Odd sensations?
 

Wanted to mention something that's not particularly troubling or important, more weird than anything else. I'm just curious to see if anyone besides me experiences it.

Today, when I got up, on two fingers of my right hand, it felt like I had a cobweb or something on them. Not painful, just like there was some very lightweight substance on them. I kept absent-mindedly brushing it off until I realized there was nothing on my hand to brush off.

Over the next few hours, that sensation turned into a mild burning pain that traveled up my fingers and up my forearm to the elbow. Then I went to my aquacise class and it went away sometime during the class.

The other thing is that over the weekend, I got a sharp pain in my right index finger that felt just like I had a splinter in it. I looked and looked for the cause, but there's no foreign object embedded there, not even a tiny one. It still hurts off and on.

This may have nothing to do with neuropathy. I honestly can't tell because I also have fibromyalgia.

Am I the only one who gets little pains like this?

fanfaire,
who is a parade of sensations :D

Are you aware of the "stocking and glove" sensation in neuropathy, in which it feels like something is gently touching your skin all around, but there is nothing there? Could be that. Although mine doesn't morph into pain, it just remains diffused.

Oh, do I feel silly! Wanna hear something funny? I thought "stocking and glove" just meant numbness from the elbows down and from the knees down, which is something I have experienced. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the explanation. Now I can refer to it by its proper term the next time I see a doctor. IF I ever get the guts to go to another one, that is.

fanfaire
:o

fanfaire
 

You have PN and fibro? How can you distinguish which is which? Or what symptoms are stemming from which illness.

I have pains in my hands like that...
 

and usually I can trace it back to carrying those plastic sacks of groceries, and straining fingers.

I also had problems with the scanning gun at work (UPC bar codes are now
used for accuracy)...since I left that job in early July, my hands are much better. I even trained myself left handed to do some and it still stressed me out.

I've had weird finger pains frequently. And I have long standing carpal tunnel.

fanfaire,

That is how my small fiber PN originally presented, as stocking/glove. And I never had numbness just burning and like you said a feeling of wanting to brush off or wash off whatever it was.

Anyway, the PN has gone from my hands since my two cervical fusions. But as of a few weeks ago I started to have pain in my forearms, especially the right one, pain in the shoulders, and in particular a tingling in my index finger. Too make a long story short I have radiculopathy again from the C6/C7...no impingement just contact with the nerves. I have just aggravated that level is all.

Sooo...as of two days ago I had a Neurologist appointment as a follow up. She did another EMG and also tested me for carpal tunnel. I DO have slight carpal tunnel in my right wrist...nothing too serious yet. She told me to wear a wrist splint which I have been doing. And it is helping with the hand pain and my finger is not tingling. And I also have an appointment with my spinal PM for an injection to get that nerve calmed down.

I realize that you are speaking of PN but I just wanted to throw that out there. I had such burning in my forearms several weeks ago that I thought I would have to put them in slings. Just know that intense pain in your index finger IS symptomatic of the C7...so is tingling. But, geez, it can be so many things too. But if you look at a dermatome chart, you can see how the nerve travels to the index finger.

I guess my whole point is that while I am a spinal patient...I do or have had PN. I just stay on top of the whole mess because I need to know if and when there are changes in my neck due to the fusions. So, as it stands for now...radiculopathy (nerve root contact) and slight carpal tunnel. But it all manifested in the way you are speaking of. It is such a pain sometimes to get it all figured out...I know! :eek:

And, of course--
 

--radiculopathy is just a particular kind of neuropathy--the kind that comes from problems with the nerve roots.

One can have both radiculopathy and other peripheral nerve problems--I certainly do, with my idiopathic acute onset body-wide burning neuropathy--now resolving--and my C6/C7 right side radiculopathy in my right thumb/index finger/third finger/dorsal and ventral hand (not resolving, and varying--I do have a bone spur in that area, and may need to have a foraminotomy one day, to get the pressure off the space the nerve root exits from).

The sensation of having something on the skin that's not really there is one of the most common symptoms of nerve disruption--along with pain, numbness, tingling and the like. It can be produced at any level along a nerve, from origin to terminal target. Some people say they get feelings as if an insect is crawling along their limb, or water is dripping down it. There are so many ways for the brain to interpret these erroneous signals.

Fanfaire--you're not wrong--"stocking-glove" has been used to indicate a certain common type of neuropathy pattern/distribution, but it also can refer to the feeling of having those things on when you don't.

Fanfaire and Glenn
 

Glenn,
If I'm not mistaken, isn't the autoimmune form of PN usually noted for it's "stocking and glove" presentation? And if so, then the Sjogren's could cause this presentation, right?

Billye

Oh yes! I have diabetic neuropathy (severe pain until exactly 17 days ago...for eight months) and in addition to the daily regular pain, I would have EXTREME pains all over my body. I might be sitting in a chair and all of a sudden it would feel like i had been stung horribly by a scorpion or something in one of my thighs, by stomach, a leg/arm...etc. Or suddenly one of my fingers might feel as if someone had just hammered a nail into the end of it...and on and on I could go....strange, horrible pains in various parts of my body...sudden / brief / but excruciating. I had begun to think I was losing my sanity...until I found out some people just have those...what a relief! (its bad enough to be in that kind of pain but much worse to think you may be crazy too!)

Now that I have been sugar free and virtually pain free for 17 days (woo hoo again!)....I have only had a couple of those pains and hope they will eventually leave me forever!

Some forms of autoimmune neuropathy--
 

--have a stocking-glove distribution, especially if the autoimmune attack is directed at the myelin sheath (as opposed to the nerve fiber, or axon, itself), as this disrupts the signal most towards the endpoints of the nerves.

It's not a hard/fast rule, though. Some autoimmune neuropathies affect the whole body, and don't necessarily start in the feet or hands.

Sjogren's (of course) comes with a full range of distributions. Often, whether one would experience the stocking-love distribution here depends on the site of the nerve attack. If the small fibers are affected primarily, one would expect to have symtpoms first in hands/feet. But Sjogren's is also notable for attacking the dorsal root ganglia (technically, a neuronopathy), which would produce non-length-dependent symptoms that could strike anywhere. People with Sjogren's (unfortunately) sometimes report report symptoms in the peroneal nerve, the trigeminal region, the medial/ulnar nerves of the arms . . .in essence, anywhere in the body there is moisture gland inflammation.

Wow! Thanks for your replies! This information is so fascinating that I'm glad I asked.

I've probably had neuropathy for 10 years now, but I've also had fibromyalgia the same length of time, so whenever I would complain to a doctor about numbness/tingling/weird sensations, it would be dismissed as my fibromyalgia without any investigation. It wasn't until 2004, when I had an episode of going completely numb from the elbows down and from the knees down that a neurologist took me seriously and did an EMG. It was positive, but the neurologist was reluctant to connect it to an autoimmune cause even though I had been diagnosed with Sjogren's the year before.

I believe the primary cause is the Sjogren's, with the fibromyalgia exaggerating the pain signals even more. And you're right about Sjogren's causing nerve pain throughout the body: there are times when I feel as though I've been hit by lightning, it's that sudden, and I involuntarily yell and freak out whomever might be nearby. The most common scenario, though, is a very ragged pain in my right big toe, like someone is trying to take the top off my toe with a can opener.

I am debating now whether I should ask my primary care doctor to refer me to the Mayo Clinic. I am pretty confident that all my diagnoses are correct, but the problem is, they were made in Denver, and I have moved to Sioux Falls since then. I've been to three rheumatologists here, and none of them had heard of my Denver doctors, and none them believed I had Sjogren's (they had never heard of sero-negative Sjogren's), and they all told me I couldn't possibly be disabled.

So I'm at a standstill as far as a rheumatologist closer than Denver that will treat me. I really don't want to do all those tests over again, but if I don't have ongoing supporting documentation from a specialist, I will lose my disability benefits. My medical insurance won't cover something like this either: how on earth does a person on disability pay for a trip to the Mayo Clinic?

I would go straight to a neurologist, but I think it would help if I already had a rheumatologist lined up for them to work with. That way I might avoid the "it's only fibromyalgia" runaround I get so frequently.

Any opinions?

fanfaire
:cool:

A maybe silly question?
 

Do you actually HAVE copies of those Denver doctors' reports? Maybe adding a 'hospital bio' page of them will add to credibility.. I know new docs never trust/believe other docs' work....that's gotta be a given. But sometimes, that the prior docs either had better training or backgrounds can work one of two ways...ADD to your situational credibility or make your current docs jealous.
I've had two docs from competing hospitals [both neuro heads] and the second wanted sooo badly to POO POO the first neuro heads opinions...except for ME and for the fact that it's my local neuro who concurred with neuro head #1 and ME....I'd been referred to neuro head #2 by a 'mentoree' of his --a neuro who'd left my regular local neuros' practice...Got the politics of it all? It gets far more squirrelley than it should be or has to be!

Web up this site and see where you mite go that's 'easier?' to get to...and go from there: http://health.usnews.com/sections/he...est-hospitals/

Then check with the Neuropathy Assn., Sjogrens' Assn...and other places-GBSFI and such and take a look at their boards of directors, medical advisory boards and such...there HAS to be someone w/a near affinity to or training for what you have not too too far away! And, of course, ASK your Denver docs! Do NOT leave any stone unturned. I have faith that you will find that special doc you need...one to treat you. But, don't forget that on the way...when you turn those rocks- you can find all sorts of bugs under them!

Hope this helps! - j

Sjogren's Board too
 

You might also check with the board of www.sjogrensworld.com too. They have a thread that is entitled Recommended doctors. And a lot of the members have been diagnosed with sero-negative Sjogren's. I myself am sero-negative.

Billye

Thanks for the suggestions and links. Believe it or not, according to the US News link, the closest recommended hospital for both neurology and rheumatology to where I live IS the Mayo Clinic. On the Neurology Association site, there is no one listed for South Dakota, Nebraska or Iowa, and the only one for Minnesota is in Minneapolis, which is further away than Rochester, where the Mayo Clinic is.

There is no support group for Sjogren's in Sioux Falls, no South Dakota doctors listed with the Sjogren's Foundation, and when I inquired about rheumatologists with Sjogren's World awhile back, no one knew of any near me.

Each time I went to a rheumatologist in Sioux Falls, I gave them all my rheumatological medical records so they could be reviewed prior to my appointment. One of my docs in Denver was Stuart Kassan, who does international research and has edited and contributed chapters to The Sjogren's Syndrome Handbook and is a celebrity amongst Colorado Sjogren's patients. He went so far as to write to one of the Sioux Falls rheumys to explain sero-negative Sjogren's, but it seemed to make no impression.

I suspect there may be some professional jealousy going on here. All three rheumatologists I saw in Sioux Falls were very arrogant when they found out someone else had diagnosed me. One of them snarled at me, "So what makes you think you have Sjogren's?" and I had to tell her she was holding the lip biopsy report in her hand!

I asked the Denver rheumatologist I saw most recently if he could refer me to someone in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska or Minnesota. He didn't have any ideas as he's from back east and all his professional connections are either on the east coast or in Colorado. Maybe I should write another letter to Dr. Kassan and see who he knows.

I'm hesitant about going back to my primary care doc as she is the one who referred me to the first two rheumatologists I went to here. There are only two rheumatology offices in Sioux Falls, so the choices are slim to begin with. And there seem to be a lot of "bugs" here. :D

But I know I can't put this off forever. Especially with the recent increase in neuropathy symptoms. In the past, there have been occasions where this has lead to stroke-like episodes, and I don't want my first intro to a new doc to be taking place during one of those if I can help it.

I know this has gotten ridiculously long, but I forgot to ask before: where in the spine is C6/C7? Just for future reference.

Thanks for your help!

fanfaire
:cool:

In the cervical spine--
 

--the nerve roots are numbered above the coreesponding verterbrae, so the nerve root that is labelled C5 is beween the C4/C5 vertebrae, the C6 between the C5/C6 bones, the C7 between the C6/C7 bones.

Each nerve root has a specific "dermatome" that it contributes fibers to and that corresponds to a certain region of the body, though there are some individual variations.

Take a look at:

http://www.geriatricsandaging.ca/ga_...atome_fig2.gif

http://images.search.yahoo.com/searc...079ee&ei=UTF-8

http://www.pitt.edu/~regional/Inters.../Dermatome.jpg

I suspect there may be some professional jealousy going on here. All three rheumatologists I saw in Sioux Falls were very arrogant when they found out someone else had diagnosed me. One of them snarled at me, "So what makes you think you have Sjogren's?" and I had to tell her she was holding the lip biopsy report in her hand!


Heh heh heh... I would pay to have seen that... :) :) :)

Cathie

Know the feeling
 

My worse area of pn is in my legs and feet but I do have these light touch sensations in my hands, arms and lately down my back. Usually I tend to start rubbing first trying to remove whatever or twist around to look at the back of my legs. Then it dawns - pn on the move again! The last couple of days I have had not even a full tingle but a small sensation that has been running up and down my back. From past experience I know what it is - the little whispers of pn letting me know it has decided to roam about to another area. Although weird, if I could I have only these sensations, pn and I would be a lot better roommates!

small nerve neuropathy
 

Hello all, I have been seeing a neurologist and had a nerve conduction, and I have small nerve neuropathy. Symptoms include burning in head, arms, legs especially and also I have numbness that travels around. I also have spondylothesis in my neck and bulging disc in lumbar. Just started Yoga and hoping it helps. I have IGM MGUS which may be attacking my myelin sheath on nerves. Had MRA on "Circle of Willis" and waiting for results. These are veins & arteries that lead up the back of the neck I think.
I sure sympathsize with all and can certainly relate to the discomfort.
I am new here and just wanted to say hello once again. MollyB

Odd sensations
 

I just recently started having a similar sensation on my nose of all places! It feels as if there is a loose hair kind of tickling my nose. It's very aggravating but not painful. I also have the stocking/glove sensation which, for me is like an extremely tight boot/glove. Sometimes I even reach down to take off my shoes only to discover I'm barefoot!:)

I've had that too! I kept swiping at my nose today in aquacise class until I realized there might not be something on it after all. I didn't even connect it with the other stuff until just now.

Like it says in "Alice in Wonderland", curiouser and curiouser. :rolleyes:

fanfaire
:cool: