electrical current sensations in arms ans hands

[cfinniss]

just wondered if any of my fellow Chiarians have ever experienced a weird feeling that feels like electrical current  sensation going through arms ans hands, mostly my hands.  it is like an electrical buzzing feeling.  it feels like low voltage goinjg through my arms and hands but is much more powerful in my hands.  I have been plugged into a low voltage electrical socket.
please let me know if anyone else feels this sensations.

[selmaS]

  Hmmmmmmmmm well, depending on who ur Chiari NS is/was they should work with one......I know there r NL's at TCI that u can schedule to see.....

And most chiari drs do work with one....and as long as u r in the area of ur NS then u should be able to see the same NL.


  I am not sure what part of NY u r in....I only know Manhattan...lol.....and that is only in the company of my DD, she lives there....

    "selma"

[cfinniss]

selma, i ti just a NL not Chiari NL can you direct me to a chiari NL please.
thanks
cfinniss

[selmaS]

Is this a Chiari NL or just a NL?...I know what u mean as I also have DDD, cervical spinal stinosis, and bulging disks that r creating a CSF flow obstruction, and yes it can make u feel all the same symptoms u had b4 surgery, my Chiari NS told me to expect that.

Even the Dr that did my EMG explained how it can be thought to be carpal tunnel as it appears to be all the symptoms, but it is a mimic...and with the proper testing u can see that it is not a true pinch to the nerve, nothing is being sent bcuz of the chiari.

I am not saying u do not have nerve damage, but a EMG is the test that will be able to tell u if it is damaged, pinched...etc.....

Now I must admit, I hated that test...but, if I had had it, I would not have had the surgery on my ankle, which resulted in me needing another one in '07....sigh......

  If this is not a specialist get another opinion.

   "selma"

[cfinniss]

Thanks Selma for all your advice you are always so helpful!  I did have a huge whiplash injury years ago and i probably have some of that going on now also from the accident the other day, however, i want to let my NS know what happened just in case he wants to add a C-spine MRI to the Brain and CINE Flow test coming up this month because i have bulging discs and degenerative disc disease in my c-spine and i just want to be sure that the accident did not make things worse.  
as far as my NL i was a bit confused by him when he said he thought i had carpel-tunnel because he had already tested me for that last year and said i did not have it and he never told me back then that i was border line he just said i did not have it.  i was having tingling in my hands before that time but not the electrical current sensations but i am not getting the surgery for carpel tunnel until he does a EMG again to be sure.  i drop things constantly and have a lot of pain in wrists and hands but that was all happening before the first EMG also.
i also was confused by another thing he said to me.  I told him that i still have tingling and burning in my feet, legs and hands a lot never subsides and he said well since your surgery was over 2 years ago i think you have permanent nerve damage.
my spinal flow fluid is being restricted again as well as crowding in the FM area which can cause those symptoms too so i do not know why he said he thinks it is permanent nerve damage??!!
He does his little 5 minute test on me and says everything looks great and i just sit there totally dumbfounded!  i get so frustrated because they think that 5 min Neurological test shows them that we are fine??!!!  i do not get it!  

[selmaS]

  Hi, since ur head snapped forward and back u may have whip lash, and the right type of PT can help....

  Next, I was dx with carpal and tarsal tunnel and had surgery for it yrs ago, b4 I had my chiari dx, what I found out is the chiari can often have symptoms that appear like tarsal and carpal tunnel, but it is not.

Make sure u have a EMG to be sure.....

"selma"

[cfinniss]

just wanted you all to know i finally saw my neurologist and he thinks the electrical current sensations i am getting in my hands and he feels it is carpel tunnel.  he did testing before on me for carpel-tunnel and he said i was borderline back then but now he feels i definitely have carpel-tunnel which i know is very common in Chiari patients.  
on top of everything someone bumped the back end of my car the other day while i was at a stop light and even though my car suffered no damage my head went forward and snapped back.  not real hard but enough to cause problems.  since it happened i have stiffness in neck and shoulders, more than the normal and burning in shoulders and down arms and the tingling down spine and arms and in legs hands and feet has tripled.  Also now my Chiari headaches are more frequent.  I do get an MRI of brain and CINE flow test this month now i am going to ask NS to add C-spine MRI to be sure my bulging discs in my neck are not pressing on my spine even more now.  probably is just more inflammation in neck causing more pressure on my spine.l

[niki3350]

My sensation is always at its worst at night too Honey, How strange, my ns and nl have never explained to me how or why it happens so would love to no what yours says.

I have even taken my husbands powerful electric shaver with me, as when you hold this very tightly it gives you the exact same sensation that runs through my body, just for the ns to hold and for me to try and explain the feeling.

Bet you can guess I got a very strange look but just found it hard to put the feeling into words.

Niki x x x

[cfinniss]

thank you all for all your help.  i too have CM 7mm with restricted flow no syrinx. i have had one decompression surgery where my symptoms went away for 3 - 5 months then all came back.  the low voltage electrical buzzing sensation happens most when first falling asleep at night.  it is so strange and weird feeling.  lately it has started happening in my feet also besides the tingling and burning that i normally get all the time. i am going to mention it to my Neurologist next week at my appt.  

Thanks for your input.
cfinniss

[niki3350]

I to experience this but mine goes through my spine arms and legs, not reached hands yet, thank goodness, but prolonged periods of arms in the arm can trigger it.

Wow wish I had a £1 for every hour this has kept me awake at night, it has sometimes been constant for 3 weeks at a time.  No fun at all hey !!!!!!

Im like rach444 6mm with restricted csf flow no syrinx.

Niki x x

[rach444]

Yes! And that is the exact same way I describe it...like I've had my big toe and pinkie finger stuck in an electric socket all day. Usually, it is mainly on my right side only. I have CM of 6-7 mm with restricted CSF flow. These were my initial symptoms, so I assume its from the CM.

[hdavids]

Yes I feel that too, I have SM and CM zero. I feel it in my hands and feet but also down my spine if I bend over without bending my legs first.
I am sorry but I have no idea why this happens, maybe I should ask my Dr. lol

[castleton]

I have SM, not Chiari, but I have that sensation in my arms, especially when I have held my arms up, as in driving.  Its kind of a burning, electrical feeling that goes down my arms to my wrists.  Its not all over, but localized, as if it was a "cord".  I almost always have a stinging feeling in my elbows, too.