Another symptom or am I just paranoid?

Hi,

I’ve written before about my continuously progressing symptoms. It started as a numb section of skin over my left shoulder blade and over a year, it spread down the whole left side of my back, getting increasingly more frequent pins and needles, and then continued to spread down my left arm, to the point over Christmas/New Year, where it was totally weak, numb, heavy and pretty much useless.

I was started on Amitriptylline in the new year and it has helped. My arm has been much better and the numbness is better and the pins and needles are much less frequent.

Unfortunately, about a week ago, my left foot/ankle started to feel very strange and almost stiff. It’s not too bad at rest, but over the last couple of days, it seems to have worsened. Yesterday when we went out to town shopping, my lower left leg just seemed to get stiffer and heavier. After a while, I found I was almost dragging my foot. It improved a little after some rest but I’ve been at work today and again, my lower leg was stiff and almost felt like I was walking that left foot through treacle.

I don’t know if it’s related or if it’s just paranoia. The fact it’s on my left side makes me think related but I’m sure there could be another explanation.

I’m still waiting for my first neurologist appointment. I was referred a month ago after an MRI of my cervical and thoracic spine confirmed I did not have a compressed nerve. I know that the waiting list here is a long one, not sure exactly but a colleague of mine said she thought it was it was 2-3 months.

If anyone has any thoughts, I’d be grateful.
Thank you in advance.
Natalie

It certainly sounds like it might be related: maybe “foot drop” and/or your leg not responding properly? I recommend you see your GP - he/she can rule out non-neurological causes and may also be able to chase up your neuro appointment to see if they can get it moved closer. You could also ask the GP for a referral to neurophysio if he/she thinks it’s a neuro problem. Neurophysios can be really good at identifying exactly what’s going on and give you exercises to help. Karen x