This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

I have been diagnosed for almost a year with PPMS and I have learned to survive with the symptoms prettu well. My right arm and left leg are both numb however the right arm for the past 2 months has this horrible itching/burning that just wont go away. It is constant and feels as if there are invisible people next to me stabbing me with syringes or perhaps a swarm of killer bees that have mutated and can keep stinging me over and over. It started with one area and now is spreading. How lucky am I? Lol! The ony sensation I can feel is the itching! There is nothing visibly wrong. I have been using Benedryl anti-itch cream to no avail. The Neurotin does not help either. It gets so bad that I have scratched my arm until it bleeds with my nails. Does anyone else out there have this? Can you recommend anything for it?

hi mich, that sounds no fun AT ALL.
are you taking any meds, vitamins, supplements, anything?
the only time i had phantom itch, as i called it, because you can never physically find it with scratching to get any relief, was when i was too high in folic acid.
if you're not taking anything, well i can take some guesses and offer some suggestions, such as perhaps an iron deficienycy - but it will be easier if you can tell me any other kinds of symptoms you have to deal with, and any comorbidities.
i'll keep an eye out for a reply, ttfn
JL

25mg amitriptyline at night - I take mine about 4 hours before bed - was the only thing that I've ever taken that stopped this awful neurological pain.

HTH

My symptoms are double vision, right arm and hand numb, left leg numb, dizziness, lack of concentration, motor skills failing, itching and pain in the right arm, severe weakening of the left half of my body, Last night I began not being able to curls my right hand to hold anything and dropped my dinner =( Loss of hearing in the right ear and so on ... Its never ending Lol! Everyday is an adventure! My doc has me on Iron and B-12 suppliments and Neurotin for the symptoms. None of which seem to help out. I have changed my diet as directed. I am switching docs at the end of the month. Due to my not being able to work any longer and my financials my MRI's will be a year and a half out!! I need to find something to slow this proggression until then.

hi m, may i ask how much iron and b12 per day? have you had bloodwork to measure those?
also have you had your d3 levels checked?
what about zinc levels? zinc is extremely important for many different things, and one of them is keeping your vision sorted out.
another thing zinc helps is in keeping your uric acid levels up. ppl with ms have levels about 2/3rds the levels seen in healthy controls.
uric acid is a powerful antioxidant, and oxidative stress (not enough antioxidants in your system) is a MAJOR part of what's harmful in ms.
a uric acid test would be a good start, if you can get it.
as for not being able to hold stuff, i used to have that and it got better in three days when i went on a supplement megadose regimen that involved a lot of vitamin e, b complex, and lecithin. that was in 2006 and so far it has not recurred.
HTH,
JL

My left arm - also partly numb - itches fiercely from time to time. I generally ignore it as best I can, or rub in Johnson & Johnson's moisturizer afterwards, if I catch myself scratching. Thankfully, though, it never lasts more than a few hours at a time. I don't envy you.