--involves an attack on the distal limbs farthest from the body center first, that's not the only presentation that's been seen. Some get symptoms in other areas first, or more globally across the entire body.

This does sound like you may have experienced an attack on the autonomic system, which made up of mostly small fibers. People with such attacks can experience problems with their sweating, blood pressure, heart rate, digestive/eliminative motility--indeed, any autonomic function.

Take a look at some of the info on dysautonomia, and see if it rings a bell:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/autonomic.html#primary

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/wom...sautonomia.htm

http://www.ndrf.org/