Symptoms

Here is a brief description of Arachnoiditis symptoms.

The symptoms of Arachnoiditis tend to vary from one patient to another and some are common features of other back disorders. It is therefore very important to report every symptom, no matter how embarrassing, to your doctor.

Chronic back pain is the most frequent complaint. Sciatic pains in the legs are also reported as are deep muscle pains in back and limbs, uncontrollable muscle spasms and twitches occur. These can be accompanied by hypersensitivity and what some sufferers describe as "burning feet". Joint pains are common. Even the weight of clothes can cause discomfort. I felt as if I had scraped a layer of skin from my thighs and the wound was still open. A lot of sufferers find it difficult to describe the pain they are experiencing and use the words, "throbbing", "burning" and "stabbing". Numbness and tingling sensations in the limbs also plague patients. Bladder and bowel problems also exist causing frequent visits to the toilet in the former with some embarrassing loss of control and in the latter constipation, though these may be caused by the medication required to cope with the pin. Another distressing feature is a lack of sexual drive, brought about by an absence of pleasurable sensations, medication, or, simply the pain experienced when attempting to make love. Another distressing problem is the feeling that insects are crawling about your skin causing incessant itching for which there is no remedy. Finally, one must not forget the psychological problems that arise as a result of arachnoiditis.

A full exploration of symptoms and their causes will be available on on this page soon. In the meantime please follow this link to Dr. Sarah Smith's paper, which offers a more complete explanation.

For further info on Symptoms Click Here for Dr. Sarah Andreae-Jones MB BS (Smith) article on THE SYNDROMIC NATURE OF SYMPTOMS IN ADHESIVE ARACHNOIDITIS on the ASAM Societies site.