Pins and needles - worsening symptoms

[Joso]

Dear Doctors,

I am a girl of 35 years, good health, normal weight etc.
I would apreciate your opinion to my problems.

November 2004 muscle twitching starts in calves. 1 month after a viral infection.
Spreads over the next months to thighs, abdomen, genital area, and arms.  

July 2005 , I wake up one morning with as strange vibrating, pins and needles feeling in my genital area.
The feeling persists, comes and goes durign the day but is there every day.
August 2005, the "vibrations" / pins and needles spread to legs, but are still worse en gentital area.

August 2005, MRI of head and lumbar spine, plus neuro examination is normal.B12, Thyroid function, calcium levels etc is normal.

September to december 2005, cold feelings in the legs comes and goes, cold feeling in scalp comes ang goes, a feeling of heavines in left side of face happens twice, lasts for a few minutes.
Twitches under the feet starts.

The worse thing is still the pins and needles feeling everyday in my groin, genetial area!

I am exercising without problems.

I am really confused, I am gettign scared and my thoughts about this is keeping me awake at night.

My questions:
Could this be MS?

Could this be myastenia Gravis?

Waht I fear the most is the paraneoplastic syndrome, what are your thoughts?

Is this some kind of neuropathy?

I am very interested in knowing if this could be a bening thing, We were planning to have kids, but I do not know what to do now. I don`t want kids if I have a malignant condition.

Thank you so much!
Jo.

[leta]

I have solved my delema. I had a panic attack awhile ago and the tingling started to subside. I have been on anti-depressants
for years. Lucky I had a appointment with my shrink the next day
and I told him about the event. I said I have had the tingling and muscle tenderness for weeks, then the panic attack, then it subsided. I concluded it may have been stress even though I didn't feel stressed and the panic attack was a valve of some sort and it blew. He agreed and upped my medication which should take a week or so. Regardless of the medication I felt a whole lot better after the attack. I think stress causes a lot of symptoms we may not understand. Check some of the stress and anxiety web sites and compare your symptoms.

The relieved Canuck

[sonje]

Please help!!

Very strange burning ache under the skin in my hip area going around to my back on my right side?? Very sensative to the touch feels like a bad sunburn. Keep looking and nothing is there?

[cparn]

I HAVE HAD NUMBNESS, TINGLING, WEAKNESS TO RIGHT LEG AND FOOT X2 MOS.  THE TINGLING HAS NOW MOVED UP TO WAIST AREA.  I HAVE HAD EMG, MRI OF CERVICAL AND LUMBAR SPINE WITH SOME CERVICAL STENOSIS ON CERVICAL MRI.  NO ARM OR HAND SYMPTOMS SO FAR. FAMILY DR. IS RECOMMENDING LYRICA, A NEW DRUG SIMILAR TO NEURONTIN. ONE YEAR AGO I HAD EPIDURAL FOR KIDNEY SURGERY AND IT LEFT MY RIGHT LEG VERY NUMB FOR SEVERAL DAYS.  HAS ANYONE HAD SIMILAR SYMPTOMS OR ANY ANSWERS TO THIS SUDDEN ONSET NUMBNESS AND MUSCLE WEAKNESS?

[ZIN98]

Hi, I am 34 yrs old. From the age of 31-33 I had the same exatc symptoms. The worst part for me was that they came very sudden. Prior to these symptoms I was always very healthy. After many, many tests and hospitals and doctors and two years later still no diagnosis. My primary Doctor suggested that it may be Anxiety or Panic Disorder of course I said no way my life is perfect. Guest what I guess he was right after my divorse a year ago I have been relaxed and symptom free. I'm not trying to be funny but its something to think about. Maybe you are under a lot of stress and your body does know how to respond...

[ChristopherJ]

Hi all,

I've had diabetes for thirteen years (I'm 26 now), and recently - within the last month or two - I have had spontaneous pins and needles in my limbs, mostly when I'm sleeping (or trying to). I know it can have to do with diabetic complications. I've got good B12 levels, and I've been taking fish oil supplements for a few months, which is apparantly quite good for your nervous system. But essentially, I don't really know what's going on with me either.

I know an acupuncturist that I used to see for some knee injuries, and she managed to fix those problems very promptly and they haven't returned. I'm under the impression that nervous disorders can respond very well to acupuncture.

I also practice Tai Chi, and I've seen many arthritic people benefit by reduced pain and increased mobility from their Tai Chi and Qigong practice. I think that it can help the central nervous system, too. I'm not a doctor, and it's always good to consult doctors, and these therapies I have found very helpful in my life and health overall. Acupuncture can have rapid results, while Tai Chi or Qigong training usually takes longer. It's unrealistic to expect changes with anything less than three months regular practice.

Having said all that, I am aware that I practice these arts and still have symptoms of nervous disfunction. I also have diabetes, though, so there are a few different health-related things going on, and I believe my diabetes is under much better control for my practice than it would be if I didn't practice at all. And essentially, I believe that these are very beneficial arts, so if you can find a teacher, I'd recommend you give it a go. At any rate there's nothing to lose - I've never heard of Tai Chi having side effects. And keep in constant consultation with any health-care professional you can find who can help more!

[ChristopherJ]

One other thing, I am under the impression that nervous function is affected greatly by hydration, and I know I've not been drinking as much water as I usually do the last few weeks, so I'm definitely going to be making an effort to drink more. Some things are actually very simple and I hope that this is one of them!