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My 'neuropathy ' (still in shock I have this!) came on suddenly with a vengwnce about 5 weeks ago. I was laying in bed when I could feel someinthing travel from my right buttock to my thigh. I didn't think much of it until it continued to traveling down to my calf. I then had the worst spasm in my calf that I ever experienced. From there, my toes stated to tingle. A few days later, I had something that felt like a bolt of lightening start to burn the bottom and sides of my feet! They turned extremely red and a rash appeared. This was the start of me trying to quickly get answers from doctors. But, as we all know, it takes a lot of calls, time and perserverence to advocate for yourself. I was scared and I remain scared. Long story short... after pushing to see specialists, I ruled out any pinched nerves... never had an injury... I have been under tremendous stress as I'm caregiving for my elderly mother... Would this cause this to happen!? No one should ever have to have this terrible and unexpected thing happen to them. Any thoughts? (I had an EMG yesterday, and they said it was 'mild' neuropathy... What exactly does that mean?! What can I do (treatments?) to try and reverse this in this early phase? Ugh!
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Hi @lynndenver, I would like to add my welcome along with Chris @artscaping. You mentioned it started suddenly and felt like a lightening bolt. It sounds similar to this article on sciatic nerve pain.
"The pain of sciatica is usually sharp and shooting, “like a lightning bolt down the back of the leg,” Boissonnault said. When the condition becomes even more severe, numbness can also develop, as can weakness, foot drop, and other issues that impede mobility. Because of its length, there are several areas where the sciatic nerve can be aggravated."
-- Sciatic Pain Can Feel Like A 'Lightning Bolt,' Says Physical Therapist:
https://www.wpr.org/sciatic-pain-can-feel-lightning-bolt-says-physical-therapist
You also mentioned burning symptoms on the bottom and sides of your feet. Do you think your symptoms could have any of the possible causes here?
-- http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/burning-feet/basics/causes/sym-20050809
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Good evening @lynndenver, and welcome to Connect. You are definitely someone looking for answers. Your first question might be.....what can Connect do for me? Our mission is all about sharing information and experiences. As you are beginning to find out, knowledge is power e.g. what do I have, how did I get it, and then how do I get rid of it?
Unfortunately at this point, you may not be able to get rid of neuropathy. As far as we know, there is no cure for any of the several hundred versions of neuropathy. "Mild" is a term I haven't heard so let's see what we can determine. Do you have some form of diabetes? Have you been treated with chemotherapy for a cancer diagnosis? Have you been involved in traumatic injuries, surgeries, accidents or other serious incidents?
And as far as symptoms go......do you have pain in definitive areas? Do some areas of your body become numb or tingling even if there is no pain? Do you experience itching over certain areas of your body.....and maybe rashes or other discoloration? Have you ever felt like your tummy was on fire? And please believe, that this is just the beginning of some of the ways in which neuropathy makes itself known.
I have (SFN) small fiber neuropathy as diagnosed by means of a skin punch biopsy....a simple procedure to determine the percentage of your cells that contain working nerves, so to speak.
Has someone asked you if you have a condition labeled "myofascial pain syndrome?" That was my first diagnosis. I now have two MFR (myofascial release) therapy sessions a week to manage and somewhat control my SFN. Without them, I would not be able to drive a car.
What I am leading up to is the hard-to-swallow truth about any form of neuropathy......there is no cure as of today or in the near future. I dove right down into major depression when I learned that I would have this condition for the rest of my life. That was 9 years ago.
What can be done is to find a way to mitigate and manage your neuropathy so that your quality of life remains positive and the symptoms stay under control. You may wish to start by reading pertinent information on two sites:
http://www.foundationforpn.org
https://neuropathycommons.org
At this point, I would like you to meet @johnbishop who is one of those neuropathy folks who has no pain, just numbness. He also has been researching neuropathy for years and can help you immensely as you begin to learn as much as you can about the form of neuropathy with which you are dealing.
To help him a bit, would you be able to share the nature of your symptoms and the medications or treatments that you have tried so far? And by the way.....how did you find Connect?
May you be safe, free, and protected from inner and outer harm.
Chris