I have participated on other forums but just came upon this one looking for something else, hope you don't mind me adding my two cents. Marie, I had the same problem over 6 years ago. It started just as you say numbness in the toes and fingers, mine was on my right side. But then it progressed up my foot & wrist, not all of the time though. Over time the numbness went up my leg and arm, I just kept ignoring it until it reached my thigh and I started having pain in my right thumb and eventually up my arm. Then the pain got so bad I couldn't sleep. So I went to my MD, who sent me to a neurologist. Who took several sets of xrays, but didn't see anything. Did an EMG and said everything was fine. He prescribed anti-inflamatories, which worked ok for the pain but not the numbness. Until I started rectal bleeding. So I went to a gastroenterologist who did a colonoscopy which showed I had diverticulousis (which had nothing to do with the pain, but just meant I had to stop taking the anti-inflamatory) But the pain got worse and I couldn't sleep and I couldn't straighten my right arm and I couldn't feel a pin prick in my thigh. One day I happened to mention this to some coworkers and one mentioned I may want to see a chiropractor. At this point it couldn't hurt. I called and mentioned my symptoms, they saw me the next day. When I went in imagine my right shoulder up at my ear and holding my right arm up against my breast, with a limp. To make a long story short, after he took xrays and ordered more xrays from my GP and an immediate accupuncture treatment I walked out of his office nearly pain free. The chiro pointed out over 11 vertibrate that were misalligned and explained how they were causing my pain & numbness. After six more months of chiropractic and accupuncture treatments and deep tissue massages I no longer had the numbness or pain. That was over 5 years ago, I still have the occassional numbness in my leg, but that is from decompression in two of my vertibrate (4th&5th) in my lower back. I am an avid gardener and thank God every day for my chiropractor and licensed massage therapist. During the growing season the first thing they ask me is what I did the past two weeks? And then shake theirs heads as I recite all of the heavy gardening I did and where I needed work done on my back or neck. I tried the B12 supplements, didn't help. One thing that did help temporarily was weight bearing exercising, until my husband was laid off and we had to cut back on expenses, when I stopped the weight bearing exercising that is when it got the worst. Unfortunately finding a good chiropractor or licensed massage therapist isn't easy. We've moved three times and I've had some good and some so so chiropractors, the best is recommendations. Ask around. Same for massage therapists, even if your state doesn't require them to be licensed look for one that is and one that continually is updating their skills. And just recently I started yoga for the stretching, because I need to cut back on my visits to the massage therapist and chiropractor. And by all means drink water to flush out the toxins that build up in your muscles and joints. Many people poopoo chiropractors, in fact my husband and son thought it was all in my head. Until they saw the change, they both go now and are true believers. My son had whiplash and the GP thought it was TMJ. I'm not saying this is the answer, but if it bothers you that much or gets worse what can it hurt. BTW...it cost me ove $1500 that first 6 months out of pocket. But that is because the chiro didn't accept insurance, and unfortunately the good ones usually don't. Karen

Well...I just told my neuro I want out of the study. He is all but begging me to stay with it, but I dislike the side effects and I have not had any relief from my migraines. a)the first two weeks were completely pain-free and I was in heaven. But then the migraines returned with a vengeance AND my Imitrex no longer worked very well on them!!! Net result= more medicine than ever needed and headaches never seemed to go away completely. b)the frozen forehead is now only partially frozen and my Imitrex has begun to work again. This is 9 weeks post Botox. c)my eyelids look a lot better. I guess the melting polar ice caps in my forehead are responsible. I have to think that if you are one who derives headache relief from the Botox, that might also be waning. d)my neck, which was soooooo sore for nearly 2 months, is now almost back to normal. It was very hard to read and ride my bike because my neck felt like it needed a brace and it hurt a lot. Neuro said next time he would spread around the injections instead of concentrating them in one area (the ones in my neck). e)I told the neuro I wanted to move on and try to find something that worked without compromising the one medication I've got in my arsenal that is effective (Imitrex). What I'd really like to do is not GET migraines. To that end, I have begun a new therapy that is designed to bring my body back into balance and will hopefully give me the bonus of reducing my migraines, which have increased dramatically in the last year. I mean, it doesn't take a brain surgeon (ha ha) to figure out this is likely hormonal, right? I'm 50 and am getting a big increase in migraines? And yet I couldn't get a doctor to do more than prescribe bc pills for me (big no-no with my migraines) or recommend estrogen patches, which I was fairly sure would not be a good treatment for me. I saw two gynos who told me, without any testing, that I needed estrogen, even though I did not fit the symptom profile. The second when said, when I questioned him as to how he knew this, "You're 50!" I finally found a doctor who specializes in women's health (it's all she does) and takes a more naturopathic approach. She ran a bunch of hormone tests for me, including a comprehensive saliva test, and determined that I am very high in estrogen (thank goodness I didn't use the patches!) but extremely low in progesterone. I'm very high in testosterone (ah, THAT'S where the rages are coming from!) and DHEAs (don't know what that is). Low thyroid, too, though it initially appears normal in testing. I have practically no cortisol and my adrenals are wiped out. So, I'm on adrenal rebuilder, a Rx natural progesterone cream that is compounded with pregnenelone (a cortisol precursor or something like that), thyroid stuff and some other supplements that are supposed to help me build back up and feel better. I've only been doing this routine for a week and a half so it's too soon to know how well it will work, but I can tell you that I normally get really bad lower pelvic pain for a week midcycle and I had only a slight twinge this week (doc told me it was the low progesterone at fault). I guess the (sex) hormone balance is easier to address quickly than the adrenal part. I'm told that will take 1-2 years since mine are really shell-shocked. I'm feeling more energy and drive but am still dealing with bursts of anger and periods of foggy thinking. Don't you just love perimenopause?! Apparently, I'm still a ways from menopause, but I have the adrenal/thyroid/hormone imbalance problems that are often part of the whole perimenopause picture. Here's hoping that my migraines back off with this new treatment, but no indication of that so far. However, the hormone problems I have are known to cause migraines so I have high hopes that achieving a balance will bring them under control. Here is a good article that explains much of what I've tried to relay. Here is a link that might be useful: don't assume you are low in estrogen because the dr said so

Just thought I'd add my two cents (or is it 20 now?) to this..I started on a 2% testosterone cream twice daily ten days ago, and will be using it once a day for the next ten days then switching to at .2% after that as prescribed by my compounding pharmacist. He has recently returned from a conference on Libido and said that for many women a "jump start" is necessary for kicking the libido into gear and finally, after four years of lagging sex drive I am beginning to feel the positive effects of the testosterone....with no negative effects...once again proving that we are indeed all different in our metabolism of all types of things, hormones being only one.......Anyway, I thought I would also share that my pharmacist also says that one of the presenters there at his conference said that in twenty years he has never known there to be a failure of increased libido with the use of DHEA cream - the downside for women looking for a solution "now" to an ongoing problem is that it can take three to six months to take effect....hence the "jump start" idea....but perhaps for those of you with problems with testosterone - ask about the DHEA cream.....the best to you all....Patti

Phoggie, wow, a double whammy! Do you remember a while back there were a couple threads that you and I, and others posted on abut sciatica, spinal surgery, etc? I made the comment in one of them that you and I are in the same boat, but now that has changed for both of us. I haven't had the urinary problems, or any lumbar surgery. This will be a reminder/update on me, some of which I have posted bits and pieces of: Long story short. Because I fell, I ended up in the ER, followed by one day in the hospital. Chest scan showed blood clots in my lungs, Large one on the left, smaller ones on the right. I was put on Coumadin, which caused a hemorrhage in my kidney/s. The worst part is now I'm on a walker, and have the Lifeline thingie around my neck. Coumadin dose was lowered. Urology doc wanted another scan, after which he suggested doing a bladder scope, in case there might be cancer there. I have decided not to do that. My left leg is larger than my right leg and is painful; my right hip hurts if I sit too long, but I can tolerate both. I've said all that because I believe those who mentioned blood clots are on the right track. I made many, many trips to the lab and still going every 3 weeks to check on my blood levels. I learned about INR, which I had never heard of before. Talk to your primary doctor about the possibility of blood clots and consider what to do next. I hope you can get on a good path soon, and you and I will be rowing the same boat. It is doable. Sue