[krystar2k9]

Hello everyone, I'm Ian, I'm 29 years old and have recently had some heath issues! I've recently had some symptoms starting rather suddenly starting in early September 2011 which have sort of progressively gotten worse and more consistent over the last year and a half, have visited a few doctors and a neurologist and still haven't really come across anyone else with the same symptoms I have been having.

Originally the symptoms started off one night with random tingling/sometimes rarely stinging sensations randomly throughout my body. They would come and go and at first were generally a light tingling that would last a second or two, then perhaps migrate to another area of the body (feet, toes, fingers, hands, neck, face, ears, nose - virtually anywhere). Fast forward more than a year and now the sensations have not stopped, in fact they have gotten worse and are generally more aggressive. Often I'll feel burning sensations or sometimes have a light tremor in my hands or sort of feel my body shaking from within, its a very strange sensation. I also very often feel sort of a buzzing or tingling in my thigh down to my lower legs and feet which comes and goes as well. Sometimes I will feel sort of an electrical scratchiness on my face around my cheeks, or sometimes a very dull annoying pain that sort of fades in an out across random parts of my stomach and trunk. I've also been having random muscle twitches or fasciculations across random parts of my body. For example one moment a small area around my inner thigh will twitch a few times. Then 20-40 seconds later, another area, say my forearm will do this.

All of the symptoms I've been having have been positive over-stimulation of my nervous system. I haven't had any muscle weakness or loss of sensation or anything - its quite the opposite!

I'm not sure if this was even neuropathy as I haven't been diagnosed with anything and had an MRI about a year ago to check for MS which came back negative, as well as several blood tests. I've tried changes in diet, supplements and exercise and nothing has really curbed these symptoms unfortunately. I was prescribed gabapentin before which didn't seem to do anything for the sensations and pain. Another interesting thing is that when I am asleep or falling asleep these sensations do not bother me - they do not wake me up at night unlike something like RLS.

As these symptoms have been getting worse I wanted to write in the hopes that maybe someone out there might know what this could be or perhaps have some insight. Right now I don't have any health care and it's troubling me that these issues are starting to get worse and interfere with my life more and more.

If anyone has any questions or any insight about these symptoms please let me know! Thanks in advance for any comments!

[mrsD]

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

What supplements have you tried? We need to know more about you... what you do for a living, hobbies, exercise etc.

Recent antibiotic use? Vaccines? Illnesses before this started.
Are you exposed to insecticides, gardening chemicals, solvents?

Smoking? Drinking? Stuff like that.

Relatives with nerve symptoms?

[krystar2k9]

Hello MrsD!

In the past I have taken B-12 supplements (sublingual and other) however my B-12 was tested and was fine. Initially i thought this was the issue.

Everyday I take Omega3 Fish Oil, a generic men's multivitamin, and D3.

Currently I am a student and have not exercised in the last few weeks, when I was exercising it was just some running/jogging and some free-weight exercises.

I had a tooth abscess a few months ago and took some amoxicillin for that but nothing else as far as antibiotics or anything.

I do not drink or smoke anything, I used to drink quite a bit of caffeinated soda before these symptoms but usually just drink water now. I've also tested my blood sugar level thoroughly and it has always come back right within range. However I do have slightly elevated blood pressure. Right now I'm 5'11" and weigh around 160 pounds, but I do live a mostly sedentary lifestyle in front of the computer or table.

My father did have quite a bit of issues with his immune system, he later in his 30's developed Rheumatoid arthritis and would generally have severe reactions to things like poison ivy, bee stings, etc. However I have never had any of these issues. As far as I know none of my family have nerve issues.

The only possible intoxication could be when I was killing some bugs with bug spray and some of it did get on my hand, it was the generic stuff you get at the store to kill bugs and house spiders, RAID I believe.

[jake8105]

I am a 26 year old male, who has also been experiencing strange things. My symptoms are: burning and pins and needles in my feet, strange muscle vibrations/jolts, electrical zaps or shocks in random locations on my body, strange crawling sensations etc. They did an MRI to check for MS, it was negative. They sent me to a neurologist and all test came back normal.. They have took numerous amounts of blood test which all come back normal. I too have drank amounts of caffeine that I shouldn't and have been trying convert fully to water(it's hard to kick that habit). I abused alcohol for the first few years I was in college but quit as soon as my symptoms started. I also take a generic 1 a day men's vitamin, and Fish Oil with Omega 3.
I certainly feel your concern and worry, it's scary wondering if your even going to be able to pursue a job in what your going to college for when all this has started up. Please let me know if you find out any answers in your situation as it may give me a direction to try and resolve mine.

[mrsD]

I will have to repeat what I do for all new members here.

Don't accept "normal" from your doctor for B12 tests. The lab ranges in the US still go down to 200, or 180 and that is now (for the last DECADE) considered LOW. The new lowest normal is 400pg/ml.
One needs to stop all vitamins for about a week before any testing,
to get an accurate picture of levels.

Here is a medical website explaining:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0301/p979.html

So patients having testing should ask for their numerical results, and compare with the new medical protocols. Otherwise neurological symptoms may continue.

Rheumatoid arthritis is inheritable, so family members should get tested to see if they have elevated rH factor.
People may have positive results on this test and be symptom free until the unknown trigger comes along and triggers it.
This is thought be be infectious and perhaps viral or other organism at this time. This test also has a high false negative
factor so it is not a supremely accurate test.

Other possibilities for young people with early onset PN are hereditary Charcot Marie Tooth, or some toxic exposure from drugs, solvents, etc. Gluten intolerance can also appear in young age groups, so going gluten free (no wheat, barley, rye) may help. This dietary factor is becoming identified more often today than in the past, and some doctors are still unaware of the new research.

This link is very complete and has a neuropathy section:
https://sites.google.com/site/jccglu...eralneuropathy

[ginnie]

[Welcome to Neuro Talk. MrsD does know alot about PN. I also have followed her advice as I was DX's with PN, but only on certain areas of my body.
Her information was agreed with, with my physiatrist. I take some suppliments and low and behold I am better a year later.
You do need to get DX's. There are clinics, that treat, according to what you can afford. Your hospital advocasy dept. maybe able to help you find someone to see you even with no insurance. I was in the same boat, no insurance.
It may take a bit of effort, but you do need to be seen.
If you can, keep a journal of all that you are experiencing. Even the post you sent us. This can help your doctor determine what is wrong. If this is interfering with your life, be assertive and find that good doctor to help you.
There is alot of hope regarding PN. I do wish you all the best as you move forward with this. NT will be here to support you every step of the way. ginnie

[krystar2k9]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll definitely have to see about doing something. When I had my B-12 tested more than a year ago it was at around 1168 (serum blood test) which was high at the time (I was taking supplements).

I'm trying to determine what these symptoms could be from. My own personal analysis would say there is something wrong with the signals being sent from either my brain or through my spine that is being disrupted somehow, which is causing these abnormal sensations and small muscle twitching. Though its onset was rather sudden as I have never experienced these symptoms before September of 2011.

I've scoured the internet and articles trying to figure out what it might be and the only thing that really came relatively close was PN, although I noticed some differences than what most people with PN have - primarily being the sheer randomness of the sensations and lack of numbness.

The most consistent symptom is a general buzzing or vibrating sensation in my lower legs and feet, every once in a while I'll feel almost like a network of nerves sort of pulse or vibrate on my face or cheek, this will last a few seconds and feels incredibly strange. I don't really have pins and needles sensation, but definitely feel a strange tingling throughout random parts of my body the entire day. Some days are much worse than others as the symptoms tended to vary in intensity and consistency, however over the last two weeks it has generally been bad or terrible every day.

When I did see a neurologist once back in January 2012, I had an EMG and some abnormal activity was found in my neck (C8-T1 Cervical Radioculopathy) but not much was said about it.