Hi,
I keep getting an odd feeling in my hand, its like i cant quite feel where my fingers are and its a little weak. Its not numb it just feel strange. Is it just another symptoms like the feeling of running water on limbs and crawling sensations.
Thanks Christine
I had weird thing a while back where i actual couldnât tell where i hand was . I couldnât feel it opening or closing but when l looked it ws working fine. It has passed now though.
Hi Christine,
all the weird sensations come under the heading of ânerve painâ.
Amytriptiline is often prescribed for this, a call to your MS nurse or GP would benifit.
Rosina
Although some members of this forum have disagreed with me on this previously, i believe this type of symptom is technically classified as Peripheral Neuropathy.
It was a major symptom of the relapse that prompted my joining the âMS clubâ. And it remains as a symptom, but to a much lesser degree today, several years later.
The sensation of water trickling over the skin, or more specifically for me, a gang of ants having a rave dance party were common but not constant.
The effect on my strong hand (aka the one i write with etc) was challenging; simple dexterity was tricky; forming a fist was never guaranteed nor was any movement without visual confirmation; putting a glove on for example was an effort of trial and error; with two or more (!) fingers going into one finger hole in the glove, even though it all felt okay.
I would practise doing âthe spock signâ. in the early days, efforts to spread fingers apart one at a time, would see my fingers flex downwards instead.
I found this for you:
What are the symptoms of peripheral nerve damage?
Sensory nerve damage causes a variety of symptoms because sensory nerves have a broad range of functions. Larger sensory fibers enclosed in myelin register vibration, light touch, and position sense. Damage to large sensory fibers impairs touch, resulting in a general decrease in sensation. Since this is felt most in the hands and feet, people may feel as if they are wearing gloves and stockings even when they are not. This damage to larger sensory fibers may contribute to the loss of reflexes. Loss of position sense often makes people unable to coordinate complex movements like walking or fastening buttons, or to maintain their balance when their eyes are shut.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/detail_peripheralneuropathy.htm
Personally, i would be disinclined to throw drugs at this until it became a significant, negative impact on your life. I would instead exercise the affected areas to best appreciate your limitations, experiment with adaptation (my hand writing and typing skills needed a fine tune to accommodate) and find a measure by which to gauge your improvement WHICH WILL HAPPEN!
The very best of luck.
Thank everyone,
It helps me to get feedback and reassurance that others experience similar things.Just to add to the mix when i touch one part of my body i can feel it in anotherâŚ
Christine
I had a relapse many years ago that affected both hands (ring and little fingers most) and I didnât know where they were either. It was explained to me as a âloss of proprioceptionâ - the very precise and accurate sense of knowing with your eyes shut where every bit of you is in space. For a few weeks, I hadnât a clue where those fingers were unless I looked and nearly put my eye out every time I tried to wash my face. Totally unable to touch-type either, while it lasted. It was definitely an MS thing.
Alison
Hi Christine,
The âwater down the legâ sensation is not common, but far from unknown.
It was perhaps the first sign that my wife was starting to develop Parkinsons, some years before her balance was affected.
My younger daughter (who runs a âcare of the elderlyâ team in Lancashire) met another case.
Since then, wew have heard of two or three more.
It is not quite the same as your hand, but when getting into my car, and lifting my left leg/foot in with a lifter, I have no idea where my foot actually is unless I can see it.
Read carefully what Paolo has written - exercise the hand, stay off the meds.
Geoff
Hi Christine. I get the âwater down the legâ thing a lot. Oddly enough when Iâve been to the loo and Iâm washing my hands! And I know that itâs not because I splashed myself in any way!
Numb fingertips tooâŚhard to thread a needle (not that I like sewing) and do fiddly tasks. My daughter is getting married at the end of August. At the dress fitting last weekend I had to tell her that I wouldnât be able to manage doing up all the very small buttons that go up the back of her wedding dress. One of the bridesmaids will have to do it.
Louise x