Aa
I'm desperate for help. Numbness all over body.
Hi, I'll try and keep this as short as possible. But basically looking for some other opinions here. Over the past 3 weeks I've experienced some crazy symptoms. It all started with what I thought was a rash on my penis after masturbating. What I've now found out is an allergic reaction and I've been diagnosed with an extremely rare disease called POIS. I also have Hashimoto's disease and over the past 3 weeks have been getting progressive numbness all across my body. (teeth, tongue, gums, neck, arms, legs, fingers, and bottom of feet.) Everything is bilateral and equal on both sides and they all showed up simultaneously. My skin also feels extremely dry, and like my muscle is wasting away. Although I haven't lost any weight which is weird.
Also found out that my Testosterone is is 231 which is extremely low for my age (30), and also that I have a slipped disc in my c5-c6 cervical area.
My doctors have said the slipped disc wouldn't cause the widespread numbness. My question is could my low testosterone be causing the widespread numbness? My muscles and everything seem to be weakening which is scary. Just curious on what other people thought.
I've had MRI's of my whole spine and brain and my neurologist said I don't have MS or any nerve damaging diseases, so I'm at a bit of a loss. My rheumatologist also suggested I may have caught covid, but I doubt it. What do you think?
Also found out that my Testosterone is is 231 which is extremely low for my age (30), and also that I have a slipped disc in my c5-c6 cervical area.
My doctors have said the slipped disc wouldn't cause the widespread numbness. My question is could my low testosterone be causing the widespread numbness? My muscles and everything seem to be weakening which is scary. Just curious on what other people thought.
I've had MRI's of my whole spine and brain and my neurologist said I don't have MS or any nerve damaging diseases, so I'm at a bit of a loss. My rheumatologist also suggested I may have caught covid, but I doubt it. What do you think?
...any virus or a vax can trigger your underlying susceptibility, then your immune system can run amok.
"He had sprayed some numbing medication up my nose and since then I haven't felt the same."
Possibly lidocaine. So then:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8399637/
"Lidocaine: A Local Anesthetic, Its Adverse Effects and Management" 2021
"...the number of recorded adverse allergic responses, particularly of hazardous responses, is quite low. However, allergic reactions can range from moderate to life-threatening... type I hypersensitivity was diagnosed in 13 cases, and four subjects had an IgE-independent allergy..."
(Type I hypersensitivity is the technical definition of allergy, and that involves IgE. Non-IgE 'allergy' could involve IgG.)
Neurological effects aren't mentioned in that review article, but that's still a possibility for you individually.
-------------
Maybe try various plant substances. Doesn't have to be only Rx meds. Also avoiding triggers.
Possibly lidocaine. So then:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8399637/
"Lidocaine: A Local Anesthetic, Its Adverse Effects and Management" 2021
"...the number of recorded adverse allergic responses, particularly of hazardous responses, is quite low. However, allergic reactions can range from moderate to life-threatening... type I hypersensitivity was diagnosed in 13 cases, and four subjects had an IgE-independent allergy..."
(Type I hypersensitivity is the technical definition of allergy, and that involves IgE. Non-IgE 'allergy' could involve IgG.)
Neurological effects aren't mentioned in that review article, but that's still a possibility for you individually.
-------------
Maybe try various plant substances. Doesn't have to be only Rx meds. Also avoiding triggers.
"He had sprayed some numbing medication up my nose and since then I haven't felt the same."
Hi. Then that's your biggest clue right there.
"...but they claim there's no way it could have been that."
No one can reasonably make such a claim. What they can say is only that it's extremely unlikely. Some people are hypersensitive to things that would never be suspected. Some can't eat anything except red meat, and so on.
"Not saying it was, just leaves me suspicious."
Good thinking.
"I went to my ENT doc to have some routine work done to check out my nasal airway."
I wouldn't say that's routine per se. If it's routine for you individually, then that suggests that you have some chronic condition - which is probably immune related.
"Covid"
or the mRNA vaccine.
My guess is that since everything else has been ruled out, you have a hyperactive immune system. You have Hashimoto's, that demonstrates you are susceptible to immune dysfunction. Any family history of Lupus, Sjogren's, Raynaud's, etc.?
Somewhere else you'd said you feel inflamed all over, right? So I'd want ESR and CRP for starters, then more blood tests for various cytokines --- IL1 and TNF at least.
"And Advil eases the symptoms.of electric shocks throughout my body, but not the numbness."
So now you know that the anti-inflammatory that Annie astutely suggested helps with some of your neuropathy. That's a big clue.
So altogether I'd want to do everything to be as anti-inflammatory as possible. Inflammation is not a single thing. It's a collection of many intertwining pathways. E.g., Advil/NSAIDS are anti-COX. I'd want also trying anti-LOX. Anti-IL1. Anti-TNF. For rashes, mast cell stabilizer(s). While also avoiding everything pro-inflammatory.
There is no cure for autoimmune disease, there is only management of symptoms by suppressing and/or inhibiting the immune system. So even if you were given a nominal Dx of something, you would likely still want to be anti-inflammatory.
Maybe a doc would Rx a trial of prednisone - especially since you have no known infection(s) and won't worry about immune suppression. If pred provides a quick benefit, then you taper off the pred and try some things parallel.
Merry Christmas, as much as possible, Jay.
Hi. Then that's your biggest clue right there.
"...but they claim there's no way it could have been that."
No one can reasonably make such a claim. What they can say is only that it's extremely unlikely. Some people are hypersensitive to things that would never be suspected. Some can't eat anything except red meat, and so on.
"Not saying it was, just leaves me suspicious."
Good thinking.
"I went to my ENT doc to have some routine work done to check out my nasal airway."
I wouldn't say that's routine per se. If it's routine for you individually, then that suggests that you have some chronic condition - which is probably immune related.
"Covid"
or the mRNA vaccine.
My guess is that since everything else has been ruled out, you have a hyperactive immune system. You have Hashimoto's, that demonstrates you are susceptible to immune dysfunction. Any family history of Lupus, Sjogren's, Raynaud's, etc.?
Somewhere else you'd said you feel inflamed all over, right? So I'd want ESR and CRP for starters, then more blood tests for various cytokines --- IL1 and TNF at least.
"And Advil eases the symptoms.of electric shocks throughout my body, but not the numbness."
So now you know that the anti-inflammatory that Annie astutely suggested helps with some of your neuropathy. That's a big clue.
So altogether I'd want to do everything to be as anti-inflammatory as possible. Inflammation is not a single thing. It's a collection of many intertwining pathways. E.g., Advil/NSAIDS are anti-COX. I'd want also trying anti-LOX. Anti-IL1. Anti-TNF. For rashes, mast cell stabilizer(s). While also avoiding everything pro-inflammatory.
There is no cure for autoimmune disease, there is only management of symptoms by suppressing and/or inhibiting the immune system. So even if you were given a nominal Dx of something, you would likely still want to be anti-inflammatory.
Maybe a doc would Rx a trial of prednisone - especially since you have no known infection(s) and won't worry about immune suppression. If pred provides a quick benefit, then you taper off the pred and try some things parallel.
Merry Christmas, as much as possible, Jay.
Generalized numbness is not a noted result of low testosterone, but Hashimoto's could possibly cause it, and the dry skin is a Hashimoto's symptom. Have you been seen lately by your thyroid specialist?
Low testosterone is more likely to cause other issues, like low sex drive, erectile issues, hot flashes. trouble sleeping and depression before things like muscle wasting, and numbness doesn't even make the list. (I'd be more likely to think the low T also was a side effect of whatever condition is also causing your numbness, rather than the cause.)
BTW, if a doctor suggests you might have Covid, take a Covid test. (They're available everywhere, not painful to take, and don't cost much.) There's little enough reason to say "I doubt it" and not test. This is especially true if you live with someone else, it's unethical not to test if there is a suggestion you have something contagious.
As far as the numbness is concerned, talk with your thyroid specialist first, Hashimoto's can cause nerve problems and it does cause kind of unpredictable things. If the Hashimoto's has been ruled out as causing this by your doctor already, another possibility is some other kind of autoimmune disease. Also, when you were a kid, were you vaccinated against chickenpox? (Herpes zoster can produce shingles in adults, which usually presents as an itchy rash, but it does travel through the nerves.) Another thought is, does the numbness ease when you take Advil? (It works as an anti-inflammatory.)
These are all guesses, and probably some of them have been ruled out by your doctors already, but you were asking for ideas.
Low testosterone is more likely to cause other issues, like low sex drive, erectile issues, hot flashes. trouble sleeping and depression before things like muscle wasting, and numbness doesn't even make the list. (I'd be more likely to think the low T also was a side effect of whatever condition is also causing your numbness, rather than the cause.)
BTW, if a doctor suggests you might have Covid, take a Covid test. (They're available everywhere, not painful to take, and don't cost much.) There's little enough reason to say "I doubt it" and not test. This is especially true if you live with someone else, it's unethical not to test if there is a suggestion you have something contagious.
As far as the numbness is concerned, talk with your thyroid specialist first, Hashimoto's can cause nerve problems and it does cause kind of unpredictable things. If the Hashimoto's has been ruled out as causing this by your doctor already, another possibility is some other kind of autoimmune disease. Also, when you were a kid, were you vaccinated against chickenpox? (Herpes zoster can produce shingles in adults, which usually presents as an itchy rash, but it does travel through the nerves.) Another thought is, does the numbness ease when you take Advil? (It works as an anti-inflammatory.)
These are all guesses, and probably some of them have been ruled out by your doctors already, but you were asking for ideas.
8 Comments
Thanks for the quick response. My Rheumatologist was actually telling me that even if I did have covid at some point I'd likely test negative which is mostly why I probably won't test. And I see my endocrinologist on Monday to go over my thyroid levels. But based on other blood work I've had this far everything has seemed normal, which scares me even more in trying to get to the bottom of this.
Also I had the chicken pox when I was younger, but not sure if I was vaccinated. I assume that means I wasn't? I do know my brother had caught shingles a few years ago which means we probably weren't vaccinated. I don't have a rash though which is also the weird part.
And Advil eases the symptoms.of electric shocks throughout my body, but not the numbness. The numbness has been progressively worse over the past 3 weeks no matter what I do.
Also I had the chicken pox when I was younger, but not sure if I was vaccinated. I assume that means I wasn't? I do know my brother had caught shingles a few years ago which means we probably weren't vaccinated. I don't have a rash though which is also the weird part.
And Advil eases the symptoms.of electric shocks throughout my body, but not the numbness. The numbness has been progressively worse over the past 3 weeks no matter what I do.
I do want to also say these symptoms seemed to flair up directly after I went to my ENT doc to have some routine work done to check out my nasal airway. He had sprayed some numbing medication up my nose and since then I haven't felt the same. Not sure if I had an allergic reaction to that or what he sprayed me with, but they claim there's no way it could have been that. Not saying it was, just leaves me suspicious.
Also, would covid cause generalized numbness?
Who knows, since Covid is a totally new pathogen in the human population. I'm just saying not to blow off a doctor's suggestion that you test for Covid, especially if you could give it to someone else.
Just saw your note saying it would be too late to test for Covid.
So my endocrinologist said this is not being caused by my thyroid since apparently my Hashimotos is actually in remission and has been for a year. My thyroid levels are actually perfect right now. So this confuses me even more. My rheumatologist blood work came back and my bilirubin was a tad high and so were my protein levels, so not sure what that means. Any ideas?
I also ended up getting tested for covid just for kicks and came back negative.
Did you test for active Covid or did you have an antibody test? I've never heard that long Covid causes numbness, but it might be worth checking since nothing else is turning up in your tests.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Undiagnosed Symptoms Community
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
In this unique and fascinating report from Missouri Medicine, world-renowned expert Dr. Raymond Moody examines what really happens when we almost die.
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
When it comes to your health, timing is everything
We’ve got a crash course on metabolism basics.
Learn what you can do to avoid ski injury and other common winter sports injury.
