I’ve posted on here before so some of you will know I’m in limboland and have been having symptoms for 8 years. Currently my GP is going down the rheumatology route (again) due to family history. However, I have a question: I am suffering horrendous pins and needles in my feet, hands, bum (oh the glamour) and the right side of my face, my GP says there is nothing that she can prescribe to help alleviate this as it is probably caused by whatever is attacking my body - is this the case? I am currently on Ibruprofen 600 (4 times a day) and Co-codamol 30/500 (2 tablets 4 times a day) and whilst it dials the pain down to a more manageable level it does not take it away and it does absolutely nothing for the tingling/pins and needles. The GP says that this is all she can prescribe and there is nothing more she can do.
I am trying to drink a glass of tonic water each day, as I know this helps. And to eat bananas and nuts as I’ve been told they too can help, but is there anything else I can be doing to try and get rid of the blasted pins and needles which are preventing me from holding things etc?
Whilst I don’t believe it’s true that nothing else can be prescribed, I suppose your doctor may be reluctant, without knowing the underlying cause, in case she inadvertently prescribes something that’s contra-indicated.
But you probably need a neuropathic painkiller (i.e. one that treats nerve pain). Lots of people with MS take things like amitriptyline, pregabalin, or gabapentin. These may help with sensory abnormalities like pins and needles.
I’m not sure you are correct about tonic water, bananas etc. These can be helpful DIY remedies for cramp, but I’m not sure they do much for pins and needles (as you’ve apparently found).
I think perhaps you need to speak again to your GP, or try a different one.
The pins and needles probably ARE caused by “whatever is attacking your body”, just as she says. However, that doesn’t mean they’re untreatable! I don’t quite follow her logic, and think you need a second opinion.
I’m with Tina and I can’t see why your GP couldn’t let you try a small dose of amitriptyline. I guess it wouldn’t be a good idea if it’s contraindicated for what they suspect is wrong with you, but amitriptyline is so widely used, I’d be pretty surprised if it was.
All that ibuprofen and cocodamol will probably be doing more harm than good versus a low dose of amitriptyline too.
If I were you, I’d ask outright: can I try amitriptyline rather than all these pain meds (which aren’t doing very much!)? If the GP says no, ask why not. Exactly what rheumatology conditions is it contraindicated for? Exactly what are the risks? Exactly how do these risks compare to lots of ibuprofen and high dose cocodamol every day?
Neuropathic pain & sensory symptoms respond to meds that suppress / dampen the nervous system. Regular pain killers are useless
Something that can help temporarily is distraction - the brain can only process so many things at once, so giving it something else to concentrate on makes the sensory symptoms less noticeable: video gaming, watching a film, reading an engrossing book, massage, heat, cold and anything else that might make the brain focus on something other than the sensory symptom that’s bothering you.
Thanks for the replies. Karen, I am trying the distraction technique and it is working, to a point, but still bothering me for a significant amount of time throughout the day.Tina, I don’t understand her logic either, I might try and get an appointment with another GP at the surgery next week to see if I can get a 2nd opinion.
The GP is adamant that the sensory symptoms and neuropathic pain are a symptom of something rheumatological (if that’s a word) and therefore cannot be treated except by a rheumatologist I mentioned amitriptyline but she disregarded it. The Ibruprofen and Co-codamol have been prescribed to deal with my joint pain but to be honest, they don’t really do that - they dampen the pain but don’t take it away. My other symptoms:
fatigue
wobbliness
lack of balance
inability to grip things
forgetfullness
mental foginess
some slurring of speech
involuntary twiching
difficulty word finding
feeling of bugs crawling over my lower legs and scalp and of course
pins and needles
are all still there and causing me extreme discomfort. They are impacting drastically on my day to day life. I’ve been signed off work for over a month now and can’t see me being well enough to go back any time soon Yet the GP is insistent that these symptoms have an answer to be found in rhumatology.
She did however mention neurology this time, but only to say that the rhumatologist may refer me to a neurologist as well, as I could have two conditions rather than one Do you get a bonus prize if that’s the case? lol. Seriously though, she insists that she cannot refer me to a neurologist, whilst I am under referral to a rheumatologist. She also says that the rheumatologist needs to be the one to refer me to neruology.
I am tired, frustrated and in pain - and rereading this I notice that I also sound like a complete and utter killjoy/moaning minnie so apologies. I just want an answer to the puzzle that has been attacking my body for the last 8 years.
Actually, there’s quite a lot of overlap between Rheumatology and Neurology, with some rheumatological conditions also causing neurological problems, so sometimes it’s hard to know which “camp” to start off in. They usually do try to exhaust one line of enquiry before starting another, otherwise it gets too confusing.
I started out with Rheumatology, even though my problem later (much later!) turned out to be MS. But Rheumatology was a reasonable first guess.
I can’t claim anybody was negligent, because based on my symptoms at the time, the Rheumatology route was reasonable. So sometimes you just have to go with what’s being suggested, and see if it finds anything.
I don’t know much about rheumatology conditions, such as whether drugs like amitriptyline have any success. Certainly worth asking the rheumy.
Thanks for the response. I know you’re right about there being a lot of overlap between the two medical diciplines. The referal to rheumatology is logical, due to family history. I guess I am just frustrated as these symptoms have been going on for 8 years now - I have between 1&4 flare ups a year - and I’ve already been down the rheumatology route once before with no diagnosis. I will ask at my Rheumatology appointment in January about something to alleviate the pins and needles.
