Left arm, left leg problems

This has to be something serious. I've been given 3 neurological exams over the past 2 months and they say they can't find anything wrong with me (headaches, unreality, fatigue, jaw problems etc).

My left leg has been acting up for about 2 months now. It started with me drifting to the left when walking. This lasted a few weeks and then dissapeared. I was left with a leg that felt a bit 'off'.

Fast forward to now and both my left leg and left arm are acting strange. My left leg feels weaker and heavier than the right. For example, I was carrying my girlfriend from the couch to the bed after she had fallen asleep and my left knee threatened to buckle with every step.

Almost every night I wake up and the little and ring finger on my left hand, plus the edge of that hand are completely numb, and come back to life with a wiggle. It happens with my right hand too, although far less frequent. I (used to) play a lot of guitar, but I can't do things I used to do 5 years ago anymore - it takes time for the two fingers to 'get back to normal' after the nerves have been disrupted - but as this happens most nights, they never recover. I hold my left hand in front of me now and the little and ring fingers have a life of their own.

When I'm lying in bed at night these days, my left arm and/or my left leg do something that feels like a cross between an ache, a shiver and a tingle. Its similar to the feeling you get in your limbs when you're lying in bed after a perticularly activity filed day. Only its limited to my left side.

I'm a fairly fit 24 year old man. Yet I woke up today and every muscle in my left arm and every muscle in my left leg aches when I tense/stretch them. The frightening (and only) conclusion I can draw from this is that the muscles on the left side of my body are getting weaker. So they ache much more easily -like they do today.


I've accepted the diagnosis of 'anxiety' for about 2 1/2 months now. I am very anxious, there is no doubt. But with the advent/continuation of these latest symptoms, I feel trapped. There's no other conclusion I can draw appart from the worst possible one. And I hate it.

Can anyone offer me a ray of light?

Hi,
When i have had a stressful and anxious day, i get a feeling in my left arm like it is numb and heavy, although if i touch it, i can feel myself touching it. I mentioned it to my doctor and she said that it is just part of the stress and anxiety that i suffer with. After being told this on numerous occasions, i decided that the doctor must be right and started to ignore the feeling, and now i very rarely get it, and on the odd occasion that i do, i take my mind off of it and hey presto away it goes. it is definately to do with us tensing our muscles when we are anxious, which in turn leads to all these peculiar feelings. Try to relax when you begin to get these feelings and i am sure that they will pass.
I hope this helps hun.
Take Care
Trac:D

This is more common than you'd think.

We've had several members with this and it has subsided as they improved.

If you hadn't have already been checked out then it certainly does warrant a visit to the doctor but as you've been well checked out already, anxiety can be the cause of these myriad of symptoms.
Use the search facility to find previous topics on this.


walking funny, head rushes and dizziness


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

Well I still get this left sided limb stuff, but the doctor said it seems to be transient (i.e it feels better, feels worse on different days) which is not how a life threatening symptom like a brain tumor would present. It would only get worse, not better.

An interesting thing I heard off my mother just now is that she was speaking to a friend of hers who has had recent anxiety problems following a cancer scare. She said that her left hand felt lame all the time, all weak and tingly. She also said that when her father lost his mother (he was about 30), he pretty much lost the use of his left limbs. Like he'd had a stroke or something. All due to anxiety as he made a full recovery on his own as he overcame his grief/shock.

So yes meg, I guess I can take comfort in the knowledge that its not that uncommon! (especially left sided for some reason).

EDIT : I'd still kill for a scientific explination though!