Leg weakness for over a week

[emilylouisex1]

I've been having ongoing stomach issues and nausea and I'm not even sure if this could be related. But my right leg has been cramping/tingling and feeling weak although I am not necessarily weak in the leg if that makes sense. I can still walk ok thank goodness but it feels so weak. I keep getting cramping in my thigh and my lower back is on and off uncomfortable (not painful) it's my leg that can be painful. Does anyone know what this could be as I am spiralling thinking the worst and don't want to go to the GP as I need them to take my stomach issues seriously (they know I have anxiety) so I don't want to risk not getting my referral for this sickness I have 😭

You need to talk to your GP, they are best placed to identify correct treatment for both issues.

I'm just worried they won't take me seriously

Ended up calling my GP, they aren't treating it as urgent as I expected, they said they want to see me next Wednesday

Go to the GP. They’ll confirm that you haven’t lost any strength or power in the leg, which rules out a lot of the nasty diseases. They will probably also do blood tests to rule stuff out, and will likely give you acid medication to settle your stomach. If they can’t fix it with meds eventually they’ll refer you to have a camera put down.

I’m not minimising your symptoms but everything you describe can be caused by anxiety. It doesn’t have to be anything bad.

Thank you. I know but my anxious mind automatically catastrophes everything. Tbh, I don't think I have lost strength, I hope I haven't anyway! Think it could be a pinched nerve as I write this I am getting shocks in my lower back and twitching in my calf. Maybe it's sciatica.

Has anyone ever had this with sciatica? I have an uncomfortable feeling in my lower back and my whole right leg feels numb tingly and crampy. I so hope it is just sciatica 😭

Yes sounds like sciatica to me.

It does sound like sciatica.

The upset tummy could easily be anxiety. I had six months of feeling sick, unable to lie flat to go to sleep, burping over and over for hours on end. The doctor gave me meds to settle my tummy. In the end they put a camera down to check - nothing. It was anxiety and was totally cured by counselling and relaxation classes.

Sounds exactly like sciatica to me. I get it often. Numbness caused by a trapped nerve, then pain for a few days.

Wow really!? I was so worried because I've been vomiting on and off and thought surely this cannot just be anxiety.... like now, I've took ibuprofen and it has helped with the sciatica pain but now I feel like I'm going to vomit and like I've eaten a 3 course meal. It's awful. I'm so tired of this.

Ibuprofen irritates your stomach and can cause nausea. If your stomach is already irritated ibuprofen will make it worse. Have you been taking it regularly? You shouldn’t be taking ibuprofen unless it’s prescribed - it could be causing your tummy problems, or at least making them worse. Paracetamol would be kinder to your stomach.

In my case the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong. But I felt genuinely unwell, and when they said it could be anxiety I said I didn’t feel anxious. But I was - a constant low level anxiety that I’d become so used to that I didn’t even notice it any more. I thought I had stomach cancer because I was so nauseated and full of wind, I was retching and burping and I could barely eat.

The doctor said I’d had a period of intense stress which had caused gastritis, and then I felt anxious about the gastritis symptoms because I thought it was something sinister, so it was a vicious circle. She gave me lanzoprazole to reduce my stomach acid so the gastritis could heal, and referred me for counselling, and I joined a local meditation class to reduce anxiety. It took 4-5 months but the symptoms went away. I wouldn’t have believed it could be just anxiety but it was. You still need to get checked out but just know that anxiety can cause some really bad symptoms so it could be that, it doesn’t have to be anything sinister.

Sadly I didn't know this until today, feel ever so silly now. But no, when my issues started I didn't take ibuprofen I mean unless I was sick I guess? But not like that at all. Then when my stomach issues really kicked in, I did take a lot of ibuprofen as it was the only thing that helped, paracetamol and cocodomal didn't touch the pain and I was in a&e a lot because of the pains that no one knew just suggested possible gastritis. I didn't take ibuprofen constantly since then only when my issues flared up but now it's progressed to vomiting and nausea so idk if it contributed or it's just a coincidence as the issues did start before this. However after this evening, I will never touch ibuprofen again. The amount of pain and nausea I've experienced within the past few hours ugh omg never again

It’s possible you had a minor stomach issue and you’ve made it worse with ibuprofen to the point where you’re really sick. Stop the ibuprofen and get to the doctors. You also need to address anxiety, until you do so it’s impossible to say how much of your symptoms is anxiety vs genuine illness.

If they give you PPI meds to reduce acid like lanzoprazole or omeprazole, be aware these deplete your body of magnesium and B vitamins, and some users end up with vitamin deficiency symptoms (easily avoided by taking magnesium and B complex supplements). GPs often fail to advise you of this but it’s on the info leaflet that nobody reads.

Thank you. I've woke up in a very evidential flare. Whatever this is. Feels like I have loads of food stuck in my chest and I keep belching. Sorry tmi.
Doctors on Thursday so I think il wait but yes the ibuprofen I would say has definitely triggered a flare for me. 😭😭😭😭
I am currently doing therapy but I can't say it's working much.

Haven't seen a doctor yet about this, but I still do have it, no pain now at all, just tingling going down the one leg. I'm so worried. I will need to rebook an appointment

Yes best to get it checked for your peace of mind but this is quite normal with sciatica. I still have mine too.

Can it happen even without pain?

Yes. I don’t have pain with sciatica. Just an ache at times but mostly altered sensation / tingling.

Did you ever find out what the tingling, cramping and twitching was @emilylouisex1? I’m having similar and GP has referred me to neurology despite no clinical weakness. Just feels weak..