I suffer from a strange medical syndrome. I’ve probably had it for most of my life. Still, I became aware of my syndrome only recently, when I felt a tingling in my lower legs.

The tingling persisted over several weeks, and I booked in to see a neurologist. Brain doctors are very busy, so I had to wait several more weeks to see him. The tingling was incredibly annoying, and I longed for it to stop.

My symptoms disappear when I see the doctor.Credit: iStock

I was extremely relieved when the day of the appointment finally arrived. The neurologist took a thorough history, and then asked me to describe the tingling.

I paused, and focussed on my legs. OK, I thought. That’s weird. They felt completely normal. They hadn’t felt normal yesterday, or any of the days before. I realised, with dismay, that the tingling had magically vanished that morning.

“Um…” I said awkwardly. The doctor waited. I felt like a hypochondriac fool. And then, to my even greater shame, I wished that the tingles would reappear.

My medical syndrome has nothing to do with my tingling legs, and everything to do with what happened in the neurologist’s........

© The Sydney Morning Herald