Patch of pins and needles every day...

[WorriedAtNight]

Hi,

I work night shifts and my health anxiety always gets really bad, but tonight it is off the charts.

I have a patch just above my knee that is often numb and gets pins and needles.

I think it is because I often sleep on it and that is probably why.

But this week I have been in bed a lot and I am worried that I have a blood clot or something, as despite being up for my shift since 7pm, it is still numb.

Is it just left over from sleeping on it funny or am I going to collapse?

Sorry, really scared and hate panicking at work

[snowflake293]

Sorry to hear you are having a bad time with your health anxiety. I am not medically qualified but from what you have said it sounds like when I have slept funny on something. Remember that when we are having a tough time with our health anxiety we can 'home in' or 'zoom in' on body sensations and often they begin to appear worse than they are.

Do you have any coping strategies that you can use for when you feel like this? As hard as it is, I find distraction techniques help. It is hard at first cause my brain is literally screaming at me that something is seriously wrong. I really have to 'force' myself to do something else to take my mind off it, but it does help.

Hope you feel reassured soon.