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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Any opinions on my undiagnosed bizzarre illness??
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Any opinions on my undiagnosed bizzarre illness??
by Jonnnyuk, Feb 01, 2002 12:00AM
I have been chronically ill for over 20 years with a terrible nervous system/autoimmune illness
Symptoms started at age 18 while doing a lot of drugs, though I was weak since birth
I am now 37 - largely housebound
Symptoms include:
Exercise intolerance
severe allergy-like reactions (including uncontrollable tachycardia and arrhythmia)if exposed to anything strong,like coffee, sugar or alcohol,or chemicals in air or on skin
Regular flu-like episodes of aching, swollen glands, shaking etc.
Type 2 diabetic (insulin resistance)
Strange numb ticklish electrical tingling going in waves over my scalp, and also down through the body and legs.
Sometimes sensations build up in head to point of severe headache – accompanies by dry painful clicky joints all over body.
In Chinese medicine, headache and joints is regarded as liver dysfunction.
Imagine the feeling when someone scrapes something down a blackboard making a squeaky sound that sends unbearable shivers through your whole body.
Or goosebumps from listening to powerful music.
Imagine these sensations magnified 100 times, & often triggered by any squeaky noise. Unbearable.
On a bad day triggers can include ANY noise or physical effort.
Often worse in cold weather.
Electrical tingling and shocks in teeth.
When I scratch my skin, it often feels like electrical sawdust.
There is a spider venom that can cause aversion to squeaky noises – but never bitten.
Symptoms worse after having sex - maybe nervous system is overstimulated/weak?
Symptoms started at age 18 while doing a lot of drugs, though I was weak since birth
I am now 37 - largely housebound
Symptoms include:
Exercise intolerance
severe allergy-like reactions (including uncontrollable tachycardia and arrhythmia)if exposed to anything strong,like coffee, sugar or alcohol,or chemicals in air or on skin
Regular flu-like episodes of aching, swollen glands, shaking etc.
Type 2 diabetic (insulin resistance)
Strange numb ticklish electrical tingling going in waves over my scalp, and also down through the body and legs.
Sometimes sensations build up in head to point of severe headache – accompanies by dry painful clicky joints all over body.
In Chinese medicine, headache and joints is regarded as liver dysfunction.
Imagine the feeling when someone scrapes something down a blackboard making a squeaky sound that sends unbearable shivers through your whole body.
Or goosebumps from listening to powerful music.
Imagine these sensations magnified 100 times, & often triggered by any squeaky noise. Unbearable.
On a bad day triggers can include ANY noise or physical effort.
Often worse in cold weather.
Electrical tingling and shocks in teeth.
When I scratch my skin, it often feels like electrical sawdust.
There is a spider venom that can cause aversion to squeaky noises – but never bitten.
Symptoms worse after having sex - maybe nervous system is overstimulated/weak?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT, Feb 03, 2002 12:00AM
Overall, your symptoms sound like general deconditioning and could be possibly related to the "autoimmune illness." It would be helpful to determine exactly what autoimmune disease you actually have with laboratory and clinical testing. A neurological disease that would explain all of your symptoms does not come to mind, but many autoimmune diseases such as LUpus do have neurological manifestations such as peripheral neuropathies. Diabetes can also cause peripheral neuropathies, prickly, tingling feelings in you limbs. Talk to your primary care doc about some diagnostic lab studies to help you figure what what's going on with you. Start with routine studies such as blood counts to look for anemia and electrolytes. If the tingling/electric shock like sensations progress in your limbs, consider seeing a neruologist and perhaps get an EMG. GOod luck.
Q jonnnyuk
(01-Feb-02) . I have been chronically ill for over 20 years with a terrible nervous system/autoimmune illness
Symptoms started at age 18 while doing a lot of drugs, though I was weak since birth
I am now 37 - largely housebound
Symptoms include:
Exercise intolerance
severe allergy-like reactions (including uncontrollable tachycardia and arrhythmia)if exposed to anything strong,like coffee, sugar or alcohol,or chemicals in air or on skin
Regular flu-like episodes of aching, swollen glands, shaking etc.
Type 2 diabetic (insulin resistance)
Strange numb ticklish electrical tingling going in waves over my scalp, and also down through the body and legs.
Sometimes sensations build up in head to point of severe headache – accompanies by dry painful clicky joints all over body.
In Chinese medicine, headache and joints is regarded as liver dysfunction.
Imagine the feeling when someone scrapes something down a blackboard making a squeaky sound that sends unbearable shivers through your whole body.
Or goosebumps from listening to powerful music.
Imagine these sensations magnified 100 times, & often triggered by any squeaky noise. Unbearable.
On a bad day triggers can include ANY noise or physical effort.
Often worse in cold weather.
Electrical tingling and shocks in teeth.
When I scratch my skin, it often feels like electrical sawdust.
There is a spider venom that can cause aversion to squeaky noises – but never bitten.
Symptoms worse after having sex - maybe nervous system is overstimulated/weak?
My neuropathy is not of the peripheral kind, that might be caused by MS, or trapped nerves or whatever.
It affects the whole nervous system and comes and goes.
Therefore I don't think it can be to do with mechanical damage to any particular nerve (even a very central one).
It has been suggested to me that it might be related to brain damage of some kind - perhaps overactive neural pathways - too much "volume" on the nervous system.
Or perhaps some kind of total inflammation of the nerves.
One specialist told me that I had autonomic nervous system dysfunction because when I change posture (eg standing up) my heart rate and blood pressure go crazy, like my nervous system can't cope with the quick change in posture.
I suffer a lot from my nervous system failing to adapt to environmental or postural changes.
Some days even the phone ringing or a dog barking can shock me in a painful way.
I actually had a terrible forceps birth, and was covered in bruises - my head was totally battered. The doctors thought I was brain damaged, and as a baby I would jump at the slightest noise.
Maybe I have similar damage to my nervous system as with shell shock?
Also, both my parents suffered very bad allergies at various times, so there is obvously potential for a big genetic component, but neither they, or anyone else I have ever heard of, has the kind of hypersensitive nervous system I do.
All my family have strong nervous systems.
I have given up seeking a label for my overall condition, as it is very complicated and unique (in the same way that the problems of ethiopia can be labelled as "famine, war, drought, corruption" etc., depending on which specialist you talk to, but the pattern of dysfunction is actually unique, and will never be the same as any other country.
But I AM interested in a diagnosis for this hypersensitivity to noise/squeaking, and the strange electrical tingling that covers my whole body, not just one part (often in response to a shock like noise, especially in cold weather or if I am flu-ish). I feel that there may be a specific answer for this symptom - whether hormonal (its worse after sex