Numbness, itchy, cold, burning leg

[asisenhart]

For 4 months, I have suffered from a numb, itchy, and cold/burning right upper leg. It is also sensitive to the touch and I sometimes get stabbing pains in the same area. In June it started as a quarter size area...now it has increased to my whole front leg. I do have an appt. for an MRI next week, but am very curious about this until I get a final diagnosis. The doctor I chose to go to did not offer much info...he thinks I may have a damaged nerve in my back. He also told me during my exam that I have 'brisk reflexes' and had asked me if I had always had 'brisk reflexes'. He seemed very concerned about this condition. I also have fatigue and always a feeling of muscle aches and sometimes confusion. Please...anyone that has suffered from this condition, please respond....I am very concerned about this and would appreciate any info from anyone!

[Yolzy]

Which drug did your mum take? Thanks

[Yolzy]

Hi, did u find out what was causing all this burning? Thanks

[carlalalala]

How interesting that so many people have been afflicted by this condition! Here's my story and it has a hopeful ending. A month ago, these symptoms of numbness and extreme itchiness on my left front thigh began. This coincided with my resumption of eating a hefty amount of dark chocolate, the expensive kind one buys at Whole Foods. I was eating at least a half of a large bar a day and sometimes a whole bar. I have a propensity for chocolate addiction and so had avoided strictly for more than a year. I reviewed in my mind all of the things that I had changed since the time I became a victim of the nasty symptoms.
1. Chocolate consumption
2. An herb called Bacopa one capsule per day
3. Doing a strenuous exercise to tighten my abs
I decided to stop all three of these things. The next day, I found the symptoms had diminished by about 50 percent. It has been about five days since I started this experiment. The numbness has been reduced by at least 50 percent but the area is now a bit tender to the touch. The itching has diminished by 70 percent. It was a scary thing to experience! Now a bit of background concerning the chocolate: I researched it on Google. I suspected that it might contain this dangerous flavor enhancers that is used in many products including flavored teas. Yes, even the healthy ones that you buy at the health food stores! I had been drinking these "healthy" teas thinking that they were doing me some benefit. What they did do is make me itch all over my torso, cause lesions to form, and frequently caused me to itch all over my body. I was in torment and I had no idea what was causing it. This went on for several years! Finally after trying everything I could think of I tried stopping tea drinking and sure enough that was the culprit. I Googled teas and found that some companies use a nerve destroying flavor enhancer called "Ribonucleotides" in some of their products. It is never listed on any ingredients lists that I have seen. But it is "inside" one of the ingredients such as "Natural Flavors." After I stopped drinking the tea or eating other suspicious products too numerous to mention, which by the way, were all from the "health food store," I miraculously recovered my healthy skin once again. These "Ribonucleotides" are used in chocolate to enhance the flavor. I do not intend to reintroduce chocolate back into my life. That is OVER! I will, however, reintroduce the Bacopa (herb that enhances memory) and the exercise to tighten my abs to see if they, too, have contributed to this distressing condition itching and numbness. I shall write back soon with an update so that you can see if perhaps what I have discovered may be the cause of your problem too!

[BaileyF]

I'm 17 and have these same problems, numbness, burning and itching in my right thigh that's been going on for months now. I've seen a doctor, a neurologist, I've had MRI's on my lower spine that came out normal, I've had EMG's and NCV's - all clean, and am now seeing a chiropractor. I've been prescribed gabapentin but it doesn't do much but make me sleepy. It's hard to sleep at night with the pain and the burning, even though I always seem to be tired. This is affecting my college grades and my ability to work and I need a solution, if anyone knows about anything that's worked for them, please speak up, this is terrible!

[Luna1975]

And if it is meralgia (which a neurologist can test) and none of the above helps and you do not want to take pain meds for the rest of your life a nerve block does stop the pain, itch and burning sensation so i've been told (which i fortunately did not need yet)

[Luna1975]

This really sounds like Meralgia paresthetica. This is a compressed nerve (The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve) that runs over the inguinal ligament. and gets compressie there. The way to solve this is difficult and is mainly prevent compression of the nerve. Do not wear tight clothes, belts or tight underwear and try a chiropracter. For me this and losing some weight helped against these symptoms. I did not have iT for years though, just a few months. Don't know of à nerve that Hans been compressed for years can still restore to normal function.