26 yo with strange numbness, pain, and chiropractor appts.

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Ok, so there is a lot of explaining to do here and I'll try my best to not sound like a rambling fool! I'm a 26 year old female weighing around 118 and I was having lower back pain (as well as pain in my right wrist that radiated up to my elbow) so I went to a chiropractor. I'd never been but went with one that a good friend recommended. He did an X-ray and an adjustment (I heard pops in about 4 different places on my spine) and told me that I had mild-moderate scoliosis and a misalignment factor of 70 mm (with the average person's MF being 20-25 mm.) I saw the X-ray and there was indeed a curve in my chest area and a smaller one below, which he called a compensatory curve. He recommended a long term treatment plan with me coming 3 times per week for 3 weeks, tapering off to 2 times, and so on. I don't have insurance so I knew I couldn't pay for that many visits. I told him that I would think about it. The night after my adjustment, I had a horrible sore throat and chills. I have no idea whether this was related or not. The next day, the sore throat had backed off quite a bit and I actually felt relatively normal. A day after that I had strange sensations in my arms. It felt like rushes of cold air going through then. Then after those sensations went away, I was left with my arms/hands having a (slight) numb feeling. I could still feel touch and heat/cold, it was just strange. I also had normal arm/hand strength. When I went back to the chiro a few days later, I told him about the sensations and he said it made sense because of the subluxations in my cervical spine/upper back. He adjusted me one more time and I left feeling like he had just brushed me off. I should also mention that my hands were falling asleep at night, however, I sleep with my head on my arm so I'm not sure if I just noticed it because I was hyper aware of my body, plus it would go away after relieving the pressure. Shortly after this, I noticed my my feet felt sort of numb first thing in the morning. It would mostly go away after walking around though there was still some slight numbness (especially in my big toes.) I would also get pain in the sole and heel of both of my feet. Nothing unbearable, but it was uncomfortable. Within the last week, I've been having heat sensations in my right leg. This occurred after I had tenderness in my back right thigh area. They're fleeting, but it happens at least 10 times per day. Also, I've had an itchy, tingling feeling in my left shoulder blade, maybe 5 times per day. Is it possible that all of these sensations are related to me getting adjusted? I know that bodies can go through a "healing crisis", especially if they've been out of whack for a long time. I did seek the opinion of another chiropractor and she has adjusted me twice. The numb feeling in my left arm went away less than 24 hours after she adjusted me, focusing on that area. She said that my hips were slightly rotated (the first chiro had told me that as well) and my left leg was drawn up by a 1/4 of an inch. She did not seem concerned about my presenting symptoms either. She said that the vertebra in my neck were "off some" and she did some adjusting to the neck region. Basically, I'm just completely freaked out thinking that I have some awful neurological disease. I haven't had any changes in my vision, balance or anything like that. I was concerned about MS but read that symptoms primarily present on one side of the body at a time (especially at first), depending on where the lesion is. My symptoms have been on both sides for roughly 3 weeks. If nothing changes in a week or so, I will consider forking out the money for an MRI, because my anxiety just can't take it anymore. Any input, advice, or experiences would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance!

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    You're an otherwise healthy 26 year old with some aches and numbness...I don't think this sounds like anything seriously wrong, neurologically, but I also don't think chiro will be enough...

    Do you see a GP regularly?  Ask for a full bloodwork panel including vitamin B12 & D...deficiencies in these can bring on neuropathy like you describe. 

    I'm about 20 years older than you and I thought I had MS, which turned out to be low B12 and let me tell you, bringing that up to a normal level alone completely turned things around! So, my hope for you is that it's simple enough like my varied symptoms that some easy changes will get you well again pretty soon!

    Good Luck!

    • Posted

      Thank you for your response, Aveline! I actually saw a doctor a few weeks ago. He prescribed me prednisone, said to take 4 ibuprofen 3 times a day and told me to get in touch with him in 2 weeks. Well I never even picked up the prescription because I really don't think it's due to any swelling or inflammation. I have taken some ibuprofen but truly I don't notice much difference at all. I rarely ever taken any medicine so I felt that the steroid combined with high doses of ibuprofen was overkill. I had asked him about bloodwork but he didn't seem interested in doing any. I'd never been to this doc before that appt(I don't have a pcp because I rarely ever need to see a doc) but I'm thinking I'll seek a second opinion from someone else. I would be relieved to know if it were something minor like a vitamin deficiency! Thanks again!
    • Posted

      Your doctor should be aware that Ibuprofen and steroids should normally NOT be taken together as they are contra indicatory. One does despair about the knowledge of some doctors about drugs. 
    • Posted

      I did not know that but that makes me even more glad that I never picked up that prescription. Thanks!
  • Posted

    As I recall, some of your symptoms go with coinfections for Lyme disease. I think they are called babesia and bartonella. There are not good tests for those diseases, again as I recall. But you can get tested for Lyme disease. Although that test is not great either. The best one is the Western blot, IgG and IgM. Don't just ask if you're positive or negative but ask if any of the bands are positive. Then look for a Lyme specialist (ILADS) as most doctors don't know how to treat this disease correctly. I'm not a doctor but have two family members with Lyme.
    • Posted

      Smiggs, thanks so much for your insight. Lyme actually did cross my mind, though I haven't had a rash, nor have I had any recent tick bites. I also don't recall ever having any "embedded" ticks. But, I'm open to any and all possibilities at this point and I'm not ruling anything out. Thank you!
    • Posted

      My family members with Lyme never found ticks either. They are very tiny -the size of a poppy seed. And only a portion of people with Lyme get a rash.
    • Posted

      Wow, good to know! Thanks again! I live in Kansas so we definitely have LOTS of ticks around here. Plus I live on a farm so I would have had plenty of opportunity for exposure.

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