Has anybody else found that your anxiety can exacerbate your symptoms?

My symptoms that has caused my surgeon to recommend surgery is a constant burning and buzzing sensation in both my legs all over. He is telling me this is being caused by the severe foraminal narrowing at my L5-S1. However, my back pain is still very manageable. I’ve had this since I was a teenager (I’m 27 now).

I have since started to feel this same buzzing and tingling in my abdomen, my chest, my shoulders and my arms. It seems to vary in intensity depending on the day. It is more severe in my legs but still noticeable in my arms. I often deal with nausea too.

I’ve already seen a neurologist, and all he did was an EMG and nerve conduction study, and everything came back fine. So, he sent me back to my family doctor who then told me it’s obviously my back, and the rest is just anxiety (very frustrating to hear).

My worry is this: my surgeon has recommended an MIS TLIF that I could have done in April at the earliest, and July at the latest. Imagine I wake up from surgery and that buzzing is still in my legs and arms, and it wasn’t anxiety? How horrific that would be. I want to acknowledge that I know I suffer from anxiety from all of this. But I truly believe the anxiety is a symptom of what I’m going through, and not the catalyst.

In summary, I’m not fully convinced that my symptoms are being caused by my spondy. I’m beginning to go crazy. It’s been almost a year now since all of this started. I don’t know what else to do. I have an appointment with a rheumatologist in May, but that could be after my potential surgery that I may not even need. I was sent to see a rheumatologist because the blood work that my neurologist tested me for came back a little funny. I tested positive for the antinuclear antibody test, which is often an indicator of an autoimmune condition. However, false positives are common, and I have since tested negative twice.

One last important thing to note…I started having problems in the months after receiving my Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations. This can quite obviously be a complete coincidence, but it’s important to note. I am not conspiracy theorist, and I’m pretty center on the pro vax/anti vax debate. But, I do know that I caught the alpha variant of COVID-19 in January 2021 before vaccines were available to me in Canada, and I experienced mild symptoms and recovered fully. It wasn’t until April of 2021 that I injured my back in the gym. For the rest of the year, I had a tense, stiff back (no leg symptoms). I received my first vaccine in May, and my 2nd in July, 2021. From what I remember, the tingling in my legs began in the fall of 2021, and didn’t become really bothersome until early 2022. I then received my booster 3rd dose in January of 2022. Tingling got worse in those following months. My physiotherapist also managed to calm down my back’s “muscle guarding” with acupuncture. For a day I nearly felt normal. It is possible that the tingling worsened after the muscle guarding was relaxed (which would explain why my body was being so protective in the first place. It was saying, “if I relax those muscles, you’re going to have some nerve pain.”)

The tingling began spreading all over in April 2022. I was forced to quit my job in May 2022, and I have yet to return. I’m getting to the end of my rope. I used to be so active and healthy, and my brain is telling me this can’t be my back, even though that’s the only test so far that can explain my symptoms besides the 1/3 positive on the antinuclear antibody. But my back can’t possibly explain upper body tingling. I’ve had a cervical spine MRI to rule out other skeletal causes. The only logical answer is that it’s anxiety. But it’s kind of risky to go all in on that being the case, and moving ahead with major spine surgery assuming that that’s the answer.

Please read and offer your opinions. I’m really struggling right now. Your support is welcomed.