Age: 78.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Carpal tunnel syndrome, Hypoaesthesia, Nerve injury, Paraesthesia, Stenosis
Clinical narrative: experienced numbness in her extremities; nerve damage; Tingling; all the tingling numbness and pins and needles; severe carpal tunnel; stenosis on the L4 and L5; This is spontaneous report from a contactable consumer. A 78-years-old female patient received bnt162b2 (PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 mRNA VACCINE, Formulation: Solution for Injection, Batch/Lot number: EN6203) via an unspecified route of administration, administered in Arm Left on 05Mar2021 as DOSE 2, SINGLE (at the age of 78-year-old) for covid-19 immunisation. Medical history included exostosis, headache, neuralgia. There were no concomitant medications. Patient had the 1st dose of the Pfizer COVID Vaccine on 12Feb2021 with lot EL9266. On an unspecified date 5 days later after 2nd vaccine, patient had experienced numbness in her extremities. Patient stated the numbness started in her left finger her baby finger and would come and go and after another few days the fingers and her hands from her elbows down both hands and all of a sudden in another 2 weeks from her knees down she had the numbness; stated at time patient supposes it was the way she sits and it aggravates and presses on the nerves and just causes more activity and a lot of activity on her palms and feet and sometimes on the side of her legs. Stated as of today it has not lessened up and she was age 78 and has compressed discs with bone spurs which was in 2018 and had trouble with her neck and all the MRIs showed she had that. Stated her spine HCP can go in to remove the bone spurs and so she would not have those headaches she experienced and took Excedrin and nothing touched the headaches that were not headaches but were nerve pain; reporter stated this nerve pain that was not a headache was in 2018 and she has no lots, expiry dates or NDC numbers to provide for the Excedrin or other medications that did not touch the pain. Stated she told some HCP about this but when she went to the spine HCP for her neck and did the xray and told her she had dome compressed discs and asked if she could do surgery and they said only when her hand gets the tingling and numbness and when all the pain goes down her arm. Stated so when this happened the tingling started in and she had not thought it was the vaccine and just thought she would have bone spurs removed; stated she went to the spine HCP and he got quite alarmed and did not say too much but was concerned with why both her hands and both feet were numb all at once and did the MRI and she was not complaining of her right hand with any pain or in her legs she had no pain just had all the tingling numbness and pins and needles. Stated after the 1st MRI she had severe carpal tunnel and needed surgery and then said her left baby finger was not part of the carpal tunnel and got the nerve by her elbow pressing and that was causing numbness in that finger and she needed the carpal tunnel surgery and her elbow also and before that was healthy. Stated she did not feel the 2nd shot and her arm was never sore and she did not get sick. States that was why when she started tingling she never thought of the Pfizer COVID Vaccine until she was seeing more HCPs and never had pain in her right hand that would constitute carpal tunnel surgery because of all the tingling and numbness she can understand why they gave her the extensive EMG testing with electrodes. Reporter stated other medication that did not help her pain that occurred in 2018 and it was nerves pressing on her neck and they gave her at that time a cortisone shot and compound made up for her and she used that and had therapy and got better after 2018 and for several months she had not had any problems. HCP information: Caller states she has no email for the HCP. Stated after the MRI said she had severe carpal tunnel in her right and tingling in her left because that was moderate carpal tunnel she ended up having carpal tunnel surgery and never tingled or had issues before this and then they took an MRI from her waist down because of her legs were both numb and said it was stenosis on the L4 and L5 which she said she had no problem from or issues from it and that was what was causing it. Stated her HCP gave her a steroid shot to the L4 and L5 and after two weeks she called and said the steroid shot did nothing so in the 3rd week they said to go back to get a double dose; stated she did get a double dose of the steroid shot and the HCP said they were starting to think this was the Pfizer COVID Vaccine and it was too coincidental that all this happened after the shot and if the double dose of steroid does not ease the numbness she would see a neurologist; stated the double dose of steroid did not ease the numbness. Stated she did go to the neurologist and they did the extensive EMG testing on her and said she had not much strength in her arms and legs because of the tingling and numbness and gave her a cortisone to both wrists and that did nothing. Stated the neurologist put her on Gabapentin and said it is because it helps with nerve damage and it is not doing anything right now and she is taking 900 per day; states she goes to see the neurologist and will tell them that she does not want the Gabapentin and states it is in an orange pharmacy bottle and has no lot, expiry date or NDC and she takes 300 in the morning and 600 at night an all it is doing is making her tired with no relief with the tingling. Stated that after all this, since her first spine HCP visit after this inflammation on 25Mar2021 when she saw her spine HCP she had to get the MRIs, she had all this up until now and two weeks ago she decided to think of another option and started with acupuncture and has done 6 sessions and it is not the first time but the 2nd time when she did the needles and cupping and found especially in her hands that the numbness was not as severe; stated the acupuncturist then started working on her legs and that eased up a little but not as much as her hands and then by the next day it was all back again and the acupuncturist said she feels the nerves take a long time and we have to be patient and she felt less tingling; stated if a study or trial is available she would be happy to take part in that. Stated she was happy that after almost 5.5 months she can talk to someone about this. Stated she wants to say that she is not out for anything and does not want to do harm but wanted to see about the report for herself. The outcome of the events was unknown.  Follow-up attempts are completed. No further information is expected.