Leg Pain Making Me Terrified

[zephyrsapphire]

Hello all!

Thank you in advance for reading what is going to be a quite lengthy vent! For some background, I am a 30 YO female, no kids, I've been dealing with health anxiety for a few months now. Many people close to me have been diagnosed with or had a recurrence of cancer in the past year, and it's made me absolutely terrified that I'm next. The issue really plaguing me currently is leg pain. A few months ago, I started experiencing pain in my left side (low back and leg/butt). It felt like a 'sciatic' pain, with numbness and tingling. I just thought I was getting older and this was something new I'd have to get used to. Fast forward a few months, and I've now got pain in the other leg. Not as frequent, but still there. Depending on the day, my pain seems to 'hop' around from leg to leg, and to be anywhere from my butt, thigh (inner and outer), or calf. Sometimes it goes into my hips as well. When it first started, it went all the way into my foot/toes, but I haven't felt that in some time.

My initial fear was that I had a spinal tumour (I know, worst-case-scenario!) which I got very panicky about. I went to my GP, who didn't seem too concerned. She did refer me for an MRI and x-rays. The x-rays showed nothing wrong with the bone, no tumour on the MRI. The MRI did find some herniated discs, but everything I Google (I know Googling is a bad idea, but I can't seem to stop!) seems to show that I shouldn't be having leg pain with those discs being herniated. Or at least not in both legs. And now it's only my legs that are hurting...my back really doesn't feel that bad anymore. I've since become convinced that I have ovarian cancer, which has leg pain as a symptom. The worst part of this is, now that it's starting in the other leg, I've convinced myself that it's spreading throughout my ovaries and pelvis, or into other organs. Since leg pain usually isn't felt (from what I've read) until the cancer is advanced, that scares me even further. If I ever get pain, or a period cramp (periods have been regular, which makes me feel a little bit better) or every time I'm bloated or my stomach doesn't feel perfectly right, I get crazy nervous all over again. I have a GYN appointment next week, but the fear is getting to me while waiting and it can't come soon enough.

I'm sorry for the length of this, but just had to get it off my chest. I don't feel I can tell anyone close to me about this. Either they would think I was crazy, or I would make them worry when hopefully there is nothing even wrong with me in the first place. I'm just so scared and don't know where else to turn at this point.

[AMomentofClarity]

I understand your fears with those around you diagnoses. But there are a ton of reasons for leg pain that aren’t cancer. Until your appointment, try not to think worst case scenario and absolutely stay off of Google.

[neuroticcat]

I totally understand you as I'm going through the same thing right now. I got some weird leg pain for a month now, it's more like muscle spasm on my right let, on the inner thigh and I also read about leg pain being a symptom of ovarian or cervical cancer.
What you're describing sounds more like sciatica. Also, your leg will hurt if you have a herniated disc. I remember when I went to the neurosurgeon for a back issue, he said that if you have a herniated disc you can have pain in your whle leg including toes.
Feel free to PM me if you need to talk to someone.

[zephyrsapphire]

Thank you both for your kind words and reassurance. It's definitely a scary time, but I'm going to do my best to keep away from "Dr. Google" until I see my real doctor. I have a lot of anxiety about doctor's offices and procedures too, but sometimes I think the waiting and anticipation is the hardest part. I know we'll all beat or learn to manage stupid HA one day :)
Also, I'm not sure if this will make you feel better neuroticcat, but I know someone who had advanced cervical cancer that was successfully treated and she had no leg pain. I've done a lot of research into that type of cancer (probably too much, I think it triggered a lot of my anxiety), and it seems leg pain is an extremely rare symptom of that disease and more likely to indicate something much less serious. So, easier said than done, but try not to worry too much :flowers:

[Halle0587]

Hi! I had my GYN exam in mid March. No pain during exam, pap was normal, and my labs have all been normal. Regular cycles. I too have left leg tingles. No pain, but tingles sometimes if I hold my leg up when doing yoga it feels better, almost vascular? My GP said I had spider veins but nothing major that would cause it. She examined my legs herself and didn’t notice anything abnormal. At the beginning of May when I first felt it I went to Urgent Care and they did an X-ray for potential fracture and an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot, everything was normal. I thought a pinched nerve so I went to a chiropractor (also for sinus relief) and it felt better for a day or so. I kid you not, last night my other foot started out of the blue. I literally felt it begin, almost like if I could pop it I would feel better. It’s not yet like the other side and I hope it doesn’t get that way. I am B12 deficient so I’m on 2000mcg a day. I’m going to ask for shots instead only bc I’m terrible at remembering to take the gummies and the pills make me nauseous. My chiropractor suggested plantar fascia muscles causing this tingle as I walk on tile all day barefoot. I was worried about brain issues but I read another post and someone said that they were cleared from that bc they had their strength so that helped me think positive there.