We’ve all had that feeling of “pins and needles” after your leg has “fallen asleep.” Or maybe you have been awakened in the middle of the night to an utterly numb arm, only to have it begin tingling like mad after you clumsily readjust. These are the more common forms of a condition called paresthesia.
For example, perhaps you feel random burning sensations throughout the body. You may also have to endure random itching or a feeling like something is crawling on your skin. To make matters worse, paresthesia is a fairly common symptom of both fibromyalgia and diabetes. As if dealing with all the other symptoms of these conditions wasn’t hard enough, paresthesia gets thrown into the mix as well.
Although the cause is not known, fibromyalgia is a disease that effects the central nervous system. This is categorized as an illness that amplifies pain often causing sensations that are not painful to increase to the point that someone with fibro experiences intense pain. This puts parenthesia in a whole different light for people with fibro from those experiencing that tingling feeling after watching television in the same position for too long. Generally, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) explains that paresthesia is usually painless. Fibro patients often see it otherwise.
Neurological Nightmares: Paresthesia with Fibromyalgia
We all know the tingling or pins and needles feeling that occurs when your leg “falls asleep.” (One comedian said it felt like his foot was filled with ginger ale.) The Autoimmunity Research Foundation explains: “It happens when sustained pressure is placed on a nerve.” The feeling usually recedes once the pressure is relieved. It’s often felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet, but can also occur in other parts of the body such as mouth or chest. It may be constant or intermittent. Paresthesia can also be caused by disorders affecting the central nervous system (encephalitis, MS, stroke) or any of the peripheral nerves (carpel tunnel syndrome, atherosclerosis).
Most people know the “pins and needles” experience as an intense, but harmless sensation. A numb limb that is temporarily useless can be viewed as a cosmic joke. But persons living with fibromyalgia don’t experience paresthesia the same way. The amplified sensations of parenthesia can be painful to someone with fibromyalgia, leaving them with a second form of pain to deal with on top of the chronic pain already being experienced.
So how can you know if you are experiencing paresthesia in addition to your fibromyalgia?
Paresthesia Symptoms
Certain fibromyalgia symptoms can often overlap with chronic paresthesia, sometimes making it difficult to diagnose. However, there are separate symptoms, such as:
- Crawling feeling on the skin
- Sensitive to the touch
- Burning sensation on the skin, particularly on the extremities
- Itchy skin on a particular area of the body
- Pain in a certain area of the body
- Numbness in the extremities or other areas of the body
Treating Paresthesia
The single greatest problem associated with fibromyalgia is our inability to cure it. The only option is to attempt managing the symptoms. Fortunately, paresthesia is usually a symptom that is treatable once the source is identified. However, you may run into problems if the source is actually the fibro itself. Nevertheless, the NINDS explains that the prognosis “depends on the severity of the sensations and the associated disorders.” Finding the source often involves tests such as MRI, X-ray, or blood test. Whether or not you have fibromyalgia, it is important to seek diagnosis and treatment for it in the event that it is related to nerve damage, tumor near the spinal cord or brain, undiscovered mini-strokes, and more.
After identifying the source and possibly treating the source, paresthesia may go away on its own. However, some treatment options also include exercise, massage and anti-inflammatory medications.
Do you have paresthesia with fibromyalgia? If so, have you found a successful treatment option to at least eliminate that particular symptom? Did you have a difficult time finding the correct diagnosis? Tell us about your experience.
Comments