Could renal problems cause symptoms of peripheral neuropathy?
 

I've been waiting for over nine weeks to hear from my new rheumatologist and am no longer under a neurologist. My neuro symptoms haven't worsened but nor have they improved. They are just there constantly now in the form of a wet cold feeling in legs and feet, shooting pains in hands and elbows, a bone ache pain in my calves, shins and ankles and the wretched nightly scorching pain in hands and feet.

Meanwhile my eGFR (renal function) was a bit low a month ago so has just been rechecked - results next week. And I was asked to bring a urine sample which the nurse told me has invisible blood in it. So she sent it to the lab for analysis and the results show no sign of infection. I'm increasingly sure I either have Lupus or Sjogrens or Vasculitis but not getting anywhere with this as autoantibodies have been inconclusive to date.

So while I wait for things to either improve miraculously or worsen significantly - I find myself wondering if the large irregular cyst on my left kidney might not be responsible for more than doctors have understood so far. I have made this connection because I have a friend who was diagnosed and treated for epilepsy - but it turned out that one of her kidneys had failed and once it was removed all her seizures went away and she has been fine ever since.

So I was wondering if there is a known connection between renal diseases and neuro symptoms such as mine?

Pay grade violation
 

You put forth a complicated question that would be a pay grade violation if I tried to guess about your hypothesis. (over my head) I was wanting to recommend Mortons Epsom Salt Lotion for the "wretched nightly scorching pain" in hands and feet. Good Luck, Ken in Texas. P.S. Maybe others have been down a path that shed light on your question.

Yes, worsening kidney functions may cause nerve damage:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/p...neuropathy.htm

http://peripheralneuropathycenter.uc...c/kidney.shtml

http://patient.info/health/periphera...opathy-leaflet

Hi Mat52

Given that you already have Hashimoto's and RA - both of those being auto-immune conditions - either one alone or both together can cause secondary Peripheral Neuropathy.

I have Addison's Disease (adrenal failure) - also auto-immune. I specifically asked the neurologist earlier this year if Addison's can cause PN, as it is not listed under one of the usual causes (it is fairly rare) and the response was Yes PN can be a secondary condition to many auto-immune diseases.

They did no further testing saying that with multiple conditions it would be difficult to isolate a cause but that the disruption to the Endocrine system (from Addison's or Hashimoto's) was likely to have an effect on the neural system. This is as close as I can get to a definitive diagnosis - like you I'm under a public health system and they don't like to waste money on inconclusive testing. As there is very little effective treatment for PN again they don't like to waste clinical time on inneffective consultations.

If they continue to monitor your kidney function, then if the cyst is impacting the function, testing should pick it up. However, unless the cyst is infected or inflamed, I would suspect the autoimmune conditions to be the more likely cause of PN.

Hope this helps to clarify your situation. All the best for clear renal results and some useful answers from you rheumatologist.