peripheral neuropathy - psychosomatic and temporary or not?

a couple months ago i took an antibiotic (metronizadole), during the course of which i started to have vague and slight peripheral neuropathy in my hands and feet (sensory only - tingling, itching, just random odd sensations). after i finished the week course, it went away, but over the last couple weeks the peripheral neuropathy has come back and is much stronger now. it is transient and goes from hand to hand to foot to leg to other foot, never really staying anywhere for very long. now i am getting the odd moment of numbness/pins and needles in various areas. when i get startled, i get pins and needles over my whole body - it is quite uncomfortable. in the far past, during moments of heightened anxiety, my hands would sometimes go numb.

i read up on metronizadole, and one of the known side effects is causing peripheral neuropathy.. most sources say that it will subside eventually, others say it may be longterm.

i am under a good amount of stress from school, as well as some heightened emotional stress. in general i find it difficult to deal with stress. i usually manage my stress with diet, exercise and sleep, but when my stress gets too overwhelming that stuff goes out the window.

i feel in general at the moment that my body is on "high alert" all the time, and find it hard to relax. my moods are very uneven and cycle a lot throughout the day - determination, happiness, apathy, anxiety, depression, utter dejectedness, more anxiety, and back to happiness again. i know this is taxing my system. i have considered going to the doctor to get some xanax or valiums, but i worry that the side effects will be too much for me at this time. i am finding that i am becoming much more sensitive to all drugs - caffeine, alcohol, everything.

at the moment i have Tr. neptune conj my sun, and Tr. chiron conj my moon.. i'm fairly sure that this is most probably psychosomatic, and will pass as neptune passes away from my sun, however i dont know much about medical astrology so wanted to ask in here for any insights. my heart tells me that im going through a period of heightened hypersensitivity and the neuropathy is a physical manifestation of that, and i need to take this time to learn how to 1. manage my stress, and 2. find ways to get to a state of calmness easily.

i'd appreciate any insights! i have taurus on the cusp of the 6th and i am generally very hearty healthwise (and my parents are also quite hearty) - never been hospitalized, no broken bones, no chronic illnesses other than depression and no familial history of any nervous system disorders. when i am on the ball i am at the gym 3 times a week doing pretty intense exercise for an hour at a time.

venus, ruler of the 6th, is in capricorn in the 2nd, sextiled by both uranus in 12 (nerves?) and mercury in 3 (mental tension?), squared by pluto in 10 and sesquiquadrated by saturn in 9 (depression?). it is also opposed by jupiter in 8...amplifying everything?

oh the other thing to mention, part of my school involves me being in a hospital in direct contact with patients two days a week. a couple of times i have come home from the hospital and gotten a very sudden high fever and sweats/lightheadedness, which quickly subsided after an hour. im pretty anal about hand hygiene and taking appropriate precautions when working with patients, but i think being in a hospital environment is a bit taxing on my currently quite sensitive system.

thoughts?

Hi,
Doing a mental calculation only, if you add your age in degrees and advance from the position of natal Sun, you will get approx. 13* as Sun's secondary progressed position for 2014. In April the transiting grand cross of Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto was exact on 13* of the cardinal signs. Uranus would have conjoined s.p. Sun. This would suggest some signifiance in your life.

Sun is ruler of your 9th house that, apart from its many other qualifications, astrologically deals with 'health' issues rather than sickness (6th house).
Jupiter is ruler of Sagittarius Ascendant of physical constitution and, traditionally, of Pisces on I.C.
Mars rules the 5th house and, with Pluto, the 12th house.
Uranus rules the 3rd house, yet which is heavily tenanted in Pisces. The natal Pisces influence could tend to make one very susceptible to the influence of environmental circumstances, whilst Aquarius is less emotionally involved. Uranus has associations with neuropathy, of which pins and needles could be a physical outlet of contained stress regarding a development in, or change of circumstances.

Begin 2014 transiting Saturn conjoined natal Uranus in the 12th house. Saturn loves the old, traditional ways; Uranus seeks change for the future.
Saturn retrograded back into 11th house (restriction ?), has turned direct and is now entering the 12th house a second time. Do you feel any difference between then and now?

As a natal Sun in Pisces, the influence of transiting Neptune (ruler 4th house) in its natural sign would also add its influence. It has moved, stationed and turned retrograde within orb of natal Sun. My first astrology teacher, a natal Sun in Pisces with Sagittarius Ascendant, maintained that there is sometimes a necessity to create an imaginary dome around one's self to act as protection against 'alien invading forces that would seek to, or could harm'.
It may be for you to discover for yourself who and/or what the 'alien forces' are in terms to a sensitive (pre)disposition.

A Secondary progressed/solar arc directions with natal chart might offer more insight.

Hi Frisiangal! thank you so much for your feedback. there is a lot to contemplate here. I have attached my natal with progressions and solar arc combined.

Yesterday I went to a friends house for 4th of july, and immediately broke out in hives as soon as I walked in. I have never had any allergies before in life. It reminded me that before this neuropathy started, a couple times i have broken out in hives for no apparent reason. This was probably around march/april.

this morning I woke up and my inner ears are hurting a lot.. along with numbness in hands and feet. feeling very frustrated. Going to make an appointment with a doctor, and go get some acupuncture asap.

---

Regarding what you wrote:

I am trying to figure out what has happened, that relates to that grand cross contacting my prog sun. Over the new years I had an extremely bad experience in which I was abused by a person previously close to me. natally he has a tsquare involving mars in cap opposed by saturn in cancer, both squared by pluto in libra - at the time, tr. pluto was conjuncting his mars, tr. jupiter conjuncting his saturn, tr. mars on his pluto, and tr. uranus opposing his pluto. Now I see that my progressed sun unfortunately stumbled right into that whole thing, right into opposition with his pluto, the focal planet of his tsquare... which would explain why he all of a sudden uncharacteristically abused me.

That experience caused me immense psychological strain that has really messed me up, that i am still dealing with. this is the most significant thing that has happened to me in this time period. I was legitimately traumatized by the event and was unable to care for myself for a short period of time. for most of january i had ptsd-like flashbacks to the events that i eventually was able to shake. now i am just kind of broken inside, but trying my best to heal through positive thinking, talking about it, and doing my best to put it all behind me.

i related to what your teacher told you about creating a protective dome around ones self - i do this often when i feel uneasy and it helps. i think i will have to do it more often.

in regards to the "alien forces", ... i have a feeling that part of it is this person who abused me. we previously had a very intimate relationship and an ability to communicate wordlessly... this person has gone from not totally balanced, to seemingly very mentally unwell. i have extricated him from my life, but i continue to have dreams about him nightly, and hear him talking to me in my head. i have to consciously say, "i do not allow you in my space, you are not welcome here" for it to stop. its extremely unsettling.

PTSD is certainly not to be taken lightly and you do need to allow your body and your psyche time to recover and heal. Venus moving to oppose Jupiter in the chart strongly suggests the need for therapy of some kind, since this pattern continues to shadow you. Natal Moon sq Neptune indicates the vulnerability to being 'abused by deception' and that your sense of trust has now been harshly interrupted. The powerful energies in the 12th H relates to this necessary healing period, yet you must not allow this incident to keep you in isolation for too long. With Saturn's transit through the 12th you will need to regain your sense of independence and confidence with the help of a strong support system. It is fair to say that such a trauma can indeed affect the body in many different ways, so the symptoms you are experiencing are not unexpected; assuming you have already been ruled out for any infections or disease transmissions...so sorry that this has happened to you. Yet you do have the benefit of the Grand Water trine to aid in your healing by bouncing back and not letting this make you feel victimized for the rest of your life. You will defeat this personal 'invasion' by using your mind to make the necessary changes; underlying it all there is the mind-body-spirit connection to consider and to use. Wishing you well.

Hi again,
The progressed chart combination shows a number of aspects that would coincide with what you have been experiencing physically, mentally and emotionally.
Sec. pr. Moon through 7th in own sign.
Sec. pr. Mercury-Mars in Pisces conjunct I.C.,
tr. Neptune conjunct s.p. Venus, and applying towards natal Sun,

Solar Arc Venus separating from natal Mars and entering Pisces, leading towards Sec. pr. Venus conjunct natal Sun,

S.p. Ascendant trine natal Chiron. Facing reality, finding structure, taking personal responsibiilty can produde the healing effect?

Transiting Jupiter Cancer trining Pisces, working towards Jupiter return in Leo.

If you are still living in Toronto, the given solar return Ascendant and M.C (in red) aspect natal Moon and Mercury.

All good and positive intentions. Work out what they mean to you and the rest is up to you.

Right now I'm studying annual profections and how to use the time lord to help identify what is going on in a natal chart. With profections your working with a whole house system. Since you turned 35 in Feb. this gives you a 11th place profection year which when counting from the asc. takes you to the 12th house. Because there aren't any planets natally in the 12th you look to planets that are transiting the house to find the time lord of the year. Saturn is transiting the 12th and two months ago (a couple months ago i took an antibiotic) Saturn was conj your natal Uranus. Looking at your natal Saturn, it is in opposition to your Sun and Moon so when ever an aspect is made by t. Saturn or to n. Saturn it will trigger the significance of this configuration the rest of this year especially in regards to your health.

You can also profect from a planet and since this seems to be a hidden ailment I looked at Saturn and profected 11 houses to find it's time lord which takes us to the 9th house and with Jupiter in the house it becomes the time lord for hidden illnesses. Natally Jupiter is in tight inconj. with Mars. You may want to look at how that's manifesting in regards to your schooling as it seems it may be connected to your illness?? (Look to see if your everyday habits support your goals or drain you.) Jupiter is about to change signs and move to conj your natal Jupiter which may bring about an event tied to this whole situation your going through.

You said two weeks ago the symptoms came back much stronger. At that time the only significant change I could find is Sun changing signs to Cancer in the 8th house?? Eight house is the 12th house to the 9th. Natally there are no planets in the 8th (whole signs) so looking at what planet what might be transiting the 8th, you have the Sun. Natally the Sun is conj. the Moon and in opposition to Saturn.

Since there is so much activity directed at the 4th house I looked at the time lord here. Third house is 12th from 4th and with Mars in that house it becomes the time lord and will show the times issues regarding the 4th house issues might manifest in your life. Mars is about to change signs and go into the 12th.

Hope this helps with Kimmermoon and Frisiangal's insights to see how the energy is working in your life and be on the road to good health again soon.

thank you all for your thoughtful responses! there is much to ponder and work with here - thanks for taking the time to respond. I will try to reply with a little more depth at another time; i just finished a 12 hour study day and have 7 more in a row to look forward to!!!

as a quick update, i went to see my acupuncturist on monday, and discussed with him everything that has been going on with me the past few days. he gave me a treatment which has greatly improved my symptoms, and made some suggestions both spiritual and lifestyle that i plan to put into action. my anxiety has been relieved greatly as I see that my symptoms really are psychosomatic, and with some work on my part, I'm certain I will be able to get back to a place of balance.

just wanted to post a quick update - my symptoms are almost completely gone, except for some very minor intermittent lingering nerve pain - but nothing at all like what i was experiencing before.

what has happened? i finished my semester (and my ultra high stress exams!!), and got some resolution regarding the abusive situation i endured. i had been sleeping 3-4 hours for a few weeks leading up to my exams.

i went for several acupuncture sessions as well as got a valium prescription, of which i only ended up taking 2. the acupuncture was extremely helpful.

i now am on vacation for the next 3 weeks and plan on doing as much relaxation as possible!!!

milkywaygirl said:

in the far past, during moments of heightened anxiety, my hands would sometimes go numb.

Click to expand...

When that was? I suppose that this is the period between 1998 and 2002

If it was then, you're right with your conclusions ... because such periods can leave lasting effects on the body's reaction

For now there is no such a stressful time as it was then, and therefore this may be a reaction of the body when they appear similar stressful moments or moments like stressful situations, and in these moments, the body reacts in the same way ...

It is called "learned reaction of the body"

Once the shock happen, the body learns reaction, when it detects a similar causes