Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)

A 49 year old female presents with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy & Bell’s palsy. The CIDP progressed from Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and she has been symptomatic for 9 months. Bell’s palsy has been present for 2 weeks.

Doctors are not positive that it’s CIDP, but it’s the most fitting diagnosis at this moment.

Main Signs/Symptoms:

• All of these have occurred in every limb at one point or another:

  • Numbness, tingling

  • Wooden/stiff feeling

  • Weakness

  • Sharp, shooting pains

  • Feeling of rushing water

• “Frozen face” feeling

Patient also presented with:

• Dry eye from Bell’s palsy

• Trouble staying and falling asleep

• Urinary frequency

• Swings in energy

Dates of treatment:

3rd appointment:

FACE: smile is almost back from Bell’s Palsy. Her eye closes, but it doesn’t blink. Frozen feeling in the face is still present on the right.

HANDS: can feel 4 fingers in her right hand now. She can feel the second finger of her left hand.

LEGS/FEET: numbness and tingling, mostly in the bottoms of her feet. Sporadic left arm numbness. Left wooden/heavy leg sensation, not as bad as before, but multiple times a day. Sharp, quick pain in the hands, feet, and right hip for multiple days this week. The hip is subsiding now.

After 2 months:

FACE: frozen face feeling is lower down on right cheek. Bell’s Palsy-specific symptoms have cleared up.

HANDS/ARMS: right thumb & index and all left fingers have been painful - 7/10. Right hand locks up 1x/week for a minute. Slight pins and needles in left arm.

LEGS/FEET: the water rushing feeling in legs is less frequent since last treatment. She has some numbness/tingling on her toes but it’s not as bad as it was before.

EYES: she has developed double vision in one eye after medication changes and a stressful life event. A head tilt back and to the right makes it better.

After 5 months:

FACE: frozen face feeling leaves for 2-3 days post treatment.

HANDS: only gets quick nerve pains a few hours post treatment, then they go away completely. Left arm heaviness/numbness is worse in the morning but is improving overall.

LEGS/FEET: legs feel stronger. There is some numbness/tingling in the feet, but no pains. Wooden/heavy leg and water rushing feeling have been gone for 1.5 months.

EYES: no double vision at normal eye level for a brief moment today. Double vision comes and goes. Overall, eyes are improving significantly.

Key takeaways:

• Small parts of the body, such as fingers or toes, may be the first places to improve. This is a small win that can keep morale high as the body slowly resolves symptoms.

• Flare-ups may occur as the immune system adjusts to the new stimulus of acupuncture. Hydration, protein-rich foods, herbs, and rest can help mitigate symptoms.

• Always let your acupuncturist know of any weird or uncomfortable reactions, as these can be mitigated and are usually temporary.

• There are ups and downs in any journey to a symptom-free life. Overall, the trajectory has been in the positive direction despite multiple breaks in treatment due to travel, returning to work, and medication changes.

• Treatment was given anywhere from 1x/6 weeks to 3x/week depending on the month. Consistency is always great but we can work with what life brings too.

• Treatment of neuropathy, autoimmune or not, usually does best with treatments 2-3x/week for 2+ months. Treatment can then be spaced out gradually.

If you want to chat more about this case, as there’s a lot to discuss, reach out using the information below!