Question: Hello,

My name is XXXXXXX and I’m 22 years old. For the last two months I’ve been having some strange symptoms. I was wondering if you could point me in a direction.

Two moths ago I started having problems with urination (post-urinary dribbling, urgency and frequency). The doctors did all kinds of tests (ultrasound and urine sample analysis) but didn’t find anything.

I’ve been extremely tired, I can’t concentrate or study. I’ve also been having problems with memory – such as remembering people’s names (even friends). They come back to me in a few minutes. I also have problems finding the right words to say in a sentence (for example I forgot how to say a ‘plate’ or a ‘jar). I don’t lose the information but I feel like I’m slowed down heavily like a slow motion movie. Daily activities are becoming a problem. I can’t make myself do anything.

I’ve also been finding it difficult to read as my eyes jump over words before I can read them. I can’t control my eye-movement properly. I’ve also got tremor in my hands, a little bit in my neck and my legs. My fingers twitch on their own.

I feel very clumsy (I’ve been spilling water from glasses and and I have difficulty with fine motor skills like cutting my nails (my fingers are stiff).. I also have problems with swallowing, feeling a lump in my neck. I feel dizzy and out of balance, especially when walking downstairs. My muscles in my legs are twitching but at the same time they feel kind of relaxed and weak.

What’s strange is that when I wake up in the morning I feel like I’m in a coma or a walking zombie, it lasts almost all day. Sometimes I somehow wake up in the evening, my mood gets better and I don’t feel the brain fog. Despite that, the other symptoms prevail.

What’s even more troubling is that I’m getting periods of some kind of hallucinations. I am aware that I’m hallucinating, it’s basically like having a dream while being awake, like a screening at the back of my head – I see strange pictures, people from real life and unreal, really like a dream (it's very repetitive - always the same pictures. It’s accompanied by an electric sensation down my limbs (which I’m getting also without the hallucinations). At the start it feels really pleasant but at end of the hallucination I feel like vomitting. I also feel like I'm out of this reality during these periods - I forget how got to the place where I am now. After it ends I remember.

Furthermore, last week I started getting panic attacks usually in the morning. I woke up and my hands were shaking a lot and I was feeling that I was going to die. My housemate had to calm me down.

The doctors did a basic blood test, checked my thyroid and glucose levels but everything seems ok.

I’m eating a very healthy diet, lots of vegetables, fruits, moderate carbohydrates, meat, no refined sugar or sweets, no other bad stuff like chips and processed meals or anything.

Two years ago I had the same urination problem, without any other symptoms. The doctors didn’t find anything either and the problems went away within 3 months, although urinating never felt the same since. Thinking about my past, I remember that I occasionally suffered as a teenager from bouts of unexplainable fatigue but it disappeared or I didn’t pay much attention to it.

My GP has told me that these can all be psychological symptoms but I don’t think so because I was completely fine 3 months ago and I’ve never had any psychological problems, nor had anyone in my family. I don’t have any objective reasons to be worried about anything. Everything’s going fine in my life. If I didn’t have these symptoms I’d be over the moon. What do you think could be happening to me?

(I don’t take any drugs or medications)

Thank you so much in advance for your advice.

Kind regards,
XXXXXXX

I know you can only guess, but given the base-rates in the population, what do you think could be causing my symptoms? I've been reading about Multiple sclerosis, multiple system atrophy and parkinson's disease and they all freaked me out. Do you think these are likely or that a psychological problem is more probable?

Thanks for your answer,
XXXXXXX

Thank you for your prompt answer. It was hard but I managed to convince my GP to refer me to a neuro-specialist so I should get some information on that soon.
XXXXXXX