How Would You Describe Your Numbness?
 

Describing numbness is hard sometimes. For the past couple of days my hands, well actually parts of my hands, feel what I describe as numb. But I don't know if that's the right word to describe it. I have patches that don't feel like they are there, or cold, or slightly tingling. Or maybe it's not tingling just vibrations. Just not quite like a vibration. It's a weird sensation and I'm having a tough time describing it. It's annoying.

Of course, this morning I woke up and couldn't walk well at all. Extremely wobbly legs and needing to use the walls to walk. Needless to say, I may be heading in to a flare. So I sat here and thought how the heck do I describe my hands if, and that's a big if, I call the neuro. And then I thought, how do you all describe your numbness. Lack of sensation? Tingling? Can't feel textures? Hot? Cold? I can be numb but not feel any tingling. I just don't feel anything and I get it a lot in my rib cage with the hug, which is most of the time. This is slightly different and I'm having a hard time putting words to it.

Ughh....I have a hard time trying to explain my sensations, too. Only another MSer would know what I mean.

I've been having a really hard time walking, too. I hope it's not a flare but it very well could be. My left leg is giving me such a hard time lately. It's so difficult to explain just what it feels like. I have an appointment this Friday with my Neuro so I've been making notes so I'll remember what I want to talk about.

Be careful. I've almost fallen several times. I've slowed down so much. It takes me forever just to get from one end of the house to the other. :rolleyes: Don't know what my hurry is....I'm just used to moving at a slightly faster pace. I feel like a snail. :o

It is hard to describe. And, I think you are right . . .only an MSer would understand what you are talking about.

Hope your leg starts feeling better soon!:hug:

One of my first symptoms was a patch of numbness in the area of my upper right lip and cheek. It was true numbness, like I'd had a shot of novocaine.

The numbness I experience in my leg is nothing like that. I only call it numbness because I can't think of a better word for it. It feels like my leg is starting to "go to sleep", but just the flesh part. Or like my skin is stretched tight over swelling, but when I look down, of course there's no swelling. Or as though I'm wearing tight stockings or leggings.

I hate the feeling. It isn't really pain, but it's wicked uncomfortable.

I've had the numbness that tingles like it's fallen asleep. Mostly it's a loss of sensation, like someone has put my feeling of touch on "mute". Either that or Copperfield has somehow made that piece of body seem to disappear even though I can still see it! :eek:

The whole hot/cold sensation loss can be annoying. I've burnt myself a few times and never even knew it until the pain started in a minute or two later. But the happy trade off is being able to hide an ice cube in my hand before dumping it down the hubby's back without him realizing I'm even palming one. :D

So I totally understand the frustration trying to describe the different types, and trying to figure out when an increase in its intensity is worh a call to the doc. Hope it calms down soon. :hug::hug:

My numbness is pretty constant now. It does change in intensity due to weather changes etc... Weakness is my biggest enemy. It's like a catch 22, numbness makes me weaker and weakness makes me feel more numb.:eek:

I seem to feel numbness deeper than the tips of the fingers or deeper than skin deep.:confused: It doesn't hurt. But feels like I am always in an out of body experience. Not out of mind, because, I know I'm there, but don't feel entirely there. Did that make sense?

Huh?:confused::confused::confused::D I know what you mean. :D It's like that part of your body is completely missing. Like I have chunks on my hand missing. Every now and then they feel like a burn almost. There is no burn there but that is what it feels like at times.

Jenn - I have burnt my arm so many times. Plus, I can't tell how hot water is with my left hand. I can definitely feel pin pricks and things like that, just can't feel temperatures.

I started this journey with numb toes. It feels as if, for instance, when I would rub my toes against DH's leg, I would ask him why he was wearing socks to bed...he wasn't. That's the way it feels to me.
I still get pain in the numb parts, mainly neuropathic in nature. But it is a weird feeling...numb, but not really...

I think you are talking about what they refer to as "altered sensation". I used to describe the feeling as "numb" but it actually was not. I like to say it feels like my leg is wearing a rubber glove. I feel it, but the total natural sensation is missing.

I often get that 'glove' sensation on my hands - lack of feeling, cant' distinguish heat or texture.

I also get a funny feeling in my leg/s (mostly left) that feels like it has been wrapped in constrictive bandages. In my left foot, I can't tell the difference between sharp and blunt - although I am aware of pressure.

It is also my left calf that is stiff and hurting when I walking lately.

Funny, most of my stuff happens on my left side to a greater degree. Even my vision has remained much worse in my left eye, and that is the one that still has nystagmus and double vision.

Irritating though, because I am VERY left-handed! Does it tend to hit your dominant side harder?????

Regards

Lyn

My MS weak side is my left side, but luckily I'm very right handed. A friend has right side weakness and she is right handed. She had to change her mini's gas pedal to the left side.

Lynn - I'm a righty and most of my trouble is on the left side. I am severely impaired on my right hand but I don't notice it at all. It shows up on testing though and they told me that my brain has rewired so I am still able to use that hand. Otherwise, I wouldn't. I don't know how this relates to lesion load but most of my lesions are on the left side, which you would think my right side would be worse.:confused::confused:

I don't know, I guess I just wondered because one of my friends (an older gentleman who is badly MS affected) mentioned that theory to me (about being worse on your dominant side).

As far as lesion load goes, all of my lesions seem to be fairly evenly dispersed.

Interesting though, thanks for your input.

Lyn :)

Sometimes it's tingling. Sometimes it's a lack of sensation that is also an almost painful coldness. Not ordinary coldness but as if my bones are cold.

This probably doesn't make much sense.

Other times it's as if a part of me "isn't there." Sometimes my upper left side hasn't existed. I would look at it and think it wasn't mine. I couldn't move it either. I've had this with the left side of my face too.

Never a dull moment with this.

Ah - MS numbness is easy to explain. My lower legs are numb. They also hurt like the dickens. MS = numbness with pain. Go figure...

I don't understand. It's 3 o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep due to the pain in my legs but my lower legs are completely numb...

Tom

So sorry Tom. :hug: I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't have chronic nerve pain. Unless you count the uncomfortable spasticity?

I have a high threshold for pain, but not for nerve pain, like toothaches, shingles..EEK:eek:

Thanks for stopping by. How's the spaceworld treating you? Anything interesting happening?

Hey Sally.

Same old thing here. Our next generation flight control room is about 75% built. We still have the space station control room 24/7. SpaceX keeps postponing their first commercial launch to the station and the other company keeps postponing their first ever launch.

I can't land the Orion on the asteroid in the simulator. I keep crashing or over-shooting. But that's why I'm not an astronaut. The new simulator is much more realistic than the old shuttle simulators. The asteroid in the simulator is very real - called "25143 Itokawa."

NASA's not dead - we had over 6,000 applicants for the next astronaut class in 2013. I guess asteroids and Mars sounds appealing to alot of folks. It keeps me working. Still very busy for me.

Tom

Hi Tom! We miss you around here. Sorry about the numbness but I can totally understand what you are feeling. It's odd to say my leg is numb and hurts in the same statement.

Well, I don't know that my numbness is the same b/c I don't really have pain with it. But I tell my GP that it's like when your leg goes to sleep and its just starting to wake up!

Feel better (((Tricia))). :)

My right leg is numb from the hip down.. my left arm is weak..I am right handed thank god... I'm still feeling spasticity in my legs/feet... the only way I can describe the numbness /pain is it feel like I have a blood pressure cuff on my leg and it's constantly squeezing..

The only meds pcp has me on is Lyrica and Elavil... neither of them are working for me... I'm just going to wait till I see neuro...


Cindy

Most excellent discription of spasticity, pain and numbness.:winner_first_h4h:

I'm learning...lol

I have always thought of it as tight elastic bandages being wrapped around my legs, but I love your description.

Cheers

Lym

The different kinds of 'numbness' to MS is just straight craziness!

My hands and arms get a freezing cold and burning hot sensation at the same time (which after a while of dealing with that starts to drive me slightly mad, those temps should never be put together at the same time). I also have a really hard time being able to feel my finger tips and the textures of things.

My legs and feet do the tingly feels like they're falling asleep kind of numb with pressure building up inside? ..

and the worse..
Right side abdomen- numb but feels like a sunburn being scratched with a Brillo pad. -- that numbness is VERY PAINFUL. Went on everyday for 4 months last summer, finally subsided a lil while ago and will hopefully never come back.

Oh the bizarre MS sensations :cool:

OUCH!!!!!

That sounds nasty. I hope it doesn't come back for you either.

When I was taking Beta, I used to feel like I was sunburned all over, and then rubbed down with sand. No numbness about that, but I am feeling for you.

Lyn

My leg feels like i've wrapped selotape around it and it's digging in. my feet are freezing even on nights of 30 degrees, i have a water bottle.
Other days, there's a stitch threaded through my limbs but the cotton isnt quite long enough.
My hand used to feel like i had a plastic glove on and was under water (so the glove stuck to my skin).
Any combination of these things results in altered sensation for me but never true numbness, because i can still feel something...

There is an excellent article in the most recent NMSS magazine MOMENTUM which addresses this. The title is "The nerve dance: Numbness and tingling". Dr. Stephen Krieger, MD, says "Numbness is a loss of the ability to feel, while tingling is an abnormal or unusual sensation. They often go together."

I hope I did the link thing to the article right, if not you can go to www.nationalmssociety.org and read the article (the whole magazine) online.

The link: http://publications.nationalmssociet...g2012?folio=30

I have that issue but somehow missed that article.:confused: Anyhow, thanks for posting that B2Y. It is a good article.

Describing "numbness"
 

This is definitely a tough one---thanks for posting this b/c now I don't feel like such an idiot for not being able to describe it

I've just begun to have problems with "numbness" in my left arm and leg--which fluctuates from tingling stiffness to and ice cold "burning. It is generally a weird feeling which makes it very difficult to walk b/c I don't feel my leg hitting the ground right:):

Thanks so much for this B2Y - the article was fascinating and made me feel so much more sane than I do when I try to explain this stuff to others :)

Thanks for sharing!


That is me!! Finally a way to describe it!!

Don't know why that excites me...lol

Cindy