What can cause loss of feelings in both legs and arm? Please read details.?

Question

My grandfather has been taken to the hospital complaining that he can't feel his legs or one of his arms. They did an EKG and said there is no evidence of a stroke. What other medical conditions can cause this? Is it possible that he had a stroke and it is not showing up on the EKG for some reason?

Thank you to the doctor who replied. However, I am not asking for a diagnosis---conclusive or otherwise.

I was simply asking what conditions could cause this. My grandfather is not bedridden and I don't think it is necessary to go into a long medical history in order to ask for possibilities which I can then take, look up on the internet and ask the doctors about. I live in a very rural area of the nation with a lack of doctors with broad knowledge and so I find that my family needs to do some research ahead of time to ask good questions and to understand the answers.

Answer 1

Well, the EKG is a test of the heart, and a stroke happens in the brain, so it is really not possible to say he has not had a stroke if they have only done an EKG. The people at the hospital may have done other testing as well, and that is why they are telling you there is no evidence of stroke. In any case, stroke usually causes a problem on just one side of the body, and he is having problems in both legs, so it does make sense that he has not had a stroke.

There are a lot of other medical conditions that can cause numbness like that (see the source for a long list). A good next step would be to see a neurologist to figure out what is going on. I hope he feels better soon.

Answer 2

You have neither given that he was hypertensive, diabetic or both or any history of heart disease, how long was he bed ridden. Does he have any history of family disease? Without these basic question I wonder how people on the net are labeling patient's to be suffering from any chronic disease or reach a conclusive diagnosis.
EKG does not show stroke of the symptoms mentioned by it is EEG that might give you a clue, and a CT/MRI scan of the brain is a better index of his prevailing SYMPTOMS.
Change the hospital or contact a new physician/surgeon, it is in the best interest of your grandfather.

Answer 3

Guillian - Barre syndrome can cause this type of problems.

Guillain-Barre (ge-YAH buh-RA) syndrome (GBS) is an inflammatory disorder in which your body's immune system attacks the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves) and, rarely, parts of the brain itself. Severe weakness and numbness in your legs and arms characterize GBS. Loss of feeling and movement (paralysis) may occur in your legs, arms, upper body and face
Signs and symptoms

The signs and symptoms of GBS usually appear rapidly over the course of a single day. These may include:

Weakness, tingling or loss of sensation that often begins in your feet and legs and spreads to your upper body and arms
Moderate pain throughout your body
Difficulty breathing
Paralysis of your legs, arms, respiratory muscles and face
Difficulty with eye movement, facial movement, speaking, chewing or swallowing
Very slow heart rate or low blood pressure
Difficulty with bladder control or intestinal functions
GBS progresses quickly, with most people experiencing the most significant weakness in the legs, arms, chest and other areas within three weeks of the start of this disorder. In some cases, the signs and symptoms of GBS may progress very rapidly with complete paralysis of legs, arms and breathing muscles over the course of a few hours.

If GBS is mild, the signs and symptoms may not extend beyond a feeling of general weakness. GBS may improve on its own within a few weeks, and some people initially may think the signs and symptoms are due simply to a common virus.

The signs and symptoms of GBS may last days, weeks or months before muscle sensation begins to return. Regaining your pre-illness strength and functioning is slow, sometimes requiring months or years. However, most people with GBS return to normal within months.


The website below has more info - I hope he feels better soon!