Have I got anxiety or MS tingling?
Anxiety and multiple sclerosis (MS) can both cause tingling or pins and needles sensations. We asked our MS specialist nurses to explain the differences and how to treat and manage both.
It’s not always easy to tell the difference between tingling caused by anxiety and MS tingling. And there are also other things that can cause tingling, including trapped nerves or circulation issues.
So whether you’ve been diagnosed with MS or not, it’s important to consider other causes of tingling. Finding the cause can help you and health care professionals find the right treatment.
What does anxiety tingling feel like?
People with tingling caused by anxiety often feel it in their hands, arms, feet or legs. Often it’s in both sides together, rather than just on one side of the body. Some people feel tingling in their face with anxiety. People sometimes describe their anxiety tingling as numbness or ‘pins and needles’.
But these kind of feelings can happen in all these places with MS and with other causes too. Where the tingling happens can be a clue about the cause, but might not make it completely clear.
What does MS tingling feel like?
People who have MS tingling describe it in different ways, like:
- ‘pins and needles’
- numbness
- hot or burning
- like ants under my skin or ‘creepy crawlies’
- like an electric shock feeling
The sensation can be in one area, or on one side. But MS tingling can happen on both sides at the same time. Sometimes MS tingling could feel painful, and the treatments can be the same for unpleasant or painful sensations.
Read more about unusual or painful sensations in MS
How can a doctor tell if it’s anxiety or MS tingling?
To help discover if it’s anxiety or MS tingling, a doctor might ask questions about what you feel and when you feel it. They might ask about anything that seems to trigger the tingling.
If you keep a note of times you get the tingling, you might notice any patterns.
For example, does it happen at stressful times? Tingling that always happens at stressful moments might be a clue it’s anxiety. MS tingling can also get worse with stress, so it might not point to a definite cause. But finding a pattern like this could help manage the tingling.
If your tingling gets worse when your body gets hot, that could be a sign it’s MS tingling. It’s called Uthoff’s phenomenon when heat affects MS symptoms.
The doctor might also ask about where you feel the tingling. If tingling happens only in one side or one part of the body at a time, that might be a sign it’s not anxiety. But lots of other things can cause tingling in, say, one arm or one foot. So it doesn’t mean it’s definitely caused by MS.
The clues can help you and your doctor pinpoint the cause. Whether it’s anxiety, MS or something else.
How long does MS tingling last?
MS tingling can last a few minutes or hours. It can also last for days or even longer. There might be things that trigger the tingling. For example, some people with MS notice a tingling feeling if they get hot, from exercise or hot weather. Other people notice the cold affects their tingling sensation.
Read more about temperature and MS
Treating and managing MS tingling
There are lots of ways to manage unusual or painful sensations like MS tingling. That could include drug and non-drug treatments. Some might be suggested or prescribed by your GP or a nurse. Others will only be prescribed by expert doctors – sometimes at a pain clinic.
You might be asked to keep a diary of when you get the sensation, what it feels like, and if there are things that help.
A health care professional can work with you to find out exactly how the tingling affects you, and then to try things that could help. There’ll probably be times you need to adjust things to find what works best.
Read more about treating and managing unusual sensations and pain
Treating and managing anxiety tingling
Treating and managing anxiety tingling usually means treating the anxiety itself. That could include using self-help resources, talking therapies and medication.
