Symptom question

[numbanditchy]

Hi there,

Thank you in advance for helping me with this. I went to my doctor recently and he did not know what is wrong with me. He wanted to refer me to a neurologist, but since I don't have medical insurance, we decided to wait to see what happens.

A few weeks ago I woke up in the morning and could not feel the top of my right thight (sensory issue - I can feel it, but it's more like I'm feeling it through a vinyl tablecloth or something like that). Around that time I also noticed what looked like scratches on the right side of my stomach, flank and back. I wrote that off to the dogs jumping on me, but it didn't go away. My right back side got like there was inflammation under the skin and I had these raised bumps (the scratches...very small and the doctor says he could feel them more than see them) that had shooting pain in them...it felt like a sewing machine needle would go into my skin and when I touched these bumps (the ones on my side...there aren't a lot...just a few) it felt like slivers of glass were stuck in them. Meanwhile, I got that numbness/sensory issue from my right buttocks, up my back, around my flank, on the right side of my abdomen and to my groin area and even on the top of my right shin. The shooting pains would just come out of nowhere and I have to scream when I get them. Now, I have a lot of itching...not so much the shooting pain any longer, but still the sensory issue. I do have a disc issue on that side of my back (L5 and lower) and that area was very painful during all of this.

Before these nerve symptoms started, I felt very flu-like and even was vomiting for a day and just so fatigued I could hardly function. I suspected this was shingles, but the doctor didn't seem to think so. He said it could be, but the rash wasn't that of shingles. I remember a while back I had this same type rash the side of my right thigh. It was only about an inch long, but looked like a scratch and itched badly and hurt a bit and took a long time to go away.

It was obvious that the nerve that was/is bothered with this episode is on my right side in the back/near the flank area and is super inflamed. It actually felt like I had a fanny pack under my skin...that is how inflamed it felt...it's gone down now, but I can still feel the inflammation a bit. Like I said, now still very itchy...and itching to my belly button. i can see the a couple of spots near my belly button on the right side and that is where the nerve/irritation is coming from, but it is initiated from my back and that area where the main nerve issue is. I feel like I'm getting a bit of feeling back in, but with that I'm super itchy now in that area from my back around to my belly button. My belly b utton is itching like crazy lol...

I had blood tests done and everything is perfect.....

If it's not shingles, what else could this be?

Thank you for helping me!

[MG (Admin)]

Well although I did not see the rash it sounds to me that shingles could have been the cause.
The rashes of shingles (zoster) can be very varied depending when you see them but what makes the diagnosis clear is the area where the rash is present.
If the rash is only within the area of one nerve root (called a dermatome) then there are very very few causes other than zoster (shingles).
A picture of the dermatomes is attached.

Dermatomes

do you have a picture of the rash ?
If so please attach it to reply.