I can't accept it's anxiety..

[CoraB]

i'm so worried about my legs right now to the point i'm worried about suddenly not being able to walk or them suddenly going numb or something. i'm having thoughts of being in a wheelchair and not being able to do things for myself and i'm just getting so panicked with my MS worries.

I'm trying to follow the advice by Dr Claire Weekes in her book "hope and help for your nerves" but I really am struggling to completely accept these sensations in my legs as being just from anxiety / nervous illness. it keeps saying in the book "provided your dr has reassured you it is just anxiety" but thats just it - he hasn't, he said himself it might be MS and he couldn't rule it out.

So i'm just looking for any experiences you guys have of weird leg pain, ache or sensations. Have you had tests and it is confirmed anxiety related?How do you cope with it / get rid of it?

My leg symptoms are:
- weird internal vibrating around my knee or sometimes the whole leg / both legs, not visible looking at the leg at all.
- a fluttering feeling, especially when I have my jeans on - almost like my legs are numb/cold/oversensitive to the material
- spasms in my groin, bum and thigh area intermittent a bit like a twitch
- feeling like my legs are shaky / restless / can't keep them still even though they don't seem to be moving to look at them
- aching and pain specifically in the lower leg and ankles

Can this even all be anxiety related?

[uru]

It could.

Simple test is if you see occupied eith something else do they stop?

[Lifelonganxiety!]

Totally can be anxiety. I get all the same symptoms as you. They come and go and get worse depending on how anxious or focused on them I become.

Easier said than done, but try to relax and take your focus off it for a few days if at all possible.

After a few days if you have ignored it and noticed that the symptoms aren't nearly as obvious or are absent then it's most likely anxiety related.

Enjoy Christmas!

[Fishmanpa]

Cora,

Have you read the SYMPTOMS (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms) page?

Much of what you describe is there. There's also the fact you're posting on an anxiety forum and reading books on anxiety so on some level you do realize the symptoms are anxiety related. Of the tens of thousands of posts I've read on this forum, I know of 2 people that actually had a serious issue and both are doing fine. In fact, their anxiety took a back seat and has stayed there since.

I'm not saying your symptoms aren't real. Far from it. What I am saying is that IMO they're not sinister and by treating your anxiety you'll also be treating the symptoms that accompany it. I've read your posts and you've been hyper-focused on every little physical sensation and niggle which in turn increases your anxiety which in turn makes the symptoms worse... it's a bad spiral to be in.

Hope you find some relief.

Positive thoughts

[JeffY]

Make sure you stay hydrated, dehydration can cause funny symptoms.

[Masonn]

If your Doc is concerned it could be MS why hasn't he/she ran some tests? I think an MRI can help diagnosing MS. Not to scare you or saying that you do have it, I really doubt you have MS. I have some of those symptoms also. But a MRI might help put your anxiety at ease.

[rsanchez]

It's good that you mention Dr Claire Weekes and her book. You surely know she touched on this very topic. What did she recommend? Simply walk. Walking is all the evidence you need to see that your legs still have the strength to get you around.

[CoraB]

It could. Simple test is if you see occupied with something else do they stop?

I am definitely not as bad if distracted by something else but the vibrating in my leg seems to come on even when I am not thinking about it.... but then again I may still be tense?

its so hard to know because I was doing really well with the anxiety until the dizzyness came on and i nearly passed out at work. But I'm not sure if that itself might of been a panic attack.

---------- Post added at 01:06 ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 ----------


Cora,

Have you read the SYMPTOMS (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms) page? Much of what you describe is there. There's also the fact you're posting on an anxiety forum and reading books on anxiety so on some level you do realize the symptoms are anxiety related. Of the tens of thousands of posts I've read on this forum, I know of 2 people that actually had a serious issue and both are doing fine. In fact, their anxiety took a back seat and has stayed there since.

I've been on the symptoms page and it does give me some reassurance and you're right I do know i have a problem with anxiety and i know even "real" stuff I have i turn into major issues because of the anxiety. It does worry me though that having suffered from anxiety for 15+years now I never had these symptoms before? Then again the past few years it has been focused a lot more on my health.

---------- Post added at 01:15 ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 ----------


It's good that you mention Dr Claire Weekes and her book. You surely know she touched on this very topic. What did she recommend? Simply walk. Walking is all the evidence you need to see that your legs still have the strength to get you around.

I found Dr Weekes book really helpful but again my brain was working overtime and there was this bit where she said nervous illness has a set of limited symptoms and we should get reassurance than no new symptoms can develop.

For a while this reassured me but since then my eyesight has gone blurry and this wasn't mentioned so then i think this must be something else :-( It's like my brain is being torn in two, one half is trying to relax, accept and acknowledge the massive role anxiety is playing but the other half is saying "take note of these symptoms they need urgent attention, you know your own body something isn't right - act now and you might survive"

No wonder my head hurts constantly :-(

[Em.ma]

Hi.
this can totally be anxiety related.
I am having this at the moment. I am so focused on my legs when sitting down that it is taking over my life. I feel like when I am sitting down I have to move them even though I do not move them and get a weird tingling in my feet. I am not worried about it as when I was at my boyfriends parents for xmas the symptoms disappeared when I was busy. It is horrible lying in bed at night or when not at work and at home.

Some things I have tried to distract from the feelings are:

Walking
Cycling (bit harder for me to go to far as 28 weeks pregnant so I just ride along the flat seafront cycle lane)
Video games
Typing
Adult colouring books
Also teaching my self to Knit.

Also it could just be restless leg syndrome which is not harmful just annoying but I am betting this is anxiety.
Good luck and I hope it gets better soon

[Elen]

Hi.
this can totally be anxiety related.
I am having this at the moment. I am so focused on my legs when sitting down that it is taking over my life. I feel like when I am sitting down I have to move them even though I do not move them and get a weird tingling in my feet. I am not worried about it as when I was at my boyfriends parents for xmas the symptoms disappeared when I was busy. It is horrible lying in bed at night or when not at work and at home.

Some things I have tried to distract from the feelings are:

Walking
Cycling (bit harder for me to go to far as 28 weeks pregnant so I just ride along the flat seafront cycle lane)
Video games
Typing
Adult colouring books
Also teaching my self to Knit.

Also it could just be restless leg syndrome which is not harmful just annoying but I am betting this is anxiety.
Good luck and I hope it gets better soon

Sorry to hijack the thread but just had to say I am so pleased to hear that you are sounding so much better Emma. You are an inspiration.

[CoraB]

Hey everyone! Just revisiting some of my threads and I wanted to post on this again as i'm struggling so much with this. I'm reading quite a lot of self help books and have started doing some CBT on my own. Emma, I've also now got an adult colouring book too which i really enjoy :-)

I seem to go through periods where it isn't as bad or certain symptoms aren't as bad but I know deep down what i am really struggling with is that I don't fully commit to some of the suggestions because I don't fully believe it is anxiety...
I KNOW i have anxiety but i just can't quite make the leap to all these weird and wonderful things I've never had before (despite having been hospitalized for it before and suffering for 15year) now being down to the anxiety.

like my legs I remember getting achey legs before but this is far more intense and I've had the pain in my hip for over a year intermittently - now it is every time I walk any great distance it comes on. The pain just feels too intense to be anxiety you know? It feel like the pain is causing the anxiety not anxiety causing the pain? But then again I can't deny that there is definitely a correlation between the pain getting worse and the anxiety getting worse :-/

I'm so confused I feel so lost with it all I just want to scream. It's like a constant argument in my own head and sometimes it feels like it might explode so any insights would be helpful :-)