A TikToker believes a sewing needle has been stuck in her body for a decade. But as her doctor visits went viral, she became paranoid as viewers demanded answers.

• Rebecca Hiller thought half of a sewing needle had been stuck in her foot for a decade.
• The story went viral on TikTok and Instagram as she sought treatment, with people demanding updates.

The 23-year-old TikToker Rebecca Hiller captivated 10 million viewers with a medical story: She said she thought a sewing needle had been stuck in her foot for a decade.

As she documented her doctor visits in real time — and more and more people tuned in and were roused for updates — the creator began feeling paranoid about the situation, she told Insider. Even though X-rays did not detect a needle, people were theorizing that it may have moved from her foot to other parts of her body.

On February 1, Hiller shared a quick clip from the doctor office, which was filmed as a Snapchat for her close friends. She then decided to share it on both TikTok and Instagram, thinking the whole situation was just weird.

"Ten years ago, I stepped on a sewing needle in my basement and only got half of it out," she said in the clip, which has been viewed 6 million times on TikTok and 4 million times on Instagram. "But lately, half of my foot has been going numb. And I've been getting this weird pain, and I think that the other half of the needle that I believe remains in my foot is being rejected."

The saga went massively viral on Valentine's Day, Hiller said. On February 16, she posted an update after getting an X-ray — no needle was found. But there was "a mass of some sort" in her foot, Hiller said, which led her to wonder, "Did the needle create a calcified rock around it?"

Hiller was then referred to a podiatrist. The appointment was for the following week, but viewers couldn't wait that long. She said people were breathlessly hounding her for updates, with people becoming "angry," she said.

Some even wished for the needle so they could have their narrative fulfilled.

"Manifesting a needle in your foot so it can be removed and your brain/TikTok stops," one comment said.

Finally, Hiller unveiled on Sunday both a diagnosis and a treatment plan: She had scar tissue from the needle that had resulted in two neuromas, or benign growths of nerve tissue between her toes. As a result, Hiller said her doctor prescribed eight rounds of injection therapy, topical cream, and custom orthotics.

Going viral has been both exhilarating and unsettling for Hiller

Hiller, who started on TikTok in March by posting fashion content, said the ordeal drew a lot of attention because of how strange it was. But she was shocked to discover that it's a more common problem than she had thought.

"I thought I was unique, but so many people have stepped on glass or sewing needles or pieces of metal," she said.

Before her viral saga, Hiller had 700 Instagram followers and 600 on TikTok. Since then, she's rocketed to 9,500 and 21,500 followers, respectively — though there has been some drop-off recently.

"The real ones stay," she said. "The foot fetishists leave."

Hiller is hoping to translate this newfound attention to a new career in digital marketing. (Hiller told Insider that she was laid off in January from a job at an architecture firm.)

It's also taught her that going viral is a complicated experience. When she shared her first video about the X-ray, strangers immediately demanded the results and images of the scans. As if the thought of a needle lodged in her foot wasn't enough, she then had to deal with people prodding her for answers and updates.

"People felt like they deserved answers from me when I'm just kind of a random girl who thought I was sharing a silly thing that happened," she said.

She added that while she was initially excited, "once I started to get the comments demanding answers, I started to get very anxious because I felt like, 'Oh, these people are mad at me and I'm doing something wrong.'"

People also shamed her for not dealing with the issue sooner. And commenters began sharing their own theories about the needle "migrating up into the body" or "causing sepsis or injury to internal organs," which made her more paranoid, she said.

Today, even though the fervor has largely died down, questions persist.

"As for the sewing needle, either I got all of it out when I was 13, or it's migrated somewhere else," Hiller said in her latest video.

She's still exploring her medical options, which might mean more X-rays, she told Insider. For now, she's trying to calm her nerves as she updates her new fans — if you can call them that.

"I think I've just watched too much 'Grey's Anatomy,'" she said.