosis, which usually presents with much more life-threatening symptoms. Maybe it's just myalgia that'll eventually settle down enough for her to send me to a neurologist. She brought up Myasthenia gravis, but says since I don't have ptosis and my fatigue isn't tied to specific muscle exertion, it doesn't really fit the profile...

Yeah, my B12 and Vitamin D levels came back normal, but my folate is running a bit low. I’m not sure if that alone could be causing all this trouble...

Hey, you got your B12 and Vitamin D levels back yet? I'm curious about those...
Just let me know once the RF and ANA results come in. Those are the big ones to watch.
In the end, it probably won't be anything serious. I'm heading in this Wednesday for an MRI of my neck and lower spine—that’s the last thing on my list just to rule out certain things.
It could be anything, or nothing at all. You might just be dealing with depression and have no clue... or maybe some tick or a random bacteria or virus totally wrecked you without you even realizing it.
Honestly, all these symptoms fit perfectly with Generalized Anxiety Disorder or a psychosomatic disorder. Look, if the Laboratory results come back clean—especially if the immunology and CRP are fine—it means there isn't any major inflammation or autoimmune stuff going on, assuming the ANA and RF stay normal.
X-rays aren't the ultimate gold standard, but if they look good, it means there isn't any major structural damage.
If I were you, I'd go for a brain MRI and get an EMG done just to finally have some peace of mind.🙂

Vitamin B12 - 339 ref. 211-911 pg/ml
Folate - 4.50 L ref. > 5.38ng/ml
Vitamin D - 32.7 ref. 30.0 - 50.0 ng/ml

Jacob Lopez51, what exactly are we looking at here? What kind of symptoms are you dealing with?

My B12 levels are way too low—needs to be at least 500—and don't even get me started on my Vitamin D. It’s abysmal. Anything under 75 is basically a massive deficit, and I'm sitting right in the danger zone.

For me, B12 is at 496, and Vitamin D is sitting at a measly 15.

I've been dealing with muscle twitching—my neurologist thinks it's probably BFS—plus all kinds of tingling sensations and constant anxiety.

All that's left is an MRI of my spine to see if there's anything actually going on there. Honestly, I've gone through a mountain of testing already, and most of it comes back totally fine. It's just one big mystery...

I don't know, I noticed that long-term Siofor use can tank your Vitamin B12 levels. Plus, insulin resistance tends to mess with your Vitamin D levels on its own, so maybe that’s why the numbers are low. Look, I know I’m prone to anxiety, but my theory is this: if I take, say, two Xanax or some Praxiten during a panic attack, everything settles down immediately—but now, nothing seems to touch it. Thank God I haven't had a panic attack in a while, but if I turned into a full-blown hypochondriac every time I felt a minor health glitch, both my sanity and my bank account would be trashed. Right now, I'm just sticking to a B-complex, Vitamin D with fish oil, and Vitamin C.

Maybe go get tested for H. pylori? Digestion really does mess with your head and your whole vibe, even on those days when you don't feel like your stomach is totally killing you.

Two months ago, I started dealing with some gut issues following an appendix removal. Did the H. pylori test—negative. Had a colonoscopy—everything looked fine except for some third-degree hemorrhoids and a tiny anal fissure. Also did a barium swallow and imaging for the duodenum and small intestine; all clear. Honestly, my bank account is taking a massive hit from this hypochondria, but hey, if I actually had a real medical problem, I’d be facing much bigger issues anyway.

Got my rheumatic factor results back:
ASO (Anti-streptolysin O) - detection limit 200 IU/ml, result - under 200 IU/ml - NEGATIVE
CRP - result - under 5 mg/l - NEGATIVE
RF - Detection limit 8 IU/ml - result - under 8 IU/ml - NEGATIVE

Basically, everything looks clean.