Burning skin sensation off and on for 12 yrs....

[sherrydenice1972]

Hello.  I will try to make this short.  In 2002, I started getting burning sensations on my upper arms.  This was 6 mts after 9/11 when I had my first ever emotional breakdown.  During that breakdown, I never had any physical symptoms that I could recall.....just crying, couldn't eat, claustrophobia, etc.  For two weeks straight, I was a mess.  I was scared we were all going to do.  It was "traumatized"...to put it lightly.  My husband (we are now divorced), didn't try to comfort me, and only hollered at me and told me to stop behaving that way.  Fast forward to 2002 when the burning started.  I saw my GP who sent me to a rheumatologist who did a c-spine MRI to check to see if something in my neck was causing my arms to burn.  MRI was clear.  Burning went away after a while.  I also had tenderness all over....felt like I was bruised all over.  

Sometime in 2003, the sensations came back.  I saw a neurologist and GP.  Had a brain MRI, I believe in 2003 or 2004.  All was clear.  Went into a depression (due to bad marriage and physical symptoms) and had horrid anxiety daily.  I was a WRECK for a long time.  Finally got on Zoloft and it calmed things down.  Burning went away for a while and would come back here and there, but milder.  

Went and saw an MS specialist in 2004 and 2005.  He ordered a brain MRI in 2005 since I had come back to him for the second time w/ my concerns.  MRI was perfect.  That was my last MRI.

Continued (off and on) to have burning sensations and aching all over through 2007.  Husband left me for our next door neighbor in September of 2007.  For the next 3 1/2 yrs, I felt GREAT!  Fast forward to May 2011, after a huge upsetting day that involved my x-husband, the burning and aching all over came back.  I also suffered insomnia for 3 solid months.  It was a living hell.  Saw a couple of drs.  No answers.  ALL of the drs through the years always said anxiety and depression.  

I was seeing a therapist for a few months in the summer and early fall and he told me I definitely have PTSD and that emotions can trigger my physical symptoms.  

I saw my GP in December and asked if she could order a neck MRI, becuase a neurologist I saw in 2012 did an EMG and found an abnormalty in the left side of my neck and I never went for the MRI.  I wanted to this in December because I had met my deductible in 2013 and would not have to pay anything for the MRI.  The managed to get me in on 12/31 and I could NOT do the MRI due to claustrophobia.  Without getting into all the details, I left w/o my MRI.  BTW....the insurance company approved a brain MRI and not neck MRI.  The dr. had actually requested brain and neck to put my mind at ease.  

I haven't had any burning really....in about 6 mts at this point.  Well, today my face is starting to burn again.  I left out that back in 2003 through current, when I speak of burning, it's usually my face now.  I mean...it feels like it's been steam burned.  No redness...nothing.  

I do not have any other MS symptoms; however, I was diagnosed w/ Pars Planitis in 1994 - which is an eye condition that is linked to MS in small percentages.  Nevertheless, it it is connected to MS...and has always been stuck in my head.

All my neurlogical exams are always normal.  

Since my burning has started back this evening....I am getting concerned again.

Can anyone offer any guidance here?

THANKS!

[sherrydenice1972]

One more question.   Would it sound MS-like if the burning covered my entire face for a while....the left side only for a while....and then the right side only a little while later?  

What a mess I am.  

[sherrydenice1972]

Thanks y'all.  I am feeling better today.  I started getting really anxious a few days before returning back to work after being off for 2 weeks during the holidays.  Then I started getting really down in general (divorce, being single, house is a mess, etc) and then this started yesterday.  

It's hard to imagine that anxiety can cause burning, but I recall a time about 3 yrs ago when my entire body (head to toe) felt like I was on fire...it hurt SO BAD I could have just crawled in a hole.  I was on the way to pick up some friends to go to see a band play.  When I got to their house, I told the husband how I felt - because he gets the bruised sensation all over from time to time and his doctors believe it's stress (wife was cheating off and on for years and he was trying to hold the family together).  

Once we got to the place we were going and I had a drink, I was FINE.  It was all gone.  THAT night kind of made me realize what anxiety can do to the body.

BUT.....after being diagnosed w/ Pars Planitis in 1994 and, the nurse handing me a copy of some pages from the doctor's medical book showing where it's linked to MS, I have had the seed planted in my brain all these years!  

There again, ANXIETY!

[Guitar_grrrl]

Hi, there, and Welcome!  Alex has given you good advise, and I don't have that much more to add.   MS, or many of its mimics, can be hard to diagnose, and may take years.  Get second, third, or more opinions.  Read our Health Pages (links on bottom of this page).  Keep in touch, OK?

[HVAC]

Something is going but it is not screaming MS at me, but I am not a doctor. I could see it not showing up on a MRI but if you neurological exams are always normal it is unlikely MS. Neurologist can tell more from a neurological exam than a MRI. They can tell exactly where you have Neurological damage whether it is brain, exactly where in the spine or if it is peripheral.

I am not sure what kind of specialist to see. The problem is Doctors specialize and they only see you through their specialty. You almost have to know what is wrong to find the right doctor.

Have you thought of just treating symptoms until you get and answer. Lyrica is a good drug for what you are describing. There are others. A GP could help you.

Most chronic illness has a lot of anxiety and depression. Doctors do not have a lot of time and sometimes when they say we are anxious or depressed it feels like a dismissal but it might not be.

I had to admit that a big part of my MS and Cancer was anxiety and depression. I finally agreed to take medication to help with that. I also found a therapist who deals with people with chronic illness. It has really helped.

Sometimes diagnosis takes a long time. I have learned to have symptoms treated and to worry about the diagnosis later.

Alex