Postpartum: neurological issue or just anxiety?

[MRSNURSE69]

Hello,

I had a baby 5 months ago. After 18 hrs in labor I had a C-section. I had epidural. No complications other than some swelling in legs and feet after delivery. When I got home from the hospital I started feeling strange things that occurred within 3 days of having baby:

The first was upper back pressure in the middle of my back that was very tight and painful and came intermittently for the first few days after I got home from the hospital. I went to my primary Dr and he thought it was from the epidural and referred my to a neurologist. It didn't make sense to me at the time because it was happening in my upper back. I went home that night and went on google and came across arachoiditis from epidurals and panicked. Next thing I know for the following weeks I experience the following and what seems to be every symptom of it:

-Skin burning/sunburned sensation throughout body (intermittent, usually occurred at night while in bed in middle of night or waking up in the morning)
--Tingling in legs (mainly in the morning)
-Feeling like water dripping down leg occasionally
-Random muscle twitching (constantly)
-Upper back spasms/pain (between shoulder blades)
-Hip pain (right side)
-Ringing in right ear occasionally
-Feeling this very faint sizzling noise/sound in back of neck mainly when hungry or stomach growls.
-Sometimes feeling dizzy
-Chills (happened first night when I got home from hospital)
-Nausea and vomiting (happened once first night when I got home)
-Burning Sciatic pain (bilaterally but worse on right side)
-Feeling like limbs fall asleep easier than normal (when holding baby, sitting cross legged etc.)
and more...

After going to a neurologist and having an EMG and MRI of brain, cervical and lumbar spine (all which were normal) I admitted myself to the ER because I was still so worried about these symptoms. While in the ER they did repeat MRI of brain, Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar spine, Spinal tap, they ruled out MS, and I had all blood work imaginable done.

MRI showed some small "inactive lesions" which they said was nothing to worry about, cervical budging disc which they said wasn't causing the issues, and the spinal tap showed slight increase in protein level of 51. Neuro from hospital said the elevated protein shows inflammation and compared the epidural and inflammation to a "punch and a bruise": The epidural was like a punch and the increased spinal protein was a bruise that would go away over time (days or weeks).

Now fast forward to 5 months later (now)
The only symptoms I have now:
-Twitching (doesn't happen as often as it did)
-Back pain (intermittent)
-Sizzling sound in neck still happens at times.
-Rarely right sided sciatic pain (very faint)
-Sometimes a buzzed/foggy headed feeling (mainly waking up in the morning)
-Skin sometimes still feels warm/sunburned sensation when waking up in the morning.

My husband is convinced I caused myself to experience all these things because I read online about Arachnoiditis after epidurals. I had to see a therapist because of how stressed I was and the therapist said it was anxiety related and that I was being hypochondriacal. The Neurologist in the hospital also wanted psych to see me while I was there because I was so adamant that I had arachnoiditis and he said the MRI didn't show that I did. The psych asked my mother if I ever had hypochondriac behavior before.....I've always been anxious about my health but this time it seemed like the symptoms were too strong to be just from anxiety.

The symptoms are much less now and I am seeing another neurologist to get another opinion but I am worried still..... Do you think this could be all in my head or an actual problem from the epidural? The only thing that was found was the spinal protein of 51 which was slightly elevated.

Thanks.

[Paxiled]

I have no idea about any of this, except to say that when you have a procedure and then side effects in the same area ignore doctors who tell you it can't be related.  The fact it is rare doesn't mean it didn't happen to you, and any invasive procedure can cause a problem in some that most don't get, such as the doctor putting the needle where he or she shouldn't have.  But as to your anxiety question, the question to ask yourself is, did you feel anxious before this procedure and your delivery?  Did you feel anxious already before you started feeling all this physiological stuff that naturally frightened you?  Because fear from a known source is natural and rational; anxiety just exists and usually for no known reason.  The fact this is going away despite you still feeling frightened also suggests a physiological cause.  This is why most people who end up addicted to painkillers get there from surgeries.  But you're getting better, and are recovering.  I'd focus on that.  I'd also ask if you exercise?  Movement might help your body.  Also, the elevated protein levels that indicate inflammation -- know that inflammation can become permanent if you don't do something about it.  That can involve things like massage, chiropractic, and acupuncture.  It can involve eating in a way that takes common inflammatory foods out of your diet, such as dairy and wheat.  It involves moving so your nutrients and blood flow smoothly through your system.  What happens with trauma is, the body surrounds the area with this protein, walling it off so it doesn't infect the rest of the body, but that blocks flow and the area can stay inflamed.  One of the anti-inflammatory techniques used is to take protein-digesting enzymes in between meals -- just an example to show that this isn't a new problem that nobody has ever thought about before.  Doctors generally don't tell people this.  It happened to me from an auto accident -- nothing was broken, and what doctors tell you is, well, you'll be fine.  Years later when your neck and back start hurting because they've been inflamed all this time and you learn this from an x-ray or MRI you wish you had been informed about this so you could have seen one of the practitioners I mentioned above who help to break apart this inflammation if you get it early enough.  So, ask yourself if you're that anxious of a person, and trust your instinct, but don't ever Google symptoms again -- there are a million symptoms that will frighten you.  Just use the Google when you already have a diagnosis and a recommended treatment to make sure your doctors aren't clueless.  But don't go looking for diseases, because you'll surely find one you don't have.    

[MRSNURSE69]

I was horrified before giving birth about the epidural. I told myself no one will ever come near my back with a needle and I would have to be dying in pain to get one.... well turns out I DID feel like I was dying from the labor pain so that all went out the window and I got it. I was afraid to even move the entire time I had the epidural in because I was afraid it would dislodge or something. I wasn't thinking about it at all once it came out and then I started feeling all these things a few days later. I pray that all these things keep dissipating over time because it has been a nightmare.

[MRSNURSE69]

I spoke to the anesthesiologist who put my epidural in like 4 times since I had the baby and he told me he has never seen this before and doesn't think it's related. I have also had the Neurologist in the hospital tell me he doesn't think it is related and told me the twitching and sensations could be from anxiety.