Paresthesias

[Quixotic1]

This is the beginning of a new Health Page on the ways a sensory nerve can be affected in MS.

PARESTHESIAS

One of the commonest problems is MS is that of a damaged sensory nerve causing sensation that is painful, weird, wrong, too strong, present all the time.  It can make an areas feel like it is being hurt or touched when it isn't.  It may also cause numbness or be reduced in reduced in intensity.  This pain, weirdness or numbness may occur in ANY sensory nerve.  It can happen anywhere you have feeling, including the buttocks.  It may be on one side or both, but it is more likely to be bilateral the longer you have had MS.

A erroneous sensation from a sensory nerve causes a "paresthesia. What a lot of people don't know its that there are several different kinds of sensory nerves.

The common kinds are pain, pressure, soft touch, hot, cold, and vibration, but there are another dozen types. On top of that there are the special senses: smell, sight, taste, hearing, and such. All of them can be affected by MS.

Also nerves can be affecting in two different kinds of ways. Their error messages can be positive or negative.  In the positive error the signal may send far too much signal as in pain where there is no reason for pain.  And it may send a signal all the time instead of just when stimulated.  In the negative parethesia, the nerve may fail to send any signal at all, or a reduced signal.

A POSITIVE paresthesia means that the erroroneous nerve signal will be something felt, or sensed, by the person. In the case of pain, it will be a sensation of pain from an area that is not damaged and has no reason to send a pain signal.  Hot may send a signal of a warm patch. We often perceive this as a warm, "wet" patch, but usually this "sense of wetness" is filled in by our brain because it makes sense and our brains often try to make sense of things that don't add up.  A positive pressure paresthesia may show as the band sensation we often feel in the trunk or the limbs.  And, so the sense of smell by show that is, too, is wonky, by providing us with abnormal smells. Too often these are not pleasant.  Eyes may send lights, wavy lines, colors or halos. You get the idea. Other types of positive paresthesiaS are the shooting or jabbing or electrical-shock pains that so many of us have.

A NEGATIVE paresthesia means the nerve shows its damage by not sending the signal at all, or by sending it in reduced amplitude.  Something may be completely without feeling or numb, or if the touch sensation is just reduced, it may actually feel tingly.  Something that is hot may just feel warm, or if the sensation is gone there is nothing to counter the cold sensors and the thing may actually feel cold.  The sense of smell or taste may be totally gone. The vision may lose whole segments of visual field or the color-sensing nerves may lose color saturation.

More later, questions now.

Quix

[Quixotic1]

A classic paresthesia is the "Phantom Leg Syndrome" in an amputee.  Of course there can be no feeling, but the nerves that went to the leg are still there higher up and in the spine running to the brain.

[landfish]

Hello,

Sorry, I posed the question akwardly.  What I meant was is paresthesia ALL OVER characteristic of MS, as opposed to it's occurence in a finite area?  As a layman, the later makes sense to me to the extent that demylenation (sp) would be occuring in a particular part of the brain/ spinal column corresponding to a particular area on the body.  It makes less sense to me for it to occur all over, but of course that's why I'm asking the experts.

Thanks

[shoshin]

What is the difference between paresthesia and dysesthesia? One of my doctor's notes say I complained of the latter, but when I tried to look into this, I couldn't really understand what it meant or what the difference is.

Landfish: My understanding at this point is that parasthesias ALL OVER, especially in the beginning, is less common in MS. I think Quix said it is more common in metabolic disorders (like B12 deficiency). At this point I do have reduced sensation all over and often enough weird sensations, too, but it didn't start out that way.

sho

[Quixotic1]

Landfish - (is that like the Land Shark from SNL in the 70's?)  All over paresthesias would be a very unusual way for MS to present initially.  As the disease progresses it could develope into something like that, but it usually starts in distinct places.  Even after it progresses it would rarely be the same sensation all over.

Sho - Dysesthesia would be a type of paresthesia.  "Dys" often refers to a abnoxious or disagreeable or bad thing.  Dysphoria - bad mood, dysfunctional - badly functioning, Dyspeptic - gloomy, miserable (not peppy???lol).  A paresthesia does not need to be bad.  It could conceivably be quite enjoyable.  Wouldn't it be great if our feet, instead of buzzing or itching, felt like they were being caressed by a lover? But, a dysesthesia would be a "bad paresthesia."  Make sense?

Quix

[CNTOASTY]

For many years when I walk I experience the parasthesia pins and needles in my legs and the longer my activity continues the higher the sensation travels up into my buttocks.  Problem, I am pretty active and have a long walk of 60 miles coming up, what to I do about the pain that comes with this sensation??  The walking 60 miles is a piece of cake, the pain from the pins and needles is not.  Side note, PMH: Fusion of L4-S1.

Thanks for your time,
CNTOASTY

[sllowe]

Hi Cntoasty,

This is a very good thread on parathesia, I'm glad you found us through it.

I'm not so sure I can help you with what to do for it.  I was dx'd with MS last year, and I was was prescribed lyrica for it, but chose not to take it.  It's not gone away, but comes and goes now with less intensity than what I had going on originally which lasted about 3 months so I'm just dealing with it, though sometimes I wonder why I'm being stubborn.

Us MSers get this, however, there are other conditions that cause it.

You might get more suggestions if you post this as a separate question, I'm worried our members may not see you as easily at the end of this one. From the MS forum, you'll see 'post a question' and click that, and post away!

I wish you all the best w/your walk,  and hope this goes away soon.  How long have you been experiencing this?
Be well,
Shell