Abstract

It must always be interesting and educational for a clinician to find they have a disease. The interest must be all the more acute when it affects the system in which they are a specialist, but easier to express when it is a trivial disorder that needs no treatment. Indeed, if I have any reservation about discussing my symptoms, it is simply that it is hard to believe they are worthy of the interest of others. Perhaps this is an inhibition that some of our patients share, although it is hard to maintain this view after a routine Monday morning clinic.

At the age of 50, I have had Notalgia Paraesthetica for at least 20 years; it is difficult to accurately recall. I can recognize the problems that patients frequently have in giving a precise history.

The core symptom is that of variable sensory disturbance affecting the left upper back