neuropathy in hands/feet after vaccination

HI
I had a rabies vaccination and the 3rd shot gave me aches all over. These have come down and I had hand/finger/feet/toes/wrist pain. This has also come down but it hasn't cleared up yet (7weeks). There is no pain now at rest, but I get some flare ups for example after walking about or using my hands to play the piano. I also had a week where I was waking up in the night trying to breathe and so I sought medical help. The chest X Ray and ECG showed no further action. This breathing problem seems to have disappeared now and I'm sleeping ok.

I am waiting for an assessment now with a neurologist at my local nhs (UK) hospital and it will take up to 10 weeks so ive been told depending on prioritisation of my case.
My GP thinks that the pain I have been getting is inflammation around the nerves ( I can still use my hands and feet and fingers etc). My thyroid and B12 are fine (460,1.79). The aches and pains started within 24hrs of the last shot. If it is inflammation around the nerves causing this, how did this happen and is it likely to clear up? It has cleared up around 75-80% I would say compared to the beginning and as I say no pain now at rest but still stinging/little aches in fingers etc. Also, can the neurologist tell me if my autonomic nerves are ok as I was worried about the breathing problem when it was happening but this seems to have stopped. What is your general idea about my prognosis given that this seems to be an inflammatory neuropathy in my hands and feet? My wrists still hurt on pressure. Does this seem like gullain barre or CIPD? Thanks

[Abhijeet Ghosh]

Dear Friend,
Yesterday i was posting the answer, but was not able to do so.
But i am glad that due to this delay, i was able to see more of your posts and i have re-analyzed my answer.
I would suggest you to wait for a few days and simultaneously start up on some nerve supplements.
However if you notice no improvement, then the best way would be doing a Nerve Biopsy.  Please again remember that this option is to be taken, only if there is no sign of recovery or improvement.
Presently i am of the belief that you need to eat medicines aimed at nerve nutrition(containing lipoic acid, Vit B-12,etc).
Please discuss, for further clarifications.

[oilmart]

I forgot to say I do not get tingling or numbness, just aching. I don't know what the difference is under the circumstances. Sometimes my foot goes slightly warm on top but it isn't a major thing. the nerves in the fingers are normal nerves yes, not small fibre nerves? My GP doesn't think that my nerves are damaged!!!!!!!

[oilmart]

And I also forgot to say I was getting shooting pains in my toes etc, but this seems to have calmed down a lot but sometimes it still happens or I will stand up in the morning and feel like standing on an electric trampoline for 5 mins or so. Im not being paranoid this is what has happened.  Thanks again for your answer. I cant give you neuro tests yet as I havent had them.

[oilmart]

hello?

[oilmart]

It's got down to mild stings in my hands on rest now or if I gently bend the fingers in and out it might sting a little. However the other evening, I squeezed the banister quite hard to see if I could and it hurt. It started aching and lasted all night. But it has got back to the no real pain relaxing except small stings. How come I can't squeeze my hand hard though without it starting to hurt? it's 2 months now. My wrists still hurt getting up or on pressure.

[oilmart]

oh and my feet aren't too bad relaxing now, but they ache underneath when I walk around on them. The aching is tolerable but i can feel it. Does it sound like the nerves might be  recovering? They weren't cut or crushed though, just some kind of inflammatory thing  happened I guess but I don't know if the nerves are inflamed or inflammation is around the nerves or what.

[oilmart]

Hi Dr,

Thanks for posting. I think I tried B12 for two days (I took sublingual 1000mcg x 3 for two days) but I think I felt jittery/vibrating at night so I stopped. My B12 is about 460 if I remember and TSH 1.79 so why do you think I should take B12 and Lipoic acid if the B12 is normal? Would the vibrating be due to the B12 x 3  I took? And what do you think has happened? One of my feet goes a little bit hot sometimes for about 10 seconds but this does not worry me as much as the little aches/stings in my fingers. How can the vaccination cause this?

[oilmart]

oh, the upper limit for the B12 was about 600 I think, 600 or 650 something like that

[oilmart]

Hi

I had a nerve conduction study and the neurophysiologist said my nerves were fine
and that the aches in my fingers/hands/wrist/feet are most prob a polymyalgia.
There has been some more improvement I think. It feels worse in the morning I think. I did not have a skin biopsy or nerve biopsy. So does this mean I do not have a neuropathy then? The symptoms have improved again but still not completely gone away yet. Thanks for your comment in advance.