Paresthesia

[bosnianworrier]

For many years I couldn't find a name for it. They call it Paresthesia. When i was 12 (now I'm 30) I was scared severely from a war jet that flew too low and the sound was unbearable. It was sudden and made me completely numb, depersonalized and unusual fear. I thought I was going crazy.

Anyway, the biggest problem was Paresthesia. I would rate it to be 3 times above extreme in severity. It would get worse when I am under stress etc. It was all over my body including my brain.

The extreme part lasted 3-4 years because I couldn't see a doctor due to war.

After that I moved out of the country and was diagnosed with anxiety. Antidepressants helped reduce this problem.

When I started smoking it got worse again. When i quit it lessened.

Now 18 years later i still have it. It is mild and mostly in my thighs and sometimes arms.

Other symptoms I developed are:

-Dizziness when moving my head
-Fainty feeling when I tap my neck or head and face

So at age of 12 being above EXTREME  to the age of 30 being mild seems as a good thing. But I like to get rid of it.

I saw a neurologist and had 2 ct head scans which were normal.

I think my nerves got damaged from that sudden fear attack but apparently they tend to heal. Massage, not smoking, no stress, exercice etc helps a lot.

My question is: Can anxiety/stress/severe fear cause Paresthesia?

Thank You

[Parasthesias]

In answer to your question in my opinion-Yes.

The consequence of physical vibrations hitting your ear drums( focusing on the physics of that word -drum) and shaking the neurons in your brain to produce high levels of adrenaline I would imagine would cause an effect throughout the body-perhaps the word for that sensation could be called paresthesias and is usually associated with the emotion fear.

Soothe the nerves is a physical way and you are doing that through massage.  Basically I concur with you and your logical question and observation.

[AMZ2857]

I was told that parasthisa can result in anxiety and it went away, now i have firboymalgia.cfs and parastheisa hurts so bad the tears roll out of my eyes.

[bosnianworrier]

I apologize for writing 4 posts in a row but in case a doctor reads this I need to mention that when this problem started I was feeling as completely paralyzed. Other symptom I forgot to mention is sexual dysfunction but I don't know if it is related as I seem to have chronic prostatitis and antidepressants cause ED.

I have no other problems like muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing etc. I am in better shape now regarding this Peripheral problem than I was 10 years ago despite not being physically active.

[bosnianworrier]

One last thing I forgot to add.

When they talk about Paresthesia they often mention pins and needles. In my case it is like electrical nerve itching/feeling. Also gets a bit worse when I quit antidepressants cold turkey but it is fine when I wean off slowly.

[bosnianworrier]

Also I like to add an example. When I went to see a neurologist it got little worse because i was scared. When he told me he believes it is all anxiety, the symptoms reduced. When I don't worry (but i always worry as I have Gen. Anxiety Disorder) then I feel almost normla.