Nerve Damage?

It's KILLING me. It hurts something awful in my wrist/thumb/forefinger area. It feels like someone's taking a thick needle and shoving it through my nail to the nerve/bone. It also feels like its on fire constantly. Taking pain meds but even that barely touches it. I want to wait til January before seeing a doctor. I went to see a doctor and a month ago and they gave me a RN. I'm not slamming her but when I make an appointment to see a doctor, I want a doctor. I've spent the past week working against screaming if I touch the pad of my thumb. I mean out and out screaming. It hurts when I wash my hands from the pressure of the water falling on it (we have super light pressure in the kitchen sink at that). I really need to wait until the new year so at least then there IS insurance. I already owe over $50,000.00 and that's with charity to hospitals. The thumbs been getting weird white spots that can show visible blood flow (darken with the heartbeat...you can see the throbbing). It swells when I try applying pressure to the base of the finger. I don't want another ER visit where I go in, some jerk with a diploma barely looks at it and then just gives me pain meds. I'm waiting to meet with a neurologist. I'm pretty sure the last ER doc who gave me two minutes of his time and then diagnosed myalgias may have severely screwed me over by not looking well enough or even listening clearly to what I said. Anyone know what nerve damage feels like? Looks like? Any thoughts would help. I've had tears in my eyes all week from how bad it hurts most of the time. Thanks.

Wish I had an answer too. I have nerve damage in both feet but I feel hardly anything unless I stub a toe and then all you know what breaks out. Now and then they burn or feel like something sticking but not to the point that the pain is unbearable. Hope you get an answer and some help soon , please keep us up to date.

Joie1,
I know exactly how you are feeling. I have pinched nerves in both my back and neck that have caused severe pain in both legs and feet and in my left arm. Part of my impingment was caused from a sports injury years ago, but has been agrivated by inflammation and arthritis from my crohn's disease. For a long time, I dealt with the pins and needles feeling, but it eventually got to the point that my legs lost strength and the pins and needles became severe pain. I also noticed that my legs and parts of my feet would become numb at times. All of this really became worse when I got off of remicade and it was no longer suppressing the inflammation. When it got to the point that I could barely walk or even put on my pants, I told my doctor about it and he had me do a nerve conduction study. (this is not a fun test unless you are into electric shock for fun) Once the tests confirmed that I did indeed have inpingment of the sciatica and neck, I was started on Gabapentin also known as Neuontin. This has helped me tremendously. It did not take away all of the pain, but if I forget to take it I am quickly reminded of how much it is helping me. Another thing that helped me until I was approved for cimzia, was prednisone. As evil as I think that this drug can be, it helps relieve the inflammation and arthritis short term. It is very common for crohn's patients to develop neuropathy due to inflammation nerve inpingment.

thanks for the thoughts. I would've thought carpal tunnel myself except that its the same arm that experienced that severe pain and its my left hand which I use a bit less then my dominant right. That and it originally started in my elbow and spread upward and downward. I can feel a thread of pain from my back over shoulder and down the arm but it primarily is centered in my hand now. Also, it isn't like pins and needles. Its like a thick hospital needle being shoved into my fingernail through it, down into the flesh/muscle and hitting a bone. That's what it feels like. Not like pins and needles. Or like pins and needles on anabolic steroids. Its numb at certain spots. I guess that's the first thing I need checked...the B12. I wondered why I've had so many resections and surgeries and yet no one's explained about the changes to lifestyle it causes. Anyhow, the pad of the thumb is so sensitive to touch I've bitten my lip to keep from screaming when I touch it.

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas. I'm writing down these thoughts so I can talk them over with a doctor come the new year. The B12 I thought I requested testing for when I had bloodwork done but it may not have been.

it could be arthritis as well.

:)

osprey is quite right about the lupus and remi/hum.
I also think b-12 is definately something to check...best way to get it is b-12 shots