numbness in hand and arm

[arsegja]

Hello,

Thank you very much for this forum.  I am a 40 year old male (5/10” 175 lbs) Recently I have been having numbness and pain that I am wondering if they could be related to MS or ALS.  I was previously in good health.  My cholesterol is normal and blood pressure is normal.

It all started 9 months ago with a low, dull level pain in my mid right quadrant of my abdomen.  That same week I had dizzy spells in the morning where I passed out twice.  I was taken to the emergency room.  EKG tests at the hospital were normal.  Soon after I developed some numbness in my left arm and left neck.  Again EKG came out normal.  The numbness went away in a couple of days.  The numbness returned 4 more times during the next nine months and quickly went away again after a couple of days  Last month the numbness returned in both the left arm and left leg.  Sometimes it feels like a tingling sensation in patches on the outside of my hand, or thigh, or shin, or face.  I also sometimes feel tingling in the left side of my neck and face.  I also had two dizzy spells while I was lying in bed in the morning getting ready to get up.  This time, the numbness is going on two weeks now.  I often feel fatigued, and weaker.  My doctor originally sent me to have an Echo Stress Test, and an MRI of the brain (to rule out tumors, strokes or heart problems).  All of the tests came out normal.  No signs of heart problems or tumors or strokes.  
My doctor is now sending me to a neurologist to look into the numbness in my arm and leg. Could this be MS or ALS? What should the neurologist be looking for?

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

Your story is not consistent with ALS. Also, the normal MRI of the brain makes MS unlikely. I would agree with seeing the neurologist. The doctor can examine you and better define which regions are abnormal. A MRI of the cervical spine may be useful to ensure that there are no structural or inflammatory changes within the spine. It is possible to have a problem in the cervical spine that alters sensation in the face, arm, and leg. Good luck.

[kwag]

Just read your post and I am trying to keep the facts straight.  You had an abdominal pain first and past out twice and then the numbness and pain started on your left side.  Did they check out your abdomen?  Did you have electrolyte tests done after passing out?  Well, first of all, I am thankful that your tests have all been normal.  The neurologist will do an exam to make sure your neurological system is normal and it probably is or you would have noticed it.  I have had numbness and tingling and pain as well off and on and I am thankful to God that all my tests and neuro exam have been normal.  I am pursuing my lifestyle and trying very hard to clean it up and I do feel a lot better (thank God).  You did not elaborate on the loss of consciousness.  Was it from the abd. pain or dizziness or just happened?  Vitamin B difficiency can cause some of the symptoms you are complaining of.  No matter what your doctors tell you, research your options yourself and educate yourself as best you can and please take a look at your lifestyle and make changes as needed.  That has helped me tremendously.  God bless

[arsegja]

Thanks for your comment.  I do not believe that the pain in my abdomin (abdomen) caused me to pass out.  The pain is low level.  The dizziness and passing out just happend to occur a week after the pain in the abdomin (abdomen) began.  They have scanned the area witn ultrasound and all the organs check out OK.  They haven't done an MRI yet.  That is my next test after I have a colonoscopy

[gdarcey]

I am the same age and have been having similar problems.
I almost passed out while teaching a class a month ago. Went to the hospital, EKG all good. They figured it was nerves. The symptoms got worse, coolrushes in my legs, tingling in right shoulder and arm, sometimes it feels like a sunbun, nausea, sleeplessness, etc. MRI, MRA, of head was good , CT scan of abdomen good, Echo Stress good, MRI  and CT of neck good, praise God!
They tried muscles relaxors and beta-blockers which were not working well with my heart AFIB medicine. Once again doctors said stress, even though I don't feel stressed.
Figuring anxiety, they tried Paxil which gave me horrible nightmares and seemed to accentuate all of the symptoms.
I still have no answers, but I do know I work at a computer all day and have terrible posture. I believe that it's neck muscle/nerve related, but doctors don't seem to want to go that path.
I'll let you know if I find anything out.

[The Crusader]

REPORTS OF SEVERE COMPLICATIONS FROM EPIDURAL STEROID NERVE BLOCK INJECTIONS OF DEPO-MEDROL

ESI's using Depo-Medrol are harming people! Epidural steroid nerve block injections are widely used to treat back pain. It is "not recommended" by the drug maker because of the "severe medical events" that have been reported to them and the FDA! There are new studies that link severe chronic pain syndromes with complications of this non FDA approved procedure. (Arachnoiditis, Epidural Fibrosis, Severe Sensory Nerve Disruption, etc.) By using the Freedom of Information Act, we have discovered that there have been well over 15,000 adverse event reports and 356 deaths attributed to Depo-Medrol between 1998 and 2002. (A very high number despite that fact that only 1.5% of all adverse events get reported to the FDA!) (A 1999 Harvard Study)

Pfizer Inc. recently purchased Pharmacia/Upjohn, the manufacturer of the most commonly used injectable steroid, Depo-Medrol! They have recently issued a new WARNING on the use of this non-FDA approved drug for spinal surgery as well as for epidural administration. They say that Depo-Medrol is "NO LONGER RECOMMENDED" for epidural administration in a newly published Pfizer document titled: "DEPO-MEDROL - REFORMULATION-EPIDURAL USE" The warning covers BOTH formulations they make!

(Another misconception is that there is a preservative-free formulation of the drug, which supposedly is safer in the opinion of the doctors who use it! These doctors are not only wrong about this, it's incompetence if they believe this is so!

Both formulations, the single dose and the multi-dose formulation, have preservatives added, MGPC and Benzyl Alcohol respectively... both are neurotoxic and potentially damaging to neuro-tissue. Besides, both formulations contain huge amounts of Polyethylene Glycol, a chemical cousin of automobile antifreeze and a major ingredient in DOT-3 Brake Fluid! If this isn't bad enough, they then mix Depo-Medrol with other chemicals, such as anesthetics, like Marcaine, and ionic dyes, such as Isovue, again AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATION OF PFIZER! PFIZER CLAIMS THAT THIS PRACTICE CAN INCREASE THE "TOXIC RISKS BECAUSE OF CHEMICAL INCOMPATIBILITIES", THEREFORE THEY HAVE WARNED DOCTORS NOT TO DO IT!

Any doctor that may be reading this should call Pfizer immediately and ask for a written copy of their newly posted Warning.

All patients should be advised that they will not be told this information unless they specifically ask their doctors for it. Even then, there is no guarantee that their doctor will even know this latest update.

Try this Google search: "Depo-Medrol Harm"

Kindest regards,
Dennis J. Capolongo / EDNC
Center for Pharmaceutical Safety
Washington, DC

[LadyR]

I found your comment very interesting considering that I've had two Epiduural Steroid Injections in the past month.  They were very painful and interestingly I told my doctor that I wasn't exactly what you'd call in pain but having discomfort in my right arm.  What I was experiencing was, major tingling which gets worse when I bend forward or sit with my head in certain positions, or just lean on my elbow.  After the first injection the tingling got much worse, after the second the tingling wasn't quite as bad but...I began to feel as if I'm loosing strenght in my right arm.  Called my surgeon and he told me to stop them.  What I don't understand is why these injections are recommended if they do not alleviate the symptoms.  Additionally, these injections were at the suggestion of my surgeon as a conservative approach to see if injections would help enstead of having surgery on the C6-7.  At this point surgery is scheduled but the injections seemed to have helped a little as the tingling comes and goes this week.  So I'm somewhat confused to your statement about the injections being bad.