Recently Mrs. R aged about 55 years consulted us with a range of symptoms that closely followed the first dose of vaccination for Covid-19. They included
- Pricking and pulling pain in the hands and feet
- Pain in the neck and shoulders
- Altered sensation in the soles, feels roughness in them.
- Pulling pain in the back of the knees and legs
- Palpitations on exertion.
- Disturbed sleep
She had visited her family doctor and an orthopaedic surgeon and was diagnosed as having cervical and lumbar spondylosis and carpal tunnel syndrome. When it became apparent to us that her symptoms had followed vaccination, she having not considered this piece of information important in her earlier consultations, we proceeded to carry out our comprehensive 360* evaluation at Buddhi Clinic. Mrs. R met our team- physician, physical therapist, psychologist and electrophysiologist and was evaluated for a neuropathy as well as dysautonomia.
Lo and behold we discovered evidence of both a peripheral neuropathy (responsible for the pain in her hands and feet and altered sensation in her soles) as well as clinical autonomic dysfunction (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome being the diagnostic indicator) contributing to fatigue, palpitations and sleep dysfunction. There was also considerable health related anxiety about her new and unusual symptoms. A working diagnosis of “post vaccination neuropathy and clinical autonomic dysfunction” was made and Mrs. R inducted into our comprehensive care program. From a drug perspective we used pregabalin (a nerve membrane stabilising agent and weak anti-epileptic drug that helps with both neuropathy and dysautonomia), nortryptyline (a conventional antidepressant with anti-pain and anxiety relieving/ sleep promoting effects) and baclofen (for muscle spasm identified in clinical evaluation).
She started also on our comprehensive care (non-drug therapy) program with our Mobility & CAM labs. The mobility lab team delivered manual and electrotherapy treatments for pain/ dysasthesia and a comprehensive exercise therapy program for dysautonomia. The CAM lab team delivered focal abhyangam with Sahachadhari thailam and kizhi together with acupressure, reflexology and mud therapy sessions.
After 15 hours of each treatment paradigm Mrs. R was reviewed in our case conference, with the following outcomes.
Mobility Lab:
- Muscle spasm and pain in the neck and shoulders has reduced completely – the Visual Analogue Scale scores were- Pre therapy-8, Mid therapy-4, End therapy-0
- Mild pain in the right brachioradialis continues with a Visual Analogue Scale Score of 2
- Altered sensation in the hands and feet has reduced by 50% but tends to fluctuate, being present on and off
- Grip, grasp and fine motor skills are improving
CAM Lab:
- Pricking and pulling pain in the legs improved
- Her metabolism improved and she perceives overall wellness in her daily functions
- Sleeps 5 hours fitfully but would like that to return to her customary 7 hours
- The self-application (assisted by family) of lepam (herbal paste) in both palms and soles is helping her; when her night time symptoms are bothersome she has learnt to apply ice packs to the dysasthetic areas and is able to sleep
- Abnormal sensation in palms continues to fluctuate
Summary:
A vaccination is nothing but a minor and contained infection inducer, designed to help people develop immunity. Not just COVID-19 vaccination, but all vaccinations can induce some adverse effects, unexplained neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms not being uncommon. The temporal relationship between the de novo symptoms that Mrs. R developed, detailed by our comprehensive evaluation and targeted testing, confirmed for us new onset peripheral neuropathy and dysautonomia. As is our practice in Buddhi Clinic we combined modern drug treatment with the wisdom of convention (physiotherapy) and ancient traditions (Ayurveda and Naturopathy) to give Mrs. R much needed relief. Mrs. R continues in a step down program combining weekly clinic visits with our “Do it Yourself” (DIY) Buddhi kits and is on the pathway towards complete recovery. She discovered Buddhi Clinic and in her we have evolved the pathway to helping people with post-vaccination neurological symptoms.
