Dimdim101
13-11-21, 02:26
Hi guys, I have really been in a bit of a non-stop health panic over the last few weeks. To spare the details, I currently am worrying about cauda equina syndrome.
Basically, somehow I woke up and felt like I had reduced sensation in between my legs (like my inner thighs) and my buttocks - I did google it of course and came across cauda equina and now have been freaking out that it's due to a tumour in my lower spine. The problem is, I don't know if my sensations are normal (because those areas just may not be super sensitive to touch), and so it is just a hyper-awareness and anxiety is making me think that those areas are partially numb. I do remember previous times where I have felt my calves or my face and panicked that it was going numb, only to realise that it actually wasn't (I know anxiety can make areas go numb due to a poor breathing pattern, but this was just me freaking out over a normal sensation that is always the same).
It does say in cauda equina that the feeling is not always complete numbness, but sometimes a 'reduced sensation' in the saddle area (inner thighs, buttocks), which makes me worry the most, because it comes down to a subjective feeling and I just can't seem to figure out if it always felt like this or not. I do feel like if I press on my thigh or buttocks lightly I can obviously feel my finger, but I don't feel much and that's where the worry stems from - is the sensation there reduced or not? Cauda equina also comes with bladder and bowel incontinence and paralysis, which I do not have (but again, reading about it, I worry I'm in the early stages as those more serious symptoms usually come on a lot later, and by that stage it can be too late to save the nerve).
I feel like the only way to get a sure answer is to do a spinal MRI and I do not want to go to that extreme if there is nothing to worry about - I clearly have an obsessive need with checking things and being 100% certain to receive assurance, and I think constantly validating that doesn't help as I need to find peace with it without always having the answers. In the last few weeks, I have had a calf ultrasound after worrying about post-vaccine DVT, a pap smear to rule out cervical cancer, and a blood test to rule out lymphoma or post-vaccine thrombocytopenia. I think getting the vaccine has honestly just thrown my health anxiety into a spin, because I have not been this bad in about 5 or 6 years.
I just wanted to see if anyone has ever felt the same and knows that those areas of the body (inner thighs, buttocks) just tend to be less sensitive than others. I can feel hot/cold on them e.g. in the shower, but if I scratch lightly on my bum cheek, lower back or inner thigh, I don't feel much? So again, clearly not completely numb, but worrying about the 'reduced sensation' symptom. Although I have to say, If I scratch my shoulder or chest, I don't really feel much there either, so I think this is just normal for my body, and my anxiety is making me fixate on those areas just because I read about the disease that correlates to them...
Thanks for reading
Basically, somehow I woke up and felt like I had reduced sensation in between my legs (like my inner thighs) and my buttocks - I did google it of course and came across cauda equina and now have been freaking out that it's due to a tumour in my lower spine. The problem is, I don't know if my sensations are normal (because those areas just may not be super sensitive to touch), and so it is just a hyper-awareness and anxiety is making me think that those areas are partially numb. I do remember previous times where I have felt my calves or my face and panicked that it was going numb, only to realise that it actually wasn't (I know anxiety can make areas go numb due to a poor breathing pattern, but this was just me freaking out over a normal sensation that is always the same).
It does say in cauda equina that the feeling is not always complete numbness, but sometimes a 'reduced sensation' in the saddle area (inner thighs, buttocks), which makes me worry the most, because it comes down to a subjective feeling and I just can't seem to figure out if it always felt like this or not. I do feel like if I press on my thigh or buttocks lightly I can obviously feel my finger, but I don't feel much and that's where the worry stems from - is the sensation there reduced or not? Cauda equina also comes with bladder and bowel incontinence and paralysis, which I do not have (but again, reading about it, I worry I'm in the early stages as those more serious symptoms usually come on a lot later, and by that stage it can be too late to save the nerve).
I feel like the only way to get a sure answer is to do a spinal MRI and I do not want to go to that extreme if there is nothing to worry about - I clearly have an obsessive need with checking things and being 100% certain to receive assurance, and I think constantly validating that doesn't help as I need to find peace with it without always having the answers. In the last few weeks, I have had a calf ultrasound after worrying about post-vaccine DVT, a pap smear to rule out cervical cancer, and a blood test to rule out lymphoma or post-vaccine thrombocytopenia. I think getting the vaccine has honestly just thrown my health anxiety into a spin, because I have not been this bad in about 5 or 6 years.
I just wanted to see if anyone has ever felt the same and knows that those areas of the body (inner thighs, buttocks) just tend to be less sensitive than others. I can feel hot/cold on them e.g. in the shower, but if I scratch lightly on my bum cheek, lower back or inner thigh, I don't feel much? So again, clearly not completely numb, but worrying about the 'reduced sensation' symptom. Although I have to say, If I scratch my shoulder or chest, I don't really feel much there either, so I think this is just normal for my body, and my anxiety is making me fixate on those areas just because I read about the disease that correlates to them...
Thanks for reading