Symptom of the Week 6/12-6/19 -Sensory Problems - Numbness, Tingling, etc.
 

I thought I would include a description this time and found this one from an article in MSFocus. http://www.msfocus.org/article-detai...?articleID=361

"Sensory problems, or disturbances in feeling, are often one of the earliest symptoms of MS and occur in 20 to 50 percent of individuals with the disease. Known as paresthesias, these abnormal sensations include numbness, tingling, burning, and increased sensitivity. Paresthesias may be caused by a number of other factors, including sitting or standing in one position for too long, certain medications, or lack of blood supply to the affected area. Itching, also known as pruritis, may occur as a sensory symptom of MS. While such itching causes the desire to scratch, the scratching can often intensify the itching and cause further damage to the skin. Feelings of tingling, burning or numbness, which are caused by lesions in the central nervous system, are known as dysesthesias. Literally translated from the Greek, this means “bad sensation.” - Ellen Whipple Guthrie, Pharm.D.

I deal with this all the time. I have numbness, tingling, burning in my rib cage, and sensitivity. I also can't feel hot with my hands and arms and have burnt my self more than once. I also seem to be overly sensitive to cold things like ice. I have times where I feel like a bug is crawling on my leg(s) or feet and look but there isn't anything there. One time, I had that feeling and ignored it and kept doing what I was doing. For some reason I looked down and blood was dripping down my shin. I had tripped earlier that day on a wicker basket and it must have cut me.:rolleyes:

What are your sensory issues like? What do you experience?

All of those sensory thingys are all old friends now and pretty constant.
Some days not as noticeable as others, but with me all of the time now.

After 50 years, this carp aint going anywhere..:mad:

Thanks again for this thread..

Yep-most if not all that the article you linked us to is on my list of sxs...RLS being one of the most irritating:(

My first "real" symptom was a toe that went to sleep and never woke up. It took 3 years after seeing the neuro for that when I received the dx.

Thanks again Trish...so amy weird things that this disease brings to our lives...

Sensory problems and me are old friends. I think they were one of my first symptoms. I felt like I had water on my face and bugs crawling on my legs. Also I had a very cold spot on one leg that I would frequently wrap a wool scarf around. It didn't help but it made 'me' feel better.

Now I still have a lot of electric zaps in my feet and legs. No one who doesn't have these can understand what they feel like. I also feel like I have my shoes tied to tight or that my feet are swollen but they aren't. I feel like my feet have gone to sleep and I am constantly pumping my ankles to wake them up. Which isn't a bad thing at all since it can help the smooth muscles in my legs keep the blood flowing. It is especially bad when I am sitting in the front seat of the car on trips when my legs are down for to long. I can be seen with my legs up on the dash a lot. It's hard for me to go to a movie theater because I have to put my feet up on something.

Again, thanks for bringing this up.

These threads are great - it makes you realise that although this is such an individual disease, and all of our courses are different, there is a link to so many of the things that we share.

Whether it is numb fingers, burning feet or legs, zapping electrical symptoms, (all of which I have experienced over time) - itching, creepy crawlies - or any of the other myriad of sensory things, it is no fun at all.

Thank you for making me - and I am sure many others (members and readers alike) feel like they are validated and share a link in something that otherwise can make a person feel so incredibly isolated.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

Another sensory thing I get is proprioception. I sometimes have no idea where my left leg is in space or time. When it happens, I find that I widen my gait so as not to trip on my other leg. My legs are working just fine but I feel as though the left leg is not even there. I also have to look down often to check on it. I get this in my left arm as well and have to look to make sure it is doing what it's supposed to be doing. It's an odd feeling and I seem to get it at least once a week. Sunday I had it in my left leg.

Me too Trish....SPOOKY!!!!:eek:

LOL It's a pretty weird feeling when it happens. I don't know what sets it off and what settles it down. It just comes and goes as it pleases just like everything else with MS.