Hi,

There is one thing I don't understand. Everytime you damage your nerve you are sure you gonna have a chronic neuropathic pain? Aren't the possibility of nerves regenerate and the pain is gonne forever? How long does it takes for a nerve to regenerate anyway?

I don't understand why people say that your nervous system is sending pain signals to your brain, when we can see through skin biopsies that the problem is there. You've got pain because you have less nerves then a regular person on the area of the skin that is causing you pain. Why is this misterious explanation for neuropathic pain. This could be the explanation before 2006, but after this year they proved that the pain is due to a loss of nerve fibers on your skin. Isn't so? Or Do Cientist verify through nerve biopsys that the nerve is fine and despite this fact people still feel pain?

http://www.neuropathy.org/site/DocSe...pdf?docID=1661

For me is a disfunction on the nervous system, that's why there is less nerve fibers on skin. No more mistery? What do you think?

By the way. My pain is intermitent (it is not constant) and I had my hands sometimes stiff. Any explanation for this? They feel swallowed but they aren't. And everything is fine on the X-Ray and blood exams.

Thank you,

PS: Sorry about my English

I think you need to make sure you have a follow up appointment with a Neurologist. A lot of your questions are case specific, everyone is different and maybe with the answers from your biopsy your doctor can figure out why you're in pain.

Neuropathic pain is tricky, your nerves are damaged or being damaged and that is sending signals that your brain interprets as pain.

Your problem could be environmental, since your pain is intermittent it could be caused by something you're coming in contact with. Do you eat large fish, are you around any heavy natural metals? These are things that your doctor can go over with you.

Diabetics get nerve pain because high glucose levels damage their nerves, some peoples' immune systems attack their nerves that cause pain, like I said, it's all case specific!

Is your pain under control? How are they treating your symptoms?

Filipe,

I think you are getting carried away with the names of the problems that are medical and sound frightening that you have found on the net.

Some people get temporary nerve pain, that goes away (self limiting). Others who have a serious cause don't have that experience. Some may improve by using supplements to enable healing. It is very different for each person. there is a thread at the top of the page... Neuropathy can improve. Please read thru it:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread43699.html

Please don't let your fear, or feelings of loss of control, create more pain for you.

Filipe...

Do you have pain in your feet? I am reading your older posts and I am having trouble finding a description of your pain.

You do say you have good days, and stiff hands. Is your discomfort only in your upper body?

Dear friend,

My name is Filipe and I'm Portuguese.

I'm really very depressed with everything. I've got a 10 month baby that needs a healthy father . My case is really a strange case, or a pure bad luck case. I'm gonna tell you everything and I hope you can tell if my symptoms are real or if they are psycossomatic, or if you think I have Neuropathic pain or not, or if it is reversible or not in my case. Because right now I see Neuropathic Pain as a real ghost and my fear is controling my life.

First of all let me tell you that I'm getting better from day to day. I don't feel burning sensations. I only feel sometimes a "pins and needles" sensation caused by presssure especially when I have tight clothes.

I started exercising with dumbells at home one year ago. One of the exercises made me feel something like an electric shock on both elbows. i started feeling parestesias that turned out to be a burning sensation on both forearms including the hands, and stopped exercising in May 2009. I went to the doctor's who told me it was a tendinitis.I began physiotherapy, and immobilised my arms to make them rest but the pain didn't go away. After one month of physyotherapy I had a tui-na (a very strong massage) massage to the whole body. I felt much worse with that. During the massage I felt electric shocks on my elbows and shoulders. Since that my neropathic pain symptoms have reached its highest level. I felt my skin hyper sensitive, I had a glove sensation on my hands/ arms, and my hands felt very "stiff" and burning. It was a nightmare. After 3 months since I stopped exercising I went to a neurologist and did an EMG that was normal. But the pain was still here. I started taking Lyrica. Then I did a magnetic resonance to my cervical. The result was that all was fine, however, I had a strange reaction /allergy to the MRI. I didn't do contrast. Since then, I got a strange dermatographism, and my pain seemed to spread to the whole body. Both have been decreasing,

My problem now is that it's been seven months since I've stopped that exercise and the pain, although weaker, is still here. I'm afraid I'm the one that is extending this sensation because I got very depressed and scared with the situation. I also still feel the hands "stiff". My blood analysis are fine , so I have no disease.The doctors say I'm fine and I don't need a skin byopsy. I took lyrica only two months.

What scares me nowadays is the fact that I almost sure I damaged my small fibers nerves, so despite I'm getting slightly better from my symptoms (or I think I am) and they are intermitent I'm affraid I already developed a Chronic Neuropathic Pain. I'm also taking Antidepressives and Anxiety pills, and I'm affraid they are the ones who are taking my pain away, is it possible?

So I ask you, do you think I developed a chronic neuropathic pain? Is Dermatographism a symptom of neuropathic pain? Should I perform a skin Biopsy? I'm affraid there is no way of knowing for sure if I have a chronic neuropathic pain because my nerves healed and my brain still receiving pain signals... Wit a normal EMG and a negative Skin Biopsy for nerve fibers loss, there is no reason for neuropathic pain, and no desease right? Even Idiopathic neuropathic pain can be seen on EMGs or skin Biopsys, right?

By the Way is the sensitive of a Skin Biopsy the same as LEPs (Laser Evoked Potentials)?

Thank you, and sorry for the long story,

Filipe

--my first thought would have been that you sustained an injury to the brachial plexus, the "switching station" for many of the nerves that come from the cervical spine and then go to the upper chest, shoulders, and arms, which might have resulted in all sorts of abnormal sensations in the upper body. But you said at a certain point the sensations spread further--to the whole body? (Including the legs?)

The other possibility, especially if you are reporting color changes to parts of your skin, might be reflex sympathtetic dystrophy/comples regional pain syndrome (RSD/CRPS), which has been know to involve skin discoloration and can occur after injury--small afferent fibers contine to fire signals in the absence of stimuli:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/senso...tml#idiopathic

We also have a forum for that condition you should visit:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum21.html