Sural Nerve Biopsy Aftershock (Literally)

[bjdurand]

Greetings.  First of all, let me thank everyone involved with this site.  It is very informative sometimes reassuring to an immense degree.

I recently was cautiously diagnosed with CIDP, which was a great relief that it wasn’t “The big A” as people seem to call it here.  Last week I underwent a lumbar puncture and sural nerve biopsy to further ascertain my condition.  I will get the results of these tests in a month or so.  

My nerve biopsy went well according to the surgeon and I now have the expected numb area on the outer top portion of my right foot.  For the past few days however, a week after the procedure, I have started to experience what feels like electrical shock/burns at the numb area of my foot whenever I do certain movements.  I have no pain or apparent complications at the site of the procedure itself.

Here are my questions:

1. What causes this?  I know it’s not my foot since the nerve itself is now disconnected and that it is likely caused by the now “dangling” part of my sural nerve still connected to my brain, but why is it doing that?

2.  Will it always do that?  Is this similar to the initial “phantom pains” that amputees sometimes complain of after they have a limb removed?  Does the nervous system eventually adapt and realize that Mr. Foot doesn’t live there anymore?

3.  Is there anything I should do or medication I should take to alleviate this?

Thank you for your time and information.

Incidentally, the IVIG treatment I received at Emory is showing some excellent initial results :)

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

It does sound like there is some nerve irritation where they did the biopsy. It's quite possible that this could follow the pattern of phantom limb in that the remaining part of the nerve end could still be firing spotaneously and sending messages to the spinal cord and then brain. As the biopsy was recent, the symptoms will probably get better over time, but you'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, a medication called neurontin can be helpful. I have phantom limb patients who respond also to elavil, an antidepressant that helps with nerve pain. Tell your neurologist what you are experiencing and see what they suggest. Good luck.

[pvw]

I had the same think happen to me after I had a sural nerve graft to fix a severed phrenic nerve. The shocks in my ankle are driving me crazy! Is yours still happening? What helped, if anything?