Demyelinated not Destroyed

In the world of neuropathy and demyelinating diseases, tingling is a fairly common symptom. It’s often one of the first symptoms a person will start having.

What is it?

Tingling is a pins and needles, almost fuzzy feeling, most often felt in an extremity. It can range from a mild sensation to fairly strong.

What causes it?

There are many different causes of tingling. The most common cause is cutting off blood flow to an extremity, resulting it reduced blood flow to the nerves of that body part. The reduced blood flow to the nerves causes your arm or leg to “fall asleep”. As the blood returns to your body part, and ultimately the nerves, it causes the pins and needles feeling that you experience. Fortunately, in cases where a body part “falls asleep”, the tingling usually quickly goes away.

In the world of neuropathy, tingling is caused by damage being done to the nerves. Because the central nervous system is so complex, the nerves can be damaged in a wide variety of ways. Such as:

• Metabolic - Diabetes and hypothyroidism
• Nutritional - Alcoholism, B12 deficiency, and malnutrition
• Trauma - Injury to the nerves or central nervous system.
• Inflammation - Inflamed nerves and tissue swell, causing pinching and compression of nerves
• Connective tissue diseases - Arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (a disease that causes widespread chronic inflammation), polyarteritis nodosa (causes chronic inflammation of the arteries)
• Toxins - Arsenic, lead, mercury and other heavy metals, some antibiotics and chemotherapy agents, solvents, B6 overdose
• Infections - HIV, Lyme disease, leprosy
• Hereditary diseases - Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (causes wasting of the leg muscles and malformation of the foot), porphyria (a group of disorders in which there is abnormally increased production of porphyrins), and Denny-Brown’s Syndrome (disorder of the nerve root)
• Stroke
• Tumor
• Demyelinating diseases - Multiple Sclerosis, CIDP, etc…

How is it diagnosed?

The doctor will usually ask a bunch of questions in order to obtain your medical history. Some of the questions might include when the tingling first started, where the tingling is located, how bad the tingling is, etc… A family medical history might also be taken in order to determine whether the tingling might be caused by a hereditary disorder. Any recent injuries to the area will also be discussed.

A variety of tests can be done by the doctor, as well. Physical and neurological exams will determine how widespread the tingling is and whether there is any loss of reflexes, feeling and strength in the affected areas. Blood and urine tests will be done to see if the tingling is being caused by a metabolic or nutritional problem. EMG and nerve conduction studies are done to see how much nerve and muscle function you have in the affected areas. A nerve biopsy might also be performed.

How is it treated?

How tingling is treated is determined by what’s causing it. If the tingling is being caused by metabolic or nutritional problems, the doctor can prescribe medication or a change in diet to get the symptoms under control. Aspirin or aspirin related medications can be used to bring down any inflammation. Pain medications might also be prescribed if the tingling is particularly bad or bothersome.

Some alternative treatments for tingling include vitamin therapy. B complex vitamins such as B6 and B12 are proven to help with nervous system function. When undergoing vitamin therapy, it is important to make sure an overdose is avoided. An overdose of vitamins, particularly B6, can make the tingling worse. Alcohol should be avoided as it tends to make tingling worse. Acupuncture and massage have been used to relieve symptoms. Self-massage and aroma oils can help. Topical ointments that contain capsaicin work, also.

My experience

Tingling was the first symptom I had. Since it first showed up in the palm of my left hand, my doctor suspected I might have carpal tunnel syndrome. It didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility since then, much like now, I spent a lot of time on the computer. My doctor referred me to a neurologist to get a nerve conduction study done on my left hand/wrist. It was that first referral that sent me on my five year journey in search of a diagnosis.

For the first few years, the tingling was isolated primarily to my left hand. Eventually, it spread up my left arm, to my left leg, then onto my right side.

That first bout of tingling lasted roughly a month before fading completely. I didn’t experience it again until a year later where it lasted for the same amount of time. It would follow this relapsing/remitting pattern for several years.

At first the tingling would go completely away. Then, with each relapse, it wouldn’t stop completely. It would get better but not be completely gone, almost like it would plateau a bit instead of healing totally. For the past couple of years, I’ve stopped the relapsing/remitting pattern and have started to just steadily go downhill.

I have tingling all the time in my arms, legs, sides, and face. The tingling on my sides and face are fairly faint. I don’t really notice them unless I’m having to focus on it. The tingling in my arms and legs is much more noticeable. I’ve become accustomed to it over the years. It only becomes annoying if the being-poked-by-pins-and-needles feeling turns into a sharper being-stabbed-by-thousands-of-little-needles feeling. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen often.

More information on tingling can be found here .

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