Foot Drop

[ISO Happiness]

I was a patient of Dr. Sarno's and my last bout with TMS was in 2006. Upon learning the good Dr. retired, I searched around the internet and luckily found this wiki. THANK YOU! Prior to 2006, I had two other TMS episodes, both of which were resolved upon either getting therapy or seeing Dr. Sarno.

So here's the problem: Today is Feb. 1, 2013 and I've been having what I am pretty sure is a TMS event since January 15, mostly in the form of severe sciatica and numbness in the left foot and left calf. But, I now have absolutely no muscle control of my left calf. For example, I cannot lift or hold my body if I'm up on the ball of my left foot, though I can lift the front of my foot with my heel on the ground. I've been trying to ignore this for about 1.5 weeks (I didn't seem to have it at the beginning). My boss's brother is a non-surgical orthopedist and said that I need to get to a hospital for an MRI right away. So, obviously I'm now doubting that this is truly TMS and today I made an appointment at the hospital for special surgery in NYC with a non-surgical physiatrist. Another piece of background is causing me doubt: on December 27, 2012 fell down my wooden basement stairs on my back and bruised up my hips and buttocks pretty bad, but, I was just bruised and had absolutely no back or sciatic pain. My TMS symptoms only started on Jan. 15, so I really gave no thought to the incident. But now I'm having these seemingly serious muscle failures, and I'm starting to worry.

So here's my question: is what I'm calling "foot drop" a normal manifestation of TMS?

Any advise or experience would be very much appreciated.

 

[BruceMC]

Yes, ISO Happiness, 'foot drop' from what I've read is a classic TMS symptom. Of course, I cannot give medical advice but if that MRI will make you more confident in a TMS diagnosis by all means do it. That element of doubt you speak about allows room for your mind to develop anxiety about the symptoms you're experiencing, which can intensify your TMS. I do know that I fell on my butt out running in July 2008 and my TMS symptoms (weakness in the left leg and hip, sciatica and tingling) came on gradually after that over the course of say 6 weeks until I couldn't weight my left side any more. I think they call that delayed onset of symptoms, sort of like what sometimes happens with 'whip lash' after a minor traffic accident. But by all means have it checked out to determine if you chipped some bone fragments in that fall. Like they say in an electronics lab, test, don't guess!

 

[ISO Happiness]

Such sound advice, MorComm. Thank you. I do feel that I need to rule out the structural, and then hopefully I can more productively continue to confront all that is going on in my unconscious. And there's A LOT!