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Consistent/ Worsening Numbness and Other Symptoms
Hi everyone, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about 10 years ago, and I am a 30yr old female. I wanted to see if anyone else deals with feelings like parts of your body are asleep that do not go away and are getting worse? Close to the time symptoms started, my face has always felt like it's asleep. So do most of my fingers and toes. Recently, the numb feeling has increased in my pinky and fourth fingers, mainly on my right hand, which is my dominant hand. I can't think of anything I was doing out of the ordinary. Recently, I was writing notes for a few minutes and then my right wrist went numb and still is. The feeling got a little better briefly a few days ago, but it returned.
Pain in my elbows started as horrible grinding pain, and ever since then I have had discomfort in my elbows, knees, and a lot of tension in my shoulders and lower back. My elbows, knees, and shoulders pop a lot, my elbows sometimes lock up, and my fingers and toes pop a lot. Years ago, I had a brain MRI, an XRAY and MRI of my elbow, and an XRAY of one knee, and everything looked normal. I've had an EMG on my arms years ago at one location, and the results showed my nerves were a little off, but they didn't know why. I had another EMG done at UVA years ago too, and it looked normal.
Recently, I finished Occupational Therapy, but the numbness actually increased in my hands. One OT said they were surprised I had all these issues being that I am so young. True, but not so helpful to hear.... The OT suggested I go to a Functional Medicine Doctor to see what they think. I've recently had an X-ray of my neck, which showed I have no curve in it, and my doctor thinks it could be because my trapezius muscles are constantly tight, so they suggested I take muscle relaxants or use heat or cold on them. I have a neck MRI scheduled for next month and another EMG scheduled for the numbness in my fingers.
Has anyone dealt with symptoms like these? I have never been in an accident, never broken or fractured anything. I have experienced a couple of traumatic things during younger years, and remember even in elementary school signs that I was much more stressed out than the average kid. Doctors years ago attributed my extreme pain and symptoms to anxiety and depression, before I got the diagnosis of Fibro. I do suffer from very bad anxiety and depression still, but I don't see how those things alone could cause all of these awful symptoms I am having.
I can't work full-time because of all of these things happening to my body and never have been able to. I am working on being self-employed to see if that is manageable. I want my normal life back so so much.
Thank you so much for reading!!
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Has a hand specialist evaluated you for carpal tunnel? I had severe numbness in my hands intermittently while sleeping. (I do not have fibromyalgia.)It has recently returned. I don’t test positive for carpel tunnel, however the hand specialist says sometimes you do have it nonetheless. A simple surgical procedure is the treatment. My SIL had similar symptoms as me, didn’t test positive, yet was cured after having the surgery. So…..I’m unsure what to do about mine.
I was also evaluated for neuropathy in hands and feet. I was told that I didn’t have that after multiple tests. But, I’m not sure.
Have you tested your B12 level? It can cause similar symptoms.
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2 ReactionsWell, I think you are on the right course. Sometimes finding out what is wrong means you have to take tests and x-rays to know what it isn’t. Don’t dismiss your childhood trauma . Myself I never thought of it as trauma , because it was just my childhood and it seemed normal and all the people around me were my family. And when your whole family is like that, you just think it’s kind of normal. Sometimes with fibromyalgia, you never know what something is. It is not unusual to have numbness and tingling in your legs or arms. I also have tendinitis in my wrist and thumb. And if that kicks off, then my fibromyalgia really kicks it into a flare. So then that tension goes up my arm and across my shoulders. I think as we keep seeing through all our messages, we all have fibromyalgia, a crazy and different way and crazy and different drugs that only affect us. So it’s a lot of trying things. I had some water therapy that is called.WATSU. That was very helpful for a while. Cranial sacral is another thing that works well as it’s very gentle. The problem is all of these special services cost money. So you usually have to figure out what can afford and what works best. If you get your doctor to have PT we had water therapy here in Oregon and so I took that and it was paid for. Also, it depends upon your doctor. I had a good one for seven years and then she moved on. The one I have now is OK and she looks after my general health. But she doesn’t try to dig down on some of the problems I have. So I usually have to dig down myself on the Internet and then propose it to her. She usually goes along with it. We have to remember there is a very small population that has fibromyalgia, so not a lot of people know about it. That’s includes the doctors. There is a different kind of doctor called a physiatrist. They are doctors that look at the whole body and try to look at the whole system, including mental health and how it affects a person. I found her to be very helpful. Anyway, I went on with a lot of information, but I think you’re doing the right thing by drilling down on what it is not. So hang in there and keep working on it. I go to Internet newsletter is fibromyalgia syndrome association network. Try them out.
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4 Reactions@celia16 I haven't seen a hand specialist. I will see a DO who will do EMG/NCS tests next month.
I recently started taking a B complex supplement per my PCP's suggestion. My B levels weren't low that I know of, though. I have been taking Vitamin D3 for a few months because my blood levels were low for that.
@leoandbear Years ago, I did PT and did some therapy in warm water, and that felt really nice. I'll look into cranial sacral, as I haven't heard of that before. It can be difficult to find doctors that you like and will explore different issues you have. I'll do some research on psychiatrists too. Thank you so much for your suggestions and kind words!
@celia16 And I don't know if they evaluated me for carpal tunnel specifically during my first EMG.
@sarah44 , beware of B complex. My neurologist warned me of B6. Excessive B6 can cause bad symptoms. He advised me to never take a B6 supplement. Please ensure your levels are not too high. I am told excessive B12 is harmless.
My GP first checked my carpel tunnel. Later an ortho did too. Lastly, the Hand specialist did. All negative or inconclusive. It’s a simple test where they hold your arm and press on a certain area. I had no reaction to it. Still….hand doctor says the test isn’t 100% accurate. Here’s one of the office tests: https://m.youtube.com/watch
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