neurological?

[cmanthomas]

Hi I tried to post in the ask an expert area but that always seems to be full.

Anyways, here's my problem: Back in 2006 I had radial nerve palsy from leaning on my elbow, and experienced "wrist drop" for about 1.5 months. Eventually my nerve healed and the wrist returned to full functionality. Shortly afterwards, I began experiencing pinprick like sensations around my body (especially on arms and legs) and small muscle twitching throughout (especially in legs). I saw a neurologist who performed a complete physical exam and said everything was normal and decided not to investigate further. Since then, I have continued to experience body wide muscle twitching (only at rest) and off and on pinpricking (occurs randomly throughout my body). There has been no noticeable increase or change in these symptoms over the past 6 years.

Recently, however, I began experiencing panic attack like events that last for about 30 minutes--feeling like i was going to get dizzy, very anxious/nervous, overheated feeling followed by pounding heartbeat in neck and eyes--all followed by tiredness from the neck up. I have been unable to sleep at night, usually averaging about 4-5 hours broken up over the course of the night (leaving me very tired throughout the day, with heavy eyes, yawning, and sometimes lightheadedness). Finally, about 5 weeks after experiencing the first anxiety attack-like event, i started to feel a fleeting feeling of weakness in my right arm and both my legs--almost like an internal itch through the nerves stemming from my fingertips and soles of my feet, and radiating up my extremities. Typically these come and go throughout the day, but there doesn't seem to be any actual weakness either during or after the occurrence.
Note: the arm issue seems to be agitated when i type or use the arm for any strenuous activity, and is sometimes relieved by shoulder massage. Aswell, the leg weakness began after i tried the babinski test several times on the soles of my feet with a hard wooden stick (but i cant entirely connect that with the full leg sensations i get that leave my legs feeling almost rubbery)

anyways, doctors say my physical neuro tests dont indicate anything, but i am still experiencing all the pinpricking, twitching, tiredness with lightheadedness, and now potentially connected arm and leg symptoms that come and go throughout the day...


Any thoughts?

[Carol in PA]

The body has difficulty absorbing magnesium, so you need to take good forms of it, in divided doses, several times per day.  For a long time.

When you buy magnesium, look at the list of ingredients.
Magnesium oxide is not absorbed well, but it is cheap, so manufacturers use it.
Also, mag is bulky, so they cannot fit much in a multivitamin pill.

I suggest these.
Source Naturals, Ultra-Mag, with magnesium citrate, taurinate, malate, glycinate and succinate.
http://www.iherb.com/Source-Naturals-Ultra-Mag-120-Tablets/1415

Peter Gillham's Mag Calm
http://www.iherb.com/Peter-Gillham-s-Natural-Vitality-Natural-Calm-Organic-Sweet-Lemon-Flavor-8-oz-226-g/21268
This one has a good flavor, I add some sugar to make "lemonade."

If you can't find the Ultra-Mag, you may be able to find a product with magnesium glycinate or taurinate.
Do not take calcium at the same time, as it impedes absorption.

Eat foods high in magnesium.
Almonds, almond butter
Dark chocolate
Beans, kidney beans, baked beans, bean soup, bean burritos.

You can buy a pound of raw almonds at the grocery store.
Eat a couple ounces per day.


As for Lyme, not everyone notices a tic bite or a bullseye rash.
The Lyme bacteria can stay dormant for a long time.
And you ARE having serious symptoms.

Read as much as you can at the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation.
http://www.canlyme.com/diagnosis.html

[cmanthomas]

carol,

thanks for the suggestions.

i tried magnesium supplements for about a week with no change.
as for lyme disease, i've had these symptoms for 6 years and haven't noticed a tick mark (red ring). Wouldn't it be pretty serious if it were lyme disease, now after 6 years?

[Carol in PA]

You may want to look into magnesium deficiency.
Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, headache, insomnia, muscle twitching...some of the symptoms of low magnesium.

The Importance of Magnesium to Human Nutrition
http://www.mbschachter.com/importance_of_magnesium_to_human.htm

Also, you may want to look into Lyme Disease.
http://www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html

The Lyme bacteria live in the nerves and cause various symptoms throughout the body, some of them due to nutritional deficits involving minerals and B vitamins.
If you want to explore this further, feel free to contact me.

Carol