MSNURSE
11-01-2016, 04:17 PM
Hi all,
I have suffered with anxiety in the past, and I feel like what I am going through right now is beyond anxiety but full on postpartum panic/psychosis almost at this point. I recently had a baby via c-section this September. While pregnant, I always feared epidurals, I never liked the idea of anything going in my spine and I said to myself I will never get one. Well, the pain of labor was literally unbearable so I ended up getting the epidural, was stressed about it the whole time it was in and couldn't stop worrying about if I moved a certain way I would cause damage etc....
Fast forward a few days later to when I got home from the hospital, I had crushing upper back pain that radiated to my chest (this sensation would come and go for a few days), I felt nauseous, chills, and was exhausted. My primary didn't know what was causing the upper back pain so he referred me to a neurologist saying that it might be from the epidural! Since then I have gone out of my mind with anxiety, depression, and obsessing. I did make an appointment with a neurologist who did a lumbar MRI (where epidural was placed) and cervical MRI which both came back normal. The back pain eventually went away and is gone now.
HOWEVER:After my primary mentioned that the upper back pain may have been related to the epidural (even though the epidural was placed in my lower back) I have been obsessing and did some searching on google about what it could have been I came across a disease cause arachnoiditis which can be caused by epidural injections.... ever since finding this online I have experienced each and every symptom that it entails and I have convinced myself that I have this disease. The neurologist also ordered a brain MRI & nerve conduction studies to rule it out and the results came back normal.
I have been miserable and am convinced the doctor is wrong and that I have this horrible disease that only gets worse over time with no cure. I am panicked that I will have endless pain. Right now the only pain I have is burning sensation in buttocks that comes and goes, twitching in random parts of my body which come rarely or with increased exercise, and I'll wake up from sleeping feeling like my skin is burning all over but feels cool to touch. I cannot function normally, I spend all day every day googling arachnoiditis symptoms and every time I see something that I have experienced my face gets flushed and I feel very hot from anxiety. I feel my body burning all day long.
Symptoms of arachnoiditis:
Tingling, numbness, or weakness in the legs (don't have this, althought my legs seem to fall asleep easier when I'm sitting cross legged)
Bizarre sensations such as insects crawling on the skin or water trickling down the leg (I thought I felt water on my leg a few times, no insect feelings)
Severe shooting pain (which some liken to an electric shock sensation) (I don't have severe shooting pain but I sometimes think I feel little zaps on certain parts of my body)
Muscle cramps, spasms, and uncontrollable twitching (No muscle cramps or spasms but I have started having twitching on different parts of my body)
Bladder, bowel, and/or sexual dysfunction (I can't really tell when my bladder is full like I used to but I'm not sure if that is from the c-section or not, I've been having diarrhea, and sexually I have trouble getting aroused but can achieve orgasm still)
Chronic severe pain is mostly localized in the lower back, perineum, legs and feet; it may appear weeks after a spinal surgical intervention or an injection into the neuroaxis that went astray.(No pain in lower back, perineum, legs or feet, although the symptoms I DO have appeared weeks after the epidural which is why this statement worries me)
Arachnoiditis can create extensive scarring of the meninges, which can lead to a debilitating, constant burning pain usually mixed with sharp, stabbing pains. It occurs mainly in the limbs and lower back, but can spread up the spine and through the arms (The BURNING part of this statement makes me worry because I have burning pain in both buttocks (sometimes one, sometimes both- could it be sciatica or nerve damage from arachnoiditis???) and a few nights I wake up and my body feels like its burning inside but its cool to touch.)
I'm a wreck and I am convinced I have this disease even though the Dr tells me its highly unlikely based on the results of the test. I also realize while googling that sometimes doctors misdiagnose arachnoiditis because it is rare. I am convinced he is wrong and I have it and I can't function!
Someone please tell me if the symptoms I have are anxiety related and if any of you have experienced these feelings during anxiety/panic/stress:
-Twitching all over randomly (rarely they come and go a few times a day)
-Burning sensation on face, palms of hand and sometimes entire body feels like it's on fire but is cool to touch (NO SWEATING, NO WARM OR FLUSHED SKIN)*
-No appetite
-Deep burning in buttocks that comes and goes? Could this be sciatica?
-Extreme depression
My psychiatrist basically thinks that I am making myself feel these things from postpartum depression as does my husband, who says it's all in my head and that the anxiety is causing symptoms that I think are related to this disease which in fact are common in a million other diseases but I am only dwelling on this one because of the epidural...
Any advice would be so helpful. Please!!!!
I have suffered with anxiety in the past, and I feel like what I am going through right now is beyond anxiety but full on postpartum panic/psychosis almost at this point. I recently had a baby via c-section this September. While pregnant, I always feared epidurals, I never liked the idea of anything going in my spine and I said to myself I will never get one. Well, the pain of labor was literally unbearable so I ended up getting the epidural, was stressed about it the whole time it was in and couldn't stop worrying about if I moved a certain way I would cause damage etc....
Fast forward a few days later to when I got home from the hospital, I had crushing upper back pain that radiated to my chest (this sensation would come and go for a few days), I felt nauseous, chills, and was exhausted. My primary didn't know what was causing the upper back pain so he referred me to a neurologist saying that it might be from the epidural! Since then I have gone out of my mind with anxiety, depression, and obsessing. I did make an appointment with a neurologist who did a lumbar MRI (where epidural was placed) and cervical MRI which both came back normal. The back pain eventually went away and is gone now.
HOWEVER:After my primary mentioned that the upper back pain may have been related to the epidural (even though the epidural was placed in my lower back) I have been obsessing and did some searching on google about what it could have been I came across a disease cause arachnoiditis which can be caused by epidural injections.... ever since finding this online I have experienced each and every symptom that it entails and I have convinced myself that I have this disease. The neurologist also ordered a brain MRI & nerve conduction studies to rule it out and the results came back normal.
I have been miserable and am convinced the doctor is wrong and that I have this horrible disease that only gets worse over time with no cure. I am panicked that I will have endless pain. Right now the only pain I have is burning sensation in buttocks that comes and goes, twitching in random parts of my body which come rarely or with increased exercise, and I'll wake up from sleeping feeling like my skin is burning all over but feels cool to touch. I cannot function normally, I spend all day every day googling arachnoiditis symptoms and every time I see something that I have experienced my face gets flushed and I feel very hot from anxiety. I feel my body burning all day long.
Symptoms of arachnoiditis:
Tingling, numbness, or weakness in the legs (don't have this, althought my legs seem to fall asleep easier when I'm sitting cross legged)
Bizarre sensations such as insects crawling on the skin or water trickling down the leg (I thought I felt water on my leg a few times, no insect feelings)
Severe shooting pain (which some liken to an electric shock sensation) (I don't have severe shooting pain but I sometimes think I feel little zaps on certain parts of my body)
Muscle cramps, spasms, and uncontrollable twitching (No muscle cramps or spasms but I have started having twitching on different parts of my body)
Bladder, bowel, and/or sexual dysfunction (I can't really tell when my bladder is full like I used to but I'm not sure if that is from the c-section or not, I've been having diarrhea, and sexually I have trouble getting aroused but can achieve orgasm still)
Chronic severe pain is mostly localized in the lower back, perineum, legs and feet; it may appear weeks after a spinal surgical intervention or an injection into the neuroaxis that went astray.(No pain in lower back, perineum, legs or feet, although the symptoms I DO have appeared weeks after the epidural which is why this statement worries me)
Arachnoiditis can create extensive scarring of the meninges, which can lead to a debilitating, constant burning pain usually mixed with sharp, stabbing pains. It occurs mainly in the limbs and lower back, but can spread up the spine and through the arms (The BURNING part of this statement makes me worry because I have burning pain in both buttocks (sometimes one, sometimes both- could it be sciatica or nerve damage from arachnoiditis???) and a few nights I wake up and my body feels like its burning inside but its cool to touch.)
I'm a wreck and I am convinced I have this disease even though the Dr tells me its highly unlikely based on the results of the test. I also realize while googling that sometimes doctors misdiagnose arachnoiditis because it is rare. I am convinced he is wrong and I have it and I can't function!
Someone please tell me if the symptoms I have are anxiety related and if any of you have experienced these feelings during anxiety/panic/stress:
-Twitching all over randomly (rarely they come and go a few times a day)
-Burning sensation on face, palms of hand and sometimes entire body feels like it's on fire but is cool to touch (NO SWEATING, NO WARM OR FLUSHED SKIN)*
-No appetite
-Deep burning in buttocks that comes and goes? Could this be sciatica?
-Extreme depression
My psychiatrist basically thinks that I am making myself feel these things from postpartum depression as does my husband, who says it's all in my head and that the anxiety is causing symptoms that I think are related to this disease which in fact are common in a million other diseases but I am only dwelling on this one because of the epidural...
Any advice would be so helpful. Please!!!!