Leg pain and panicy
 

Another day another battle. My wife is out of town, which makes this worse because I think "If something happens and she's not here..."

I was fine all day, but on my way home I was feeling some serious leg pain in my left shin just under the bone around the muscle which radiated down to my toes (Mainly my big toe) and up the back of my leg (The hamstring)...I also feel tender in my calf when I just sit there, but to touch it's fine. I've had this before and always thought it was a mild form of sciatica, especially since it eventually went away. today it came back. A couple of months ago I would've thought "DVT...deep vien thrombosis." This time I had myself under a little more control. Took asprine and hoped for the best. Watched some TV. But the pain didn't go away even while sitting. I'm sure by focusing on it I made it worse. I didn't want to rush off to the hospital (It's 11pm) only to "...come back tomorrow." I will go in tomorrow. BUT...here's what's having me believe more and more that it's sciatica returning: I don't know if anyone can verify this or say it isn't possible BUT because my panic started setting in I wasn't hungry. On an empty stomach I took my meds, including my benzos. 10 minutes later the pain was gone and I'm feeling a bit 'high'...again, I don't like this feeling very much. I prefer the 'normal' feeling. However, this is far better than being panicy. Anyways, since a benzo is a CNS depressent I assume any nerve related pain would be stopped or numbed by the benzo? Or I'm I wrong to assume so? I still feel some mild discomfort, but my mind is more focused on this thread than the pain, and I've got my appetite back.

My one regret is that this had me so worried that I called my morning lessons for tomorrow and canceled (This is one part of this disease that affects my life big time). I was lucky enough to have it moved to next week instead so I don't lose out on money.

Another strange thing is that in 4 days it will be 5yrs on the dot that I had my first major panic attack.

do you think it could be a pinched nerve? If it's traveling downward, it might be that. I learned that at the doc's office yesterday. And is the pain consistent, even if you don't move your leg?

It's been on and off for a few days. Mostly in my lower leg. I started to stretch today more than I normally would (Maybe that's a factor) but not to the point I would hurt myself. Suddenly, the pain went from my shin area to my foot...then radiated up. Didn't matter if I was still, standing or sitting. Before, if I layed down the pain would go away. This time it didn't. That's why I got panicy. Now I'm just very very relaxed (No food and medicine will do that I suppose). I will see my doctor tomorrow anyways...my insurance covers me 100 percent for this, and since I have no lessons tomorrow...I'm good. I'm gonna lay down for now (tired...) but might be up in a bit to check on mail.

Try a cold pack maybe, it helps reduce inflammation...it does sound like it is originating in your back. Good you will see Dr tomorrow.

Saw my Dr. and he thinks it's just muscles not moving or stretching enough. The chiropractor did some funky stretches with me and I was good. I did put ice on it last night, which I think helped.

Just thought I'd answer your original "can benzos numb pain" question - the answer is "depends on what's causing the pain"

If the pain is a true injury pain then, no, benzos don't really do much.

If the pain is a result of an anxiety produced issue (such as muscle tension/knots, poor posture leading to pinching of nerves, jaw clenching etc) then yes, they most certainly can. But they aren't really numbing the pain, what they're doing is unwinding you enough that the muscles unknot, the posture/back loosens up a bit, the jaw unclenches etc - which can lead people to think that the benzo is a pain reliever. It doesn't work on that mechanism. It does, however, work as a muscle relaxant (which is why you should never take muscle relaxants while taking benzos unless you want to relax your muscles into not working at all anymore - not a good thing for hearts and diagphrams).

I'm glad you're feeling better today.

You know Davinci, every time I come on here and you're going on about a psychosomatic illness, I've always tried to give you advice, be kind, etc. A couple weeks ago, when I was feeling real down I posted here. What did I get. Nothing, from you, no words of encouragement, nothing. Now, I don't really care, as I have people in my life I can always turn to, but try thinking about this with your next panic attack or "illness" Maybe start thinking about other people's problems on this board and that they may be going through a lot of crap too; then maybe you won't be so focused on your own anxiety and hypochondria.