lower back pain and sudden shooting pain in lower back area & more, please help!

[Anxietynez]

Hi all, I've browsed this forum many times whenever i start to get anxious about one thing or another, but this is my first post.
For a long while now (over 6 months I've had a really mild back pain that is more or less unnoticeable throughout the day unless i really focused on the source, but could get notably painful when maintaining a straight seated position or lying down flat on my back. the pain would soon dissipate after a while of lying in the position. Yesterday however, i was sitting down as i normal and felt a shooting pain in the lower right side of my back, which felt unrelated to the original back pain that i occasionally feel which is more centered in my lower back. the shooting pain then began to recur every 10 -20 mins, not getting any worse in particular, and lasting only a couple of seconds each time, but still noticeable. the only trigger i can think of that could have started this may have been earlier in the day as i was on my way to the tube station i skipped a few stairs and landed heavily on one foot, but i'm not too sure how big an impact that could have had. the only thing i can compare this pain to is sort of like the feeling of a trapped nerve. this has got me even more worried as i have read, mostly from the internet (i know, very dumb of me,) about how progressively worsening back pain can be a sign of something serious. my only problem with this is that this back pain does not feel related to the original back pain, which hasn't gotten any worse for as long as i can remember. This isn't the first time I've lost sanity over HA/ General Anxiety either. a few months back i had a scare due to some palpable lymph nodes in my neck which doctors have said are nothing after bloodwork and an ultrasound scan. during this time i also sweated during the night which only added to my anxiety. after i got over the problem the night sweating stopped again, until i started worrying about my back does anyone get night sweats triggered by anxiety? this is also a worry but i only really sweat at night when i find myself in stress about something so i tell myself that it's due to the panic and anxiety, but would really want to hear for you guys on that as well.

sorry for the massive wall of text but this issue has been plaguing me for a while now and with the new sudden pains i got yesterday the anxiety has only gotten worse. would really like to hear what people have to say on the matter. thanks. :)

[saf138]

Sorry to hear about your worries but I can relate to you in some ways first off all the night sweat thing after I noticed a couple of what I thought was swollen lymph nodes I started googling the symptoms only to find the worst diagnosis ie lymphoma - cancer somewhere etc and night sweats was a symptom of that and for 4 straight nights I was awoken dripping from head to toe which sent my anxiety through the roof and after making a doctors appointment which I was assured the lymph nodes were normal I hadn't have a single night sweat since. Secondly as for your back take it from someone who has had chronic back issues for the last 10 years ranging from slip discs- sciatica and so on and it has got worse over the years the back is very complex with many nerves and joints you can easily have a back ache in one area and have the pain radiate in other places for instance sometimes when I get a flare up i sometimes worry I'm having a heart attack or I will get abdominal pain and its been on and off for the last 10 years. I will suggest to get any back problems looked at to prevent any long term problems. All the best

[Anxietynez]

Hey, thanks so much for your reply, it's really reasuring to hear from someone who can relate to all this. i think i've found that any sweating at night is directly related to my anxiety, as it only happens when i get worried about somthing, so i try and tell myself this to calm down. i also have an appointment to see the doctor on friday about my backwhich should hopefully help. thanks again for your reply. :)

[saf138]

Hey no worries I went through extreme health anxiety a while back so I only know how difficult it is to handle even when I was having night sweats in the middle of the night I would run to the scales and check my weight it wasn't fun at all and obviously we fast through the night so my weight would fluctuate and I would dread what was going on. Remember at times we can be our own worse enemy. All the best you'll be fine

[Anxietynez]

thanks again, you are so right about these two things. health anxiety turns our own minds against us, and is such a pain to deal with. i'll keep this in mind as i get over my own anxiety :)