Lightning Pains

Lightning Pains

Sudden, sharp painful crises that are idiopathic or elicited by cold and stressants, which may require opiates for relief. Lightning pains are a classic symptom of tabes dorsalis, and usually accompanied by progressive degeneration of the posterior and lateral columns of the spinal cord
DiffDx Post-herpetic neuralgia, glossopharyngeal and trigeminal neuralgia—tic douloureux—triggered by peri- or intraoral stimulation, occurring as clusters of stabbing pain followed by refractory pauses, exacerbated in the spring and fall

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lightning pains

Neurology Sudden, sharp painful crises that are idiopathic or elicited by cold and stressants, which may require opiates for relief; LPs are a classic symptom of tabes dorsalis, and usually accompanied by progressive degeneration of the posterior and lateral columns of the spinal cord Clinical Loss of reflexes, vibration and position sense, ataxia, urinary incontinence, impotence DiffDx Post-herpetic neuralgia, glossopharyngeal and trigeminal neuralgia–tic douloureux, triggered by peri- or intraoral stimulation, occurring as clusters of stabbing pain followed by refractory pauses, exacerbated in the spring and fall