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Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Neuropathy | Last Active: Oct 27 5:51pm | Replies (6152)

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@johnbishop

Did your doctor look at the spider bite? Also, is skin tissue around the bite look or feel different? I would want to know if it were a particular spider like a brown recluse or black widow since they can cause nerve damage (I think).

"Black widow toxin causes nerve cell dysfunction and muscle cell twitching. Brown recluse spiders (Loxosceles recluse) are tan to dark brown with a leg span of ..." --- Black Widow and Brown Recluse Spider Bite: https://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_black_widow_and_recluse_spider_bite/article_em.htm

"The clinical manifestation of brown recluse spider bites varies from skin irritation, a small area of tissue damage to neuropathic pain, ..." --- Necrotic arachnidism and intractable pain from recluse spider bites treated with lumbar sympathetic block: a case report and review of literature: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21317774/

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Replies to "Did your doctor look at the spider bite? Also, is skin tissue around the bite look..."

Thank you, John. I did have both my primary and my neurologist check the site of the spider bite. There was no sign of necrosis or other tissue damage. In truth, I waited for 2 weeks for the bite to resolve on its own, as such bites usually do. By the time I saw the docs, there was no visible sign of the bite. Even though I insisted the symptoms had to be related to the bite due to the timing of the onset of symptoms, my primary said he doubted it, and the neurologist opined that, while rare, an incident such as a bite *can* cause symptoms to begin. As my symptoms are on the lower leg just above the bite site, I have to reluctantly agree that such must be my case. I thought perhaps it would seem more macho if I were suffering from a bite from some rare, venomous arachnid. Nope, it's neuropathy, pure and simple.