Misdiagnosis of Leg pain
Misdiagnosis and Leg pain
RLS sleep disorder causing night-time leg sensations often misdiagnosed: A common but relatively unknown
sleep-related disorder called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is often misdiagnosed.
The typical symptoms are night-time tingling, crawling, or burning sensations in the legs,
with the irresistable urge to move the legs.
This need for leg movement leads to tossing and turning, or getting up out of bed,
all of which interferes with the ability to fall asleep.
The sufferer then has the typical symptoms of sleep deprivation during the day: fatigue, tiredness,
morning headaches, irritability, poor concentration and so on.
This condition is sometimes misdiagnosed as other conditions
such as ADHD, sleep disorders, other causes of insomnia, or other causes of leg tingling.
Many patients also suffer from a related disorder called
Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which causes leg spasms
or other jerky movements.
See introduction to RLS or introduction to PLMD.
Leg cramps at night a classic sign: The symptom of having leg muscle cramps,
particularly at night, is a classic sign of undiagnosed diabetes.
However, there are also various other causes.
See causes of leg cramps or misdiagnosis of diabetes.
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency
is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis).
See symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency or misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Prostate cancer can present late: Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer among
males. Patients with prostate cancer commonly present with local symptoms such
as urinary retention, back or leg pain and hematuria. However none of these
symptoms are is unique to prostate cancer and each could arise from various
other ailments. Most of the patients are asymptomatic. Men found to be
diagnosed with low- grade prostate cancers have a minimal risk of dying from
prostate cancer upto 20 years after diagnosis whereas men with severe forms of
prostate cancer have a higher risk of dying within 10 years.
More about Misdiagnosis
» Next page: LEG PAIN (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
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