Numbness

[Realitycheck]

So far this one has everybody stumped, but somehow, we will get to the bottom of it.

 

About a month ago, I started developing numbness in the left side of my body below my chestline. So my chiropractor took x-rays of my lumbar/thoracic region to see if anything was out of place pinching a nerve. Nothing showed up, but that's about what I expect from a chiropractor playing around with an x-ray. Right around the same time, I had started sliding on my diet more and more ... more simple starches and saturated fats, and less fresh vegetables.

 

At the time, I was recovering from a strained and slightly torn levator scapulae muscle in my right neck/shoulder, the one thing left before I start becoming completely pain-free for varied periods of time. About a couple of weeks after the numbness started on my left side, I reinjured the levator scapulae. Immediately, my right arm starts going numb.

 

Then, I start researching, rationalizing anything that it could possibly be. We do a general blood screen and everything comes out within range. One day, I'm feeling kind of feverish and get this thermometer that turns out to be defective and really whacks me out for the next 4 or 5 days while I'm monitoring it, until one morning, I wake up and after a minute, this cheap electronic thing says 92 degrees! I then go to the hospital, wait and wait and wait, and one of the nurses says I have 98.6 temperature after sticking this thing in my ear for about 2 seconds. I finally see a doctor, talk to her for a while, and she sets me up for a CT scan of my head and neck and a check for recurrence of melanoma (since I had a big one removed 4 years ago, but have not been reexamined in about 3 years.) I do have this one spot in the skin on my right arm that is sometimes really sensitive and a little stingy, but there is no mole there whatsoever, though there is a little bitty bump there and it is not always sensitive, like right now it feels perfectly normal except for the little extrusion and the numbness in the arm in general.

 

So anyway, this is really kind of freaking me out, because I really don't want to incur the price of a CT scan, just to find out that my neck is in relatively good shape for having seen chiropractors for so long and that my thyroid looks good, as well. A general blood screen should pick up a malfunctioning thyroid, right? Could melanoma/skin cancer cause these symptoms because I really want to have as little to do with the hospital as possible.

 

Also, I had been regularly overdosing tylenol and ibuprofen for about 10 years, but recently finally started cutting back, though the liver screens on the blood test were within range. I have been taking this n acetyl cystein for about a year to detoxify my liver. About a month ago, when the numbness initially started, I taking a different formula, with a different combination of additional compounds. Now, I am taking just the nac by itself, but thinking about getting the original formula that might have contributed to my well-being?

 

I also did some research on this site and found that poor circulation can cause numbness. This makes sense since I have not been able to work out much in a year because of this really nasty stubborn, scarred trigger point in my levator scapulae, so my circulation is definitely not where it should be. I have been trying to get out walking but it is too soon for my levator scapulae. Also, my short-term memory has been really faulty, but this started happening even before the numbness set in. Could this be caused by poor circulation? I am actually more active than any office worker, so this is probably a poor line of reasoning. However, I am planning on trying out a lower-body elliptical soon since I have held this belief that aerobic exercise fixes a lot of things.

 

Alright. Computer, please give me an answer.

 

 

PS: Did you know that the National Association of Orthopaedics has come out and formally declared that chiropractic is the best treatment for whiplash?

[Revenged]

CT scan for skin cancer???

 

Thyroid hormone levels aren't routinely tested for in standard blood tests unless there is indication of thyroid malfunction... Numbness isn't indication of hypo- or hyperthyroidism...

 

Rather than regularly overdosing on NSAIDs - which is crazy... If you are in pain then you should get some stronger pain killers (and not rountinely overdose on them!) e.g. gabapentin or something with codeine in (co-codamol)...

 

Lastly, no one is going to be able to diagnose you online... Go and see a real doctor (i.e. someone who knows what they are doing - not a chiropracter) and then they can reassure you...

[Realitycheck]

I think they were doing the CT scan to check for nerve damage that may have caused the numbness (though the damage would have most likely been somewhere else in the body), anything else in the head/neck area that might be causing it, but probably just to check on the overall condition of my neck since it has been adjusted by chiropractors for 10 years.

 

I was already headed to a primary care physician. Thanks for your insight.

[drsi]

I am going to state the obvious and say that it's rather dangerous to habitually overdose on NSAIDs and then take N-acetylcysteine to clean your liver. If I remember correctly, it's only good within 72 hours of overdose, but if you choose to detox your system, why take the NSAIDs in the first place? If you have severe pain, speak to your GP about referral to a pain clinic. As for the numbness, I agree with Revenged, go see a real doctor - a neurologist. Numbness can be cause by several factors, not all of which can be seen on routine blood or CT. other tests to consider are MRI and specific blood tests for various vitamins. I am not sure whether numbness is related to thyroid but you will feel a heck of a lot different before you start feeling numb, IF you had thryoid problems. But in all seriousness, stay away from chriropractors, like you said, you dont expect much from the guy if he is playing with an x-ray, so why would you trust his diagnosis?

 

good luck in your hunt for an answer.

[joshuam168]

well low levels of K cause memory loss, and if you have REALLY low levels of K you wont be able to remember practically anything.....K rich foods include watermelon and bananas

 

well low levels of K cause memory loss, and if you have REALLY low levels of K you wont be able to remember practically anything.....K rich foods include watermelon and bananas. and low K levels could possibly induce numbness as K is one of the two elements in a sodium potassium pump.....basically thats wat powers your nerves.

[iNow]

K is one of the two elements in a sodium potassium pump.....basically thats wat powers your nerves.

Potassium flows through the nerve cell membrane via the sodium/potassium pump, but the nerve cell is powered by ATP. Where I think you may be confused is that the nerve signal is propogated through the nervous system via action potentials, and this is where the sodium/potassium gating comes into play. Sodium flows into the cell and potassium out, via the sodium and potassium channels, hence changing the electric potential of the cell. The sodium potassium pump then works to restore the resting potential.

 

However, you are correct in that low levels of potassium do impact memory (not the only factor, by any means, but do have an impact) and bananas are a good source of potassium.

[joshuam168]

Potassium flows through the nerve cell membrane via the sodium/potassium pump, but the nerve cell is powered by ATP. Where I think you may be confused is that the nerve signal is propogated through the nervous system via action potentials, and this is where the sodium/potassium gating comes into play. Sodium flows into the cell and potassium out, via the sodium and potassium channels, hence changing the electric potential of the cell. The sodium potassium pump then works to restore the resting potential.

 

However, you are correct in that low levels of potassium do impact memory (not the only factor, by any means, but do have an impact) and bananas are a good source of potassium.

 

yea i know that the nerve is powered by ATP...Adenosine Triphosphate.....i couldnt think of the rite wording for that. in a way it sort of "powers" the nerves in that it produces the electrical potential needed for nerve cell conduction...i do apologize for my improper wording though....Inow is correct.