To think this is NOT ‘just anxiety’

[Badcraic]

posted before, unfortunately I can’t seem to find my original post but since then I’ve been back to the doctors and had no improvement anyway.

I keep getting told my symptoms are just anxiety, which I agree they could be but something just doesn’t seem right in my opinion. I’m not at all an anxious person, and I’ve never had any anxiety before. My gut instinct says something isn’t right- I don’t know how or why, but I just know that something isn’t right in my body.

I keep getting sensations down my leg on one side of my body. It comes and goes but when it comes it involves a numbness/dead feeling going from my mid thigh down my knee and calf and into my foot. The feeling is always down the back of my leg not the front. I get pins and needles down my leg and under the sole of my foot too. It feels like I’ve been lying on it but I haven’t. It just comes and goes randomly. It’s always on one side of my body. I also get awful pain at me knee- again, it comes and goes but at times I can’t bend and straighten it. It’s not swollen or bruised, and it doesn’t hurt to talk on it. I haven’t injured or hurt it at all. I’ve started getting the exact same numbness and deadness on my arm on that same side of my body too. I’ve had excruciating headaches several times a week- again, on the same side of my head as the other symptoms.

I know this could be anxiety, but I’ve just got a bad feeling and I can’t explain why. I never usually have any type of anxiety and I don’t get worried about health problems. I’ve had 2 blood tests and I don’t have low folate, b12, anaemia, or anything like that. My GP said the only thing it could be is anxiety because I’m under 30 and otherwise healthy. I asked to be referred to someone else (anyone who could help!) but he said it wasn’t necessary. I went privately to a physio who said there’s nothing wrong with my leg or arm on that side of my body that they could help with and to keep going to the GP, but when I do they tell me it’s anxiety. I’ve tried mindfulness and all the anxiety management but it didn’t help and I’m not anxious

but it’s having such a big impact on my life now and I’m miserable all the time because it comes and goes so often and it’s so uncomfortable :(

does anyone have any advice on what I could do? Or if it could just be anxiety and I’m being silly about it all?

Not being silly at all and doesn't sound like anxiety symptoms. Can you see a different GP and ask for a neuro appointment? I have severe anxiety episodes sporadically and have never had the symptoms you describe. Seek a second opinion op and best of luck.

This is probably not very helpful, but:

anxiety (never ‘just’ anxiety) can be a
debilitating illness that can cause all sorts of physical symptoms.

The symptoms you describe sound awful and need investigation and treatment no matter what the cause.

you are the world expert on your own body and your feeling that something is wrong needs to be followed up on.

Go back to the doctor.

I have had somatic symptoms of trauma but they can and do create physiological conditions, for example I had sore joints and limbs for years as a result of prolonged elevated stress hormones. The presence of the elevated stress hormones was causing my system to get actually damaged so no I do not agree with just calling it anxiety.

Anxiety is very difficult to fully treat especially if it is trauma based so very, very often you are left with treating the conditions that it causes. So basically even if this is caused by anxiety and I am not saying it is, it is still likely to be another condition that potentially requires treatment if you see what I mean.

Thanks for the information. That’s really interesting as I wasn’t fully aware things like stress hormones could cause that type of thing! In my case I don’t believe it is anxiety at all (although I definitely could be wrong) because I’m the least anxious person you could ever meet- I’m not stressed, have no trauma and honestly am not anxious in the slightest x

OP my friend had similar symptoms before she was diagnosed with MS. Has the doctor ruled this out?

I assume you hadn't had a baby recently before the symptoms started? My post partum anxiety, triggered by a traumatic birth, displayed as similar symptoms.

No, I’ve never been pregnant before. The doctor said my 2 blood tests and my young age ruled out anything sinister and would not refer me on, despite me basically begging to be referred because I can’t put up with this anymore x

I'd tell GP what you just said above and ask for it to be noted.

I have back pain after a fall. I had to have an x Ray, then ultrasound. Then MSK referral. Now an mri to be booked. It's been 3 months and I'm not getting any better. I've privately paid to see physio, osteopath, chiropractor, private consultant. Because I want to know what's wrong, what the core issue is, and so far no one knows. I'm assuming you feel the same. Tell (a different) GP you feel fobbed off and ask what can be done.

Can you see another GP? You probably need a referral to neurology.

My sister has similar symptoms to you but in both legs. She had private medical insurance abd had all the tests known to man. Nothing. She is,an anxious person, though. And that's,what they've put it down to, anxiety.
But if it's in one leg, that sounds more like a nerve problem. I had to have a spinal fusion to rectify my trapped nerve which was very painful. However, not all nerves issues are trapped nerves and not all are painful, but are more of a nuisance.
Don't give up. Go back and ask to be referred. They'll probably start with sending you to a physio.

Not to scaremonger, but request a CT scan. A relative had similar symptoms in hand and it turned out to be pancreatic cancer.

Do you think it’s maybe a nerve issue? Trapped nerve or something? Guessing you haven’t had any accidents or bumps etc.

Do you think the headaches could be a coincidence or not?

Have you had a scan? Could be worth going private if you can afford it and the NHS won’t do it, just for your peace of mind.

On the anxiety front, sometimes the body remembers stress/trauma that the mind doesn’t. Lots of people have experienced emotional trauma in some sense - it’s just the nature of life. The Curable app is a good avenue to explore to make sure you’ve covered off the stress/trauma angle thoroughly while you pursue the mechanical front with the doctors, and would be helpful for managing pain anyway. (There’s a recent thread on here with links to the information from Curable if you don’t want to pay for the app).

It’s really hard because anxiety presents in all sorts of ways, including creating physical symptoms.

Mine presents by giving me heart palpitations, getting sweaty palms, itching and tingling. It also makes my IBS worse.

I have an awful phobia of having an allergic reaction to anything I eat, touch.. smell 🫣 so I often have tingling and itching somewhere on my body from anxiety.

But I know mine is anxiety, at first I could have absolutely gone to a&e worries I was going into anaphylaxis, but after many years with anxiety I can now differentiate between what is panic/anxiety and what may be a real reaction.

You know your body best, so if you’re having symptoms of anything then get it checked, get a second opinion. If it is anxiety, you’re just going to worry yourself into more symptoms if you’re not convinced by the GP.

@Oblomov23 sounds like you’d benefit from Curable too!

Doctors are far too quick to dismiss women's health issues as having a psychological cause if you ask me.

Make an appointment to see someone else at the practice.

Honestly, I don’t know what it is. I’m not scared or anxious about it- I just have a really bad feeling and something doesn’t feel right in my body. I’m always tired, I’m snappy whereas I’m not usually, and I never had headaches until these ones began. Now it’s several times a week and it’s horrendous. The symptoms are only ever on the one side of my body, never the other x

Yanbu, M.S springs to mind.

I would want a second opinion from a different doctor.

Have you ever had glandular fever or been diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus?

OP have you had Covid recently or the Covid jabs? Some people develop neuropathic pain after either.

Have you had any other kind of virus recently? Some other viruses too can cause post-viral neuropathy/neuralgia.

What I would do in your situation is tell the GP you want to be referred to a neurologist to rule out obvious things like MS. Don’t take no for an answer.

It sounds very much like my sciatica.

I have identical symptoms @Badcraic - all one sided - I saw a neurologist 4 months ago (I've had these symptoms 8 months) who did the usual basic tests and thought it unlikely to be anything horrendous because I wasn't having problems with grip, speech, or falls and trips or fits etc . But and it's a big but I still haven't had an MRI

I saw an osteopath too who is as certain as he can be that's it's related to disc/spine involvement (I am 61) and I do get occipital neck pain too

The other thing is these symptoms are very very common in long covid/vaccine involvement- if you go on the long covid forums, neuro stuff , weak leg (s) and excruciating daily headaches are the number 1 issues- some have more fatigue and heart related stuff- some way more neuro stuff.

If I don't get an mri through in next few weeks I am going to have to pay because like you I know 'something' isn't right.

It's bloody outrageous ladies that some of us simply are not getting basic investigations so we can at least rule out other things. If I have got MS, that will be 8 months where I could have at least made my peace with the situation and had appropriate care.

I've had this for a few years now , except it was the side of my face that was numb and tingling. I had a great GP who sent me to neurology, and my scan came back completely normal. Turns out it was anxiety, and I know this sounds daft, but when I spoke to the doctor about it it turned out I had been having panic attacks for years, but never knew what they were. I've been on anti anxiety meds for 6 months now and have seen a huge difference. However, the numbness returns on my face whenever I'm really stressed.

sorry to hear you’ve got this problem too, it’s absolutely awful isn’t it, I hope you’re able to get an MRI and some answers soon.

I haven’t had any of my Covid vaccines recently so it’s not that and I haven’t had Covid either 2 years whereas this problem started around Christmas so not that either.

Something just isn’t right but they said I don’t need a referral because I’m under 30 so it will not be anything serious. I saw 2 different doctors but I’ll go back and try and see someone different x

That’s interesting that you had that with anxiety. Do you mind me asking were you having other symptoms too or just the tingling? I’m having headaches, throwing up and can barely stay awake everyday despite how much sleep I get, I suppose it could all be anxiety causing it but my gut instinct is telling me it’s not x

What time of day are the headaches worse? Morning or evening? Do you ever have dizziness, double vision, loss of balance or co-ordination? When you have the numbness in your leg - does the leg itself go weak or is it purely loss of sensation?

Bear in mind that GPs tend to think at societal level not an individual level - ie most people under 30 don’t have x,y,z. However that doesn’t mean you’re not one young person who does, so while it may turn out to be something relatively benign like migraines, there’s no excuse for not referring you to rule out the worst.