Paresthesia

[scondrell]

Hi, I was Dxed with MS about a year ago. Prior to that I had mild to no symptoms and my MRIs are relatively clean with the expection of a less than handful amount of lesions.

In the past six months I've been experiencing Paresthesia and the pain is so intense I could jump out of a window when it seems to occur.  I've complained to my doctor about it but he says it's typical for MS patients to experience it.  

What he hasn't told me, is when it happens am I having an actual demylenating exacerbation?  I have permanent numbness in that area now and it seems if I am physical for too long, the pain sets in again.  Is this permanent too?

Any thoughts on how to make this go away?

Desperate....

[Udkas]

Hi there,
I can relate to the horrible burning pain that you are getting, mine seems to come and go, I can have ages without it and then it can come back to haunt me.

I too have no feeling across the top of one of my thighs (weird), this is permanent for me, it has never improved, I can place something really cold on it and i can't feel it but on the other leg I can.

Neurontin (gabapentin) helps with neuropathic pain, if it persists and is making your life miserable it might be worth talking to your neurologist about this drug, it has helped me as many of my problems are of a sensory nature.

I agree with JJ have a read of the health pages, people have written some great articles on relapses and how to tell if you are in a relapse, pain management etc.

My sensory symptoms can be fleeting, they can make me very miserable and then disappear for a while only to return, my neuro has said this is just part of my messages getting jumbled making there way to other body bits via my spinal cord, causing the parethesesias and this is the way that they can behave, so I don't think it neccesarily means things are getting worse but if you have a new symptom lasting longer than 24 hours or a worsening of an old one I would ring your neuro. (that's what we pay them for)

Hope you feel better soon.
Udkas.

[scondrell]

Thanks for writing.  Actually, I was fine and all the sudden the other day my thigh started burning.  i was not doing anything in particular. The severity that day was intolerable, since then (4 days now) the pain comes and goes.  Worsens when I stand for too long.  The numbness is now across the top of my thigh.  I had a massage tonight and I could not feel her hands going over that part of my leg.

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome!

There is a good health page to read, see the top right of your screen, click on the yellow icon, you might find the answer your looking for there.

I am a little confused (nothing new there lol), are you saying you experience pain in the same area that you are permanently numb? Or is it because you are numb, you have to compensate and that is causing pain if your physical for too long?

If its the second then it sounds about right, if say your right foot is numb, your body needs to compensate for the lack of movement, which puts additional strains on things like your knee, hip and back or neck aswell as the various muscle groups. Its hard to say if its going to be permanent, i dont count a sx as permanent unless it hasnt resolved for 12 months.

If your in a new flare, then all your old sx are exaserbated as well as posibly getting new sx, they dont always resolve straight away, sometimes it can take many months before they resolve, if they are going too but no one can say for sure if they will or not. Things get tricky when your having a pseudo-flare, so not real though it feels like it at the time, these are fleeting and resolve quickly back to your base line, once your internal temperature is cooled down.

If your on a DMD which are the only protection todate against the disease, not a cure but a way to slow down the disease process and hopefully reduce the number of relapses over the course of the disease, which i am assuming your neurologist has you on, if not i'd be questioning why! Sometimes you need to change the DMD if its not working as well as it should for you, copaxone seems to be the most common though not always the first one perscribed.

Hope to hear more of your story!

Cheers.........JJ