Long time, no see ... friend!

L'hermittes is what you are experiencing with the zapping down from your neck. That is from damage to the C-spine, and the damage could be from any number of things, including a MS lesion.

The numbness in your hands is from the same thing. As the picture (of the full body) on this site indicates, it has to be going on in the upper C-spine to affect the hands:

http://www.aqavic.org.au/sci_facts/whats_sci.html

That pic shows all the sections of the body that can be affected, BELOW the area of spinal cord injury/trauma/lesions.

Cherie