Q from a Limbolander

[hbananas]

I get sharp stabbing pains now and then, but they certainly don't last more than a minute, and it doesn't happen more than a few times a day, and it's not every day.

One is in the soles of my feet, like I stepped on a nail.  The other is a stitch in my side, as if I'd been running a long time and got it.  Since these don't have any duration to them, could they be related to the infamous MS hug?  Or am I just getting a little odd spasm for no particular reason and putting it on my hypervigilant list?

Went this morning for my cervical MRI under the MS protocol for my new doc.  Tech started the contrast injection and lost the vein, 2nd time this has happened.  No more right-hand starts for me, tell them to go to the left off the bat.  I go back to the same MRI center Monday for a brain and t-spine, so I'm glad I had a Saturday morning chance to find the place first.  How did we ever live without Google maps?  I don't think I could have survived moving to the city without them.

Oh, and happy caturday to everyone.

[Lulu54]

I get all sorts of odd twitches that come and go, along with the sharp stabs and twangs on my muscles.  The neuro says to only worry about them and give a call if they last consistently (may on and off, but fairly regular) for more than 24 hours.  So far everything that I feel in my body is transient - they pass through fairly fast like you describe.

Neuro and I had a talk about this hypersensitivity - he likens it to being at home alone, late at night, laying in bed with everything turned off and you start to hear the creaks on the steps and the shakes in the attic and all those other noise that are normally blocked out of your awareness because of everyday noises. The sounds have always been there, we just hadn't been in the right conditions to notice. He is right that I am much more attuned to my body when I stop to listen to it.  I trust that analogy will make sense...  

My best to you catwoman,
Lulu

[Rena705]

Hi there...I am not sure about the pain in your side...I haven't experienced that yet but the pain in the bottom your feet is VERY familiar!  I equate it to a lightening bolt going into my foot...it's that fast and that painful and that quick!  I have been told that it is nerve pain and I get it up the back of my ankle and down into my big toe as well and darn it but does it ever hurt!  I have been on Elavil for a while and when I was on 40mg the pain was better but my sleeping habit was all messed up and when I don't sleep I get a lot of pain.  So I decreased my Elavil to 20mg and now my sleeping is better but the pain has increased.  I have been told that the meds like Neurontin, Lyrica, Tegretol, Elavil are supposed to help with nerve pain but the Tegretol and Elavil seem to be the only ones that even touch it for me.  Mention this pain to the neuro...it is horrible but they can help it somewhat so go for it and good luck...keep us in the know as to how the appointment goes on Monday ok?

Lots of Hugs,

Rena

[essdipity]

Lulu's neuro may have a good explanation of this, but on the other hand I think he's talking about something he's never experienced. I've had lightning-like nerve pain in my feet that I'd feel in the middle of a tornado. A few flares ago (maybe 2 years), I'd get this particularly in the evening, watching TV, and this went on for months before any other symptoms appeared. I could only catch my breath and be glad that each pain lasted literally two seconds, because I couldn't have stood it otherwise.

I'm convinced this is just another manifestation of neuropathic pain. Since I've been on Lyrica and amitriptyline (Elavil), 4-5 months, all pain has been much much better. This includes the stabbing foot pains, deep muscle pain in my thighs, patches of burning pain along my feet and legs, and odd deep achiness all along the bones in my forearms.

Although I can't say this for sure, it does seem to me that if pain is relieved by nerve pain meds, then it was nerve pain. This is sort of a backwards diagnosis, I know, but on the other hand I can't find anything that contradicts it. So I advise others in a similar state to try for a med that helps. No one will accuse you of drug-seeking, etc., because these meds are not the type that are abused.

ess