Ulnar lesion, do they spread?, no idea what to think....

Hiya guys, i'm gonna post a question in this group, as always medhelp is full of helpful information!

I've posted in the anxiety community about a tingling and crawling sensation in my legs so far no response..but i do understand how busy this website gets.

i've been thinking.....probably thinking too much on it but i dont know until i ask and find out.

Going back to early last year i was sent in for a test on my arms and hands, i'd been complaining of numbness down my right hand and sharp tingles. they conducted a quick examination by where the ends of my fingers and parts of my arms were shocked with a very small charge. When it was done docs explained they'd found an ulna lesion down my left elbow, although....nothing more was said on it, and i left in my own mind thinking it was just something harmless and since then arm complaints have dropped and dont happen all that often atall.

Now, to recently, i've had the sensations again minus the numbness, this time in my legs the past two days, granted that i'm not a routinely active person, but i noticed this after a day out, my legs have been feeling almost like something crawling down my legs, tingles all the way through from my thighs and down the rest of the back n shins right through to my feet, its almost like i feel that I've excersized too much when i haven't!

Is this any way linked?, can an ulnar lesion spread or spell something else??

I am on medication and take Citalopram 20mg, going down to 10mg tomorrow, I'm an over-worrier and anything slightly neurological or to do with nerves is enough to frighten me!

Any thoughts?

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there. The various causes of these tingling and numbness in both hands and feet could be vitamin B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, cervical disc prolapsed or degeneration, bony spurs pressing nerve roots etc. You could be suffering from a disc issue at the back or neck. Since you have both upper and lower limb symptoms, you need to be investigated for cervical myelopathy, which means either degenerative disc disease, prolapse, bony spur causing nerve root compression or in progressive disease, may cause central canal stenosis which could be causing compression of nerve roots supplying both the limbs. Consult a neurologist for investigation of your spine and an MRI spine is warranted to check the lesions.  This would require painkillers or NSAIDS, physical therapy, exercise, epidural steroid injection and lastly a decompressive surgery of spine. Your neurologist needs to rule out multiple sclerosis, a chronic demyelinating disorder also. MS is a chronic demyelinating disorder where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI in addition, a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Hope this helps. Take care.

[Matthew1986]

Very good information, i was going to post in the ask an expert forum, glad you responded to this one :)

My GP/Doctors I've been have never referred me to go any see any professional about getting an MRI on me, it looks like I'm gonna have to be persistent if i want to put my mind at ease, it could be anything as you described above, and i wont know until I'm seen by a neurologist and fully checked up!

If it does turn out to be MS, albeit i wont like the outcome but i least i know MS is treatable, thats just the main factor that frightens about anything that happens in my head, but its gotta be done or i'm going to have these problems again and again.

Thanks for responding Dr Sharma, i'm going to get checked and sort this mess out once and for all!