numb thigh, what to do

[cerronicky]

For about half a year now, the outside of my right thigh from hip to knee, is numb. When I stretch it I feel a painless tingling and burning sensation, but the rest of the time it's just numb. I run and bike 4 times a week vigorously and am in very good cardiovascular condition. I binge eat sugar sometimes and my sensitivity to sugar and high glycemic foods is strong although after blood tests a year ago I was deemed not diabetic or hypoglycemic.... I did have a head injury upon hitting my head on a rock skiing where I fractured the orbital bone of my skull and had a concussion. I spent three days in the hospital out of precaution for a potential brain infection, but the doctor told me that no damage, -bruising or other- was done to my brain. He just said to expect it to take a few months to get full memory capability back. I don't know what else could be linked to my numb thigh. Is there a professional out there with advice on whether or not to get it checked out?

ps, i don't have health insurance, so unless there's real serious implications here, i wouldn't go to a doctor. Thanks for any help

[Unregistered]

You might have what is commonly referred to as Meralgia Paresthetica, which is entrapment and compression of the peripheral nerve originating at L4/L5 and coarsing through the hip area. I too have a similar issue where there's a numb patch of skin on the right side of my upper right thigh. About 5 years ago I was learning to rock climb and wore my safety harness incorrectly, putting pressure on my pelvic bone, which most likely caused a crushing of that particular nerve. Among other symptoms/complaints I've been told by three neurologists that the numbness could be MP. The nerve is strictly a sensory nerve and has no muscle innervation, so you most likely won't have leg weakness. The numbness is the least of my worries so it doesn't bother me to know that I'll probably never have sensation there again. My biggest problem is with chronic and pervasive paresthesia down my buttocks and both legs. I also have involuntary muscle fasciculations which feel like little tiny popcorn under my skin constantly throughout the day. The symptoms subside after a good night's sleep but always get progressively worse as the day goes on. My advice to you would be to ask your doctor if it could be MP. If they prefer to explore more then I would go with getting a full work-up (EMG, nerve conduction velocity test, lumbar/brain MRI) to rule out a more serious, underlying cause. Of course, you'll want to get insurance before getting the tests as they would be economically prohibitive to pay for them out-of pocket.

Good luck with everything..Let me know if you have any questions.

[Unregistered]

I had the same exact symptons and was told by a Neurologist to get a brain MRI scan and lumbar puncture (spinal tap). Although I would not suggest a spinal tap because of very possible complications, it "may" help rule out more serious conditions such as MS (multiple Sclerosis, lupus, lyme disease, sarcoidosis). When I had a brain MRI done, they found white spots throughout my brain which indicates a serious condition. I was told at first, it could be MS. But then I did a spinal tap. Test results came back negative. But when my Neurologist sent me to a top hospital for a second opinion, guess what? All the conditions I listed above now still apply. Getting a spinal tap does NOT rule out other diseases 100%. You will need a series of tests, MRI's, blood tests, EMG's to find out what is wrong. And let me tell you, with an EMG, it is NOT going to be easy. They run electrical shocks through your body and it is not fun at all.

You WILL need health insurance, because MRI's alone cost thousands of dollars. If you have no insurance, you are taking a risk of ruining your health more. You need to seek alterantive insurance plans such as Medicaid.

I hope this is helpful information.

[ernie]

You might have what is commonly referred to as Meralgia Paresthetica, which is entrapment and compression of the peripheral nerve originating at L4/L5 and coarsing through the hip area. I too have a similar issue where there's a numb patch of skin on the right side of my upper right thigh. About 5 years ago I was learning to rock climb and wore my safety harness incorrectly, putting pressure on my pelvic bone, which most likely caused a crushing of that particular nerve. Among other symptoms/complaints I've been told by three neurologists that the numbness could be MP. The nerve is strictly a sensory nerve and has no muscle innervation, so you most likely won't have leg weakness. The numbness is the least of my worries so it doesn't bother me to know that I'll probably never have sensation there again. ---snip

Interesting! I also have numbness of the skin from just above the knee to half way up the left thigh. The muscles of the leg seem unaffected. It's interesting that you mentioned your incorrectly worn harness was the cause of the numbness. I'm a guitarist and I suspected my numbness was caused from the way my guitar was rubbing and banging my pelvic bone. I usually play electric guitar and never had a problem. This summer I was offered a gig playing acoustic guitar and the large body acoustic uncomfortably hit the pelvic area. I noticed the numbness started shortly after practicing the acoustic guitar. I thought it would go away but six months later the numbness is still there.

[Unregistered]

I am experiencing the same numb thigh problem. ...I have been wondering to myself it it wasnt caused by my wallet of all things. The numbness starts right where Ive been keeping my wallet in my front pocket for the last 20+ years. ...I have no insurance so seeing a doctor is out of the question, but I feel Im in good heatlh but have for the last 6 months been dealing with the numbness discomfort on my left thigh, the front only. It must be a damaged nerve from the pressure over such a long time period.

[Unregistered]

I have had numbness of left thigh since L5/S1 disc bulge caused by lifting injury. You can also get peripheral neuropathy from disc degeneration. If you don't understand this terminology you can find many sites on the web that will explain it. If you had injury to your cervical spine perhaps you wound have numbness in hands, fingers, etc. The numbness doesn't bother me too much, it is just annoying; however, I also get tingling and burning from time to time. At those time, I take an anti-inflammatory or if severe see my chiropractor or physical therapsist. Hope this helps.

[papamike74]

Hi all,
a short history of pain and affliction. in '02 I had hernia repair procedure performed on both lower abdominal inguinal hernias. Shortly after the surgery, I started to notice a tingling sensation on the surface of my left thigh. I questioned my care givers about this and was blatantly ignored. I receive my care at the VAMC in Phoenix, AZ. Only later did find that my concerns had indeed been added to my file, although I was still given no direct info. As time went by the tingling was joined by a burning sensation, right below the surface of the skin. A , with no sort time later the pain became so severe that I had to quit working, and spent the bulk of my time in bed.The doctors tried elavil to start with, to no avail. we went from there to carbazapam, no luck, then to tegretol, neuron8tin, vicodin (some help there), then into class 2 narcotics. Tried Percoset and found the first relief in 2 years. When the dosage was maxed out , we went to morphine sulfate. 600mg a day is the current dose and I can at least function in the world. Work is still not an option, as I am now receiving social security disability.At 1 point in this journey I called my priest and had the last rites administered, as I was determined to end my life, rather than endure the horrible burning, which by the way, had come to include my right leg as well. It was only after heavy prayer that I did find relief. Backing up some, when i first complained of this condition, MY DOCS SAID THE BEST TREATMENT WAS TO LOSE WEIGHT AND LOOSEN MY BELT!!! If you've come this far, then you've also seen the same web page that offers this "treatment". Good luck to all and please feel free to contact me if you have unanswered questions. 4 years of this stuff and no real cures in sight. god Bless you all, Mike

[Unregistered]

The outside of my left thigh was numb for years. I could sometimes feel a slight tingling or a sensation of burning or cold. The cartilage between L4 & L5 in my lower spine had worn away and nerves that go down my hips and legs were crushed. I just figured I'd have the numbness forever.

One morning I moved in bed and it felt like my thigh was on fire. All over the thigh as life went back into the nerves it felt like rubber bands popping inside my thigh. And I had feeling after that.

But when I sleep the nerves in my spine get crushed again and my thigh goes numb again. Turning over in bed or moving my legs releases the pressue on the nerve and all the little nerve endings in my thigh spring alive again. This is very, very painful! It's like a tiger paw ripping my thigh to shreds. This just happened really bad in the last two days and now I'm afraid to go to bed. The pain is excruciating.

[Unregistered]

I have a patch of numb skin on my knee, below the knee cap. It's about 7 inches across, 4 inches high, and irregularly shaped. It's only surface numbness - i can still feel pressure on the area and my reflexes are fine.

A med student I was chatting to suggested; heavy metal poisoning, leprocy, paraneoplastic syndrome (ie an undiagnosed cancer somewhere) or diabetes. She said it won't be a pinched nerve due to the location of the numbness.

[ldpeak]

I have had the same thing for about 4 years, started with numb thigh in exact same spot as you guys. Then woke up one night with my thigh ON FIRE. Slapped out the imaginary flames and had an x-ray at the hospital. ER doc said it was probably my SCIATIC NERVE. Said that in about 15% of the population the nerve doesn't run down the back of the legs and to the feet like it's supposed to. Said in people like me it runs to the ****, through the hip muscle, into my hip joint and out the front of my leg and down that numb thigh and so forth... I hate this ****.

Started seeing a neurologist, she put me on NEUROTIN to help control the burn and numbness in my thigh. Also had those nerve conduction tests which all turned out okay but we still didn't have our answer. The NEUROTIN works okay most of the time. Have had to increase it a couple of times. When it doesn't work I use the LIDODERM PATCHES that my Neurologist prescribed for me, and I also use BIOFREEZE gel (which where I'm from you can only get through a professional healthcare supplies company).

Now, just in the last month my Neurologist suggested I try physical therapy because it my sciatic nerve was really kicking so I went. On the first visit the therapist said I had PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME and literally showed it to me in a book. I was amazed. Yes, that is what's wrong with me--my nerve is abnormal, something I was born with just like the other 15% that may or may not know they have it.

If your curious to know if this could be your problem then Google PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME and ask your doc about it.

In the meantime try to get your hands on some of that BIOFREEZE gel. It comes in a tube in a gel form (my cost here is about $9.95, and it comes in a roll-on ($12.00) that is very convenient to use. I buy both of it because everyone in my family uses it on whatever they want to go away--achy shoulders, arthritis pain the in the hands, sore knees, you get the picture. This ain't no Ben-Gay **** either. It really works.

Ask your doc about the LIDODERM PATCHES as these are prescription only. They're about the size of your hand from wrist to fingertips and my prescription says I can were up to 3 patches at a time for a maximum of 12 hours a day (that's 12 hours on and 12 hours off). You can cut these patches to fit anywhere and for any size problem. I REALLY like them. Drawback--hope you got Medicaid 'cause these things are very expensive, somewhere around $497.00 for a 30 day supply in my area.

I'm sorry this was sooooo lengthy but I really hope that I've helped someone. Just knowing I might have helped even one person would make my day. Sometimes that's all it takes is one person so don't give up and keeping asking questions!!

Lotsa luck to y'all