[kazzar1958]

Hi everyone,

Three days ago I got a patch of pins and needles on the tip of my little finger. I wasn't too concerned as I've had this before on various fingers and it has gone away. This hasn't.
This morning I discovered the same thing on my big toe, noticable when walking. Again, this hasn't gone. (I had a numb patch between two toes a couple of weeks ago that lasted a week or so but that has gone now).

The shooting pains in my feet at night have almost gone completely, and my feet are almost pain free when I walk (this could be because I have been very inactive for the last 48 hours).
I'm getting lots of fasiculations all over including my face, with some areas staying for a day or two (Not too worried about this though, but it is more prevalent).

I am very worried about all of this. I know compared to most people here these are relatively minor symptoms, but this has only been happening to me since July and I'm scared.
Will these patches stay or is it part of a process? What about the pain? I hate not knowing what's coming next. Please share your experiences.

Thanks,
Karen

[mrsD]

I think what you have are paresthesias.

This symptom can be confused with neuropathies.

Here is an explanation....many things cause these feelings.
And it would be different for everyone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paresthesia

Since you have migraines, I'd look to a vascular solution.
This would be fish oil daily (3 regular ones) and a good magnesium supplement (avoid Oxide form).

Twitching of the face and eyelids esp, can be stopped with fish oil.
In fact the Basel drug company did a study on this using Omega-6 and Omega-3 from flax oil.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10754430
Since in rats Omega-6 is more important than to humans, I'd leave off the Linoleic acid. Do the fish oil and some flax oil, and see what happens.

If you are taking an antidepressant, an SSRI ? This can cause facial muscle twitching, and also involve the neck. This is because when chronically used SSRIs somehow reduce dopamine and this reduction affects muscles resulting in twitching. It is most common on the face, tongue and neck.

Spells of LOW blood sugar also cause paresthesias, and twitching. So keeping journal to pinpoint when they occur and how long they last would be helpful. If they go away after eating...that would be revealing.

[kazzar1958]

Thanks Mrs D.

I've had parasthesia as part of my migraine auras quite often. It is transient and always in the same arm. The feeling I have in my finger and toe now is like a buzzing when I press on it, like it's partially asleep.
What's the difference between this and neuropathy?

Like I say, I don't have much pain right now, but this has happened before when I've hardly moved around for a day or so. I'm under no illusions that it's gone.

I went for a short run last week. My foot didn't hurt, but I had pins and needles in the toe for 10 minutes after I stopped. Same thing happened after a long walk a couple of days later. I thought that was symptomatic of PN.
I'm confused. My symptoms are erratic but progressing. It seems like I can't win. If I'm active I have more pain, inactive and I have parasthesia.

I am on Seroxat (Paxil), 20mg. I was on it 7 years ago and didn't notice an increase in my muscle twitches then. I had a particularly annoying one yesterday that seemed to be in my intestines rather than a muscle, very odd. I notice the one across my mouth more often when I'm in bed.

If things stay as they are, it would be irritating but easily copable. Like I've said before, without a diagnosis, my mind is in overdrive. I'm fluctuating between anxiety driven conversion disorder at best to MS/ALS at worst.
PN is most likely but that doesn't stop my obsessive fretting.

Karen
PS If anyone thinks my symptoms are of something worse than PN, please don't share. I was merely illustrating my mental state...

[mrsD]

Neuropathy means disease of nerves.

Neuropathy can be primary...and when so is constant. CMT is one example.

Secondary neuropathy is cause by something else that is impacting the nerves. Fix that cause, and the nerves settle down.

Having paresthesias, is a symptom. It may be due to disease of the nerves or something else. (like in the list I linked to off Wiki
today in this thread).

Typically neuropathy symptoms are more stable... always there.

However in the beginning, neuropathy may be minor and also come and go.

I think your activity level causing more issues, is possibly a trigger for a tendonitis, or some sort of compression issue.
Resting, is allowing for some healing, perhaps.

[echoes long ago]

no one can really predict wether an individuals PN will progress, remain the same or get better. the same goes with symptoms. they can come and go, or stay, no way of telling. honestly after 12 years now i dont even pay much attention to new symptoms unless they stay for a while. i tell myself that the jabs, stabs, muscle twitches, squeezing, burning etc arent real, just nerves firing when they shouldnt or the brain mininterpreting the signals or lack of signals in the case of numbness.

one thing i would recommend is to stop doing any exercize that is pounding or jarring such as running, weight lifting, tackle footballfor a while until things sort themselves out. you could due serious damage to yourself without even knowing it.

[kazzar1958]

Thanks for sharing...

The stabbing pains in my feet were at their most frequent and intense at the beginning. The dull aches in my feet that I have during the day vary in duration and location, mainly left foot.
The parasthesia in finger and toe are a new thing, that's why I'm concerned.

As I said, it's the not knowing what this is a symptom of is what's difficult for me. If I knew it was PN, I'd like to think I could take it in my stride and be grateful that the pain level was so low compared to what the majority of people I read about here have to endure (and cope with, with a great deal more grace and spirit that I think I could BTW).

Karen

[mrsD]

I've been thinking about this situation you are facing, Karen.

What medications are you taking? All of them... and what do
you use for migraine, or migraine prophylaxis?

The triptans will interact with SSRI drugs. They can cause serotonin syndrome in some people.

When trying to get a handle on paresthesias, and/or PN it is helpful too look at your lifestyle.

1) if something irritates you, stop doing it for a while. Several months. This pertains to exercise, like running. Running is difficult to stop, because people become habituated to the runner's high. This this an increase of endogenous pain blocking neurotransmitters, called endorphins. When one first reducing running or stops, there might be rebound pain-- from pain generators that were always there, but blocked by the running.

2) I'd stop the wine and alcohol for 6months and see what happens. Congeners in wine, and sulfites, are irritating to some people, as well as the alcohol. If you have crossed a threshold with the wine, the alcohol will block pain briefly, and then wear off. Confusing the issues.
You want to be able to identify any pain generating areas in order to work on them.

3) Vaccines can be problematic. It will be up to you to decide what to do about them.

4) keep in mind, that menopause is coming, and this can mess with your nerves as the hormones change.

You can PM me your drug list if you prefer privacy, so I can look them up for you. Include all OTC and RX drugs, herbs etc.

[Stacy2012]

great another reason to dread menopause.

[mrsD]

Originally Posted by Stacy2012

great another reason to dread menopause.

All the women on my side of the family moaned and groaned about menopause...it was ENDLESS. Every little thing... terrible emotional upheavals...etc.

When mine came, it was not really that bad. I didn't have much in the way of hot flashes or upheavals. Mostly my sleeping changed. I was rather glad in fact when it was finally over, and I could "think" as an adult without all those hormones clouding my mind!

But some women who react severely to lowering estrogen, get all sorts of complaints, and have a pretty bad time of it. I used to see them every day. Falling estrogen is a trigger for pain, and many migraines occur during the end of the menstrual cycle, when the estrogen starts to fall suddenly. These women have more difficulties with menopause. I went to a chronic pain conference once which had research on pain and falling estrogen.

You'll just have to see what happens to you.

[Sallysblooms]

Stacy it is nothing to dread at all if you have a good doctor that knows how to test for all hormones. Pregnenolone, Progesterone, testosterone, estrogen, etc. Using the correct hormones instead of synthetic. They are all so important for health and the pregnenolone is important for the nervous system.

I had migraines for 15 years that ended right away with the right testing and doses. Lots of doctors were clueless but now more are learning how important they all are.