Tingling, numbness or pain are common symptoms that doctors term “paresthesia.” Sometimes the tingling resembles the pins-and-needles feeling when an arm or leg “goes to sleep.” What can be done to overcome long-term tingling?
Did Hormone Disruption Cause Long-Term Tingling?
Q. I have had tingling in my lower legs for five years. The doctors I consulted offered nothing but the opinion that I must be diabetic. (Tests did not show any diabetes.)
They offered Lyrica or gabapentin, which I refused because I was concerned about the side effects.
Finally, a neurologist did a complete workup, including a full blood panel. He said the tingling is from a very low functioning thyroid and very low B-vitamin levels.
Taking a vitamin-B complex vitamin supplement has helped enormously. I am also being treated for the thyroid problem.
Long-Term Tingling from Low Vitamin B12:
A. A sensation of pins and needles can be a symptom of nerve damage. Low vitamin B12 levels may trigger this (BMJ Case Reports, July 4, 2012).
Low levels of thyroid hormone can also contribute to neuropathy. High levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, a marker for low thyroid function, have been associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, May, 2016). Undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes are frequently behind a mysterious neuropathy, which might explain why the doctors seemed to settle on that opinion (Muscle & Nerve, June, 2016). It is good you were tested to rule that problem out.
Correcting the underlying thyroid hormone imbalance as well as the vitamin deficiency could account for your improvement. If you’d like to learn more about underactive thyroid glands, the symptoms they can cause and how they are treated, you may be interested in our 25-page electronic Guide to Thyroid Hormones.
