Can neuropathy cause intermittent sensitivity and pain in the skin of my legs and arms?

Hello,

Ten weeks ago, I suddenly experienced sensitivity and pain in areas of skin, primarily on my legs and arms. This sensation resembled sunburn, although there was no visible redness. The symptom has persisted and varies in quality and intensity each day, from nearly unnoticeable in the morning to highly intense in the afternoon. It is not excruciating but rather annoying and disconcerting. Sometimes, it appears triggered by clothing, which can feel much rougher than it should.

My PCP found nothing of immediate concern and believes it could be some form of peripheral neuropathy. I have not experienced any loss of strength and do not have trouble walking. I do not have diabetes or any other diagnosed condition. The only current medication is Famotidine, which is being taken for heartburn. Laboratory tests conducted included routine blood tests and a thyroid hormone test, both of which yielded normal results. What type of neuropathy might this be? I am uncertain if there could be a genetic component, but my mother has described a similar type of neuropathic pain attributed to fibromyalgia.

Kindly advise.

Hi doctor,

Thank you for the reply.

The burning sensations can occur on either side, but they do not consistently happen simultaneously. Their intensity fluctuates from one moment to the next. The most consistent pain is felt in the thigh area of my legs, although it can also extend to the tops of my feet. It affects the outer areas of my arms down to my hands, with no involvement of the plantar or palmar regions. It tends to develop in places where clothing exerts light pressure against the skin. The sensation does not increase when I recline or become more pronounced at night.

In the morning, the sensations are minimal, gradually building up as the day progresses. Interestingly, taking walks in the evening appears to alleviate it. I have not experienced any notable upper respiratory tract infections or diarrhea. I am a non-smoker, yet I am exposed to toxins daily due to my work in a laboratory, where I identify unknown samples from the oilfield. Although fume hoods are used, I still inhale small amounts of solvents like xylene, isopropanol, methanol, acetone, methylene chloride, and finely divided solids. As it happened, on the day this symptom appeared, I had been in the lab all day, exposed to somewhat larger quantities of these chemicals than usual. I am not sure if this could be related to the symptom.

Please help.

Hello doctor,

Thank you for the reply,

I have been taking an OTC antihistamine and it seemed to improve my pain symptom even while at work for the first two days. With two more days at home I continued to improve. Then over the last two days at work the “phantom sunburn” symptom returned. Meanwhile I did consult a dermatologist who seemed very sure that some kind of allergic sensitization is occurring at work, even advising me to find work outside of the lab environment for at least two weeks if not permanently. But the symptom does not always get better just because I leave work and return home. My PCP wanted to wait a full six months before going any further trying to figure out this problem. What would you advise?

Hello doctor,

Thank you for the reply,

On the chance that this does not have to do with workplace allergens, but from what you wrote earlier you were saying that the changing locations, waxing and waning of the pain, etc. Was not typical of peripheral neuropathies, and more characteristic of something wrong in CNS. I am just trying to get a sense of how common or uncommon this symptom is and how concerned I should be about it. Would the brain scan and NCS still be advisable to rule out any CNS issues? And finally do you have any recommendations for managing the pain, as it can get intense sometimes. I have tried some OTC medicine but it does not seem to have much effect.