Hi--
I have had paresthesia in my hands and feet for around 1.5 years. It came on immediately during the beginning of a viral infection, after one of the most stressful periods of my professional career. The usual sensations in hands: sometimes warm/burning, sometimes "full" or faintly tingling, sometimes over-sensitive. My feet mostly just feel hot, usually if I wear shoes or go to bed; if I walk around barefoot, I almost never feel the feet. The viral infection turned into a stomach issue that lasted several months, plus I had a second child who needed surgery, so the stress aspects of my life have only increased since the paresthesia started. Note: there is no numbness to this condition, though if I sleep on my left shoulder, I sometimes experience numbness in my left hand, the median nerve.
Because of the pain/weird feelings in my hands and feet, I felt increasing anxiety, panic attacks, etc. Docs have checked for the usual indicators, but everything shows that I am very healthy. I had two tests done for Lymes and both came back negative, and I have no other symptoms other than nerve strangeness in the appendages.
I have an appointment with a neurologist later this month. I'm leaning towards something anxiety/stress related, due to:
1) enormous stress over the last 2 years (plus a traumatic event perhaps 6 months before, after which I started to experience muscle pains)
2) If I do deep breathing for 5 minutes, I've noticed the paresthesia is reduced (at least in my hands)
3) If I smoke, the paresthesia goes away for the most part, for about
an hour or two.
I have a vascular condition where the blood pools in my hands in a mottled fashion, commonly called bier's spots. While I don't think this is related to the paresthesia (I had it for years beforehand), it may be anxiety-related.
The sensitivity is one thing; the panic attacks, depression, and anxiety are much worse, and have increased to the point that I've been prescribed amitriptyline. I've only taken it for a week, but have noticed an improvement in my sleep (which was awful these last two years). I've read that anxiety-related paresthesia can be off/on or constant. For me, it is mostly constant unless I "interrupt" it by smoking. I don't have any numbness, just the weird sensations, generally in my palms and in the soles of my feet.
Does this sound like it is anxiety related?
A brief timeline:
2012-2015 - increasing exhaustion & stress from work
2015 - during a trip, began experiencing panic attacks and higher levels than normal of anxiety - body was probably locked in a fight/flight situation for at least two weeks
2015-2016 - muscle pains in forearms, due to previous computer-related injuries - these were somewhat severe
early 2016 - viral infection lasting several weeks; paresthesia began at the onset
to mid 2016 - stomach / intestinal issues, possibly from antibiotics
2016-2017 - paresthesia is persistent. gastro issues clear up mid-2016. Stress continues, along with anxiety, panic attacks, incessant overthinking, etc.
--It feels as if the paresthesia has relented somewhat -- I no longer feel most of these sensations in my right hand, and the warmth/burning has subsided from my hands for the most part, replaced by faint 'strange' feelings and sometimes points of pain along my left rim of the palm. Feet seem the same as before, but only really bother me when I try to go to sleep.
Post Edited (ivance) : 8/11/2017 3:00:02 PM (GMT-6)