View Full Version : My arm is going numb
it started with pins and needles in my right hand for the last month or so, then suddenly, the whole arm is numb and pins and needles.
I went to the dr. and he thinks maybe carpal tunnel, but I am not doing anything that would cause that (or I don't think so)
I will get an x-ray for my neck too, but it is a bit alarming.
Anyone ever have something like this. My right hand and arm only.
Could be something as simple as a pinched nerve in your neck or traps area.
it is kinda freaky though, my whole arm loses power.
Kally, that is how my carpal tunnel started. Pins and needles in the middle fingers and a tap on the right spot by the doctor are pretty good indications. I was told a wrist support and better ergonomics can help with the swelling in the sheath. I notice it on the regular keyboard. I also take ibruprofen.
Husband invested in the better split keyboard and it helped because the wrist was not so bent while keying.
Yes, it sounds like a pinched nerve somewhere. DH has one in his neck and it affects his hand. Good luck Kally, and keep us informed as to what you find out.
Carpaltunner and it is a very small operation,mine took about 5 minutes was home again in less than 2 hours never had any problem again.
I vote pinched nerve. I screwed up my right arm trying to yank open a locked drawer, resulting in symptoms you describe. Chiropractic visits cleared it up.
My DH has something called thoracic outlet syndrome in which the blood flow to his arm is cut off when his arm is in certain positions. The test for it is for the dr to feel your pulse while moving your arm through various poses. I read about this in Woman's Day magazine and he was diagnosed in 5 minutes. This was after several months of MRIs and other neurological exams had turned up nothing. His description of it sounded very similar to what you are describing, so I would at least ask about it if I were you.
My DH had those very same symptoms. Pinched nerve in the shoulder area. Again, chiropractor....
you know I was thinking about how I might have affected my hand and wrists; not too much time on computer, no repetetive tasks, no sports, now I think I have an idea.
On holiday I lie on my back and read for hours at a time. I hold the book up above me with one hand and that hand probably takes a fair beating like that.
Possible?
I think anything is possible. We all have different conditions around that "tunnel" that the nerve goes in. Maybe you even have some arthritis going on there, or maybe you use it in a way that you don't even realize is hard on it, or maybe you were born with it small.
How's your arm doing Kally?
I used to experience that to a lesser degree in my left arm and left leg. Doing yoga/stretching/exercise more regularly pretty much cleared it up.
looks like some kind of pinched nerve, disc thingy going on in my neck. My question is this: How can I handle the hour or so that the jolt knocks me out of commission.
A tingling in my hand and then BAM! electrical impulses all up and down my right arm that really incapacitate me. Is there any way to lessen the impact? I don't quite know how I am going to lead workshops with this going on.
Are there some sort of exercises you can do to lessen the pinch? I know there are some injections you might get. I would try something like acupuncture before injections though. DH has 2 numb fingers on one hand because of a pinched nerve in his neck/shoulder area.
well the saga continues. I ended up in ER yesterday because my whole left side went numb, then pins and needles. I also had an obscenely high blood pressure, so they got that down. Yikes. So I am up for all kinds of tests.
They checked my blood, my blood gases, my heart, my vision, my reflexes and tomorrow I go for a CATscan on neck and head. This is not fun, but I think I had better stop self diagnosing myself based on the internet.
Until then, think good thoughts for me.
domestic goddess
9-8-11, 8:38pm
I don't have any suggestions. It seems as if you are doing the right thing by getting checked out. Have you had high blood pressure before?
I went to the ER in April with severe pain in my hip, and they wouldn't let me leave because my blood pressure was so high. So you aren't alone, but it still is no fun.
please do not go under the knife without researching repetetive stress injuries on your own. i recommend the book "it is not carpal tunnel syndrome" which details the negative affects of surgery as well as the many non surgery options like simple stretches and life style changes. do you work on a computer?
please research. many doctors are dopes that do not know much since the computer is so new and will be quick to cut you. many people get deformed hands cause of the tendons they snip.
Definitely try a chiropractor or a massage therapist trained in Neuromuscular Therapy before going under the knife.
I get the feeling that whatever is the problem is in my spine, neck or brain. Not what I want, but I think they will start to look at those areas.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Who knows?
Bastelmutti
9-8-11, 11:00pm
Wow, Kally - I'm hoping for the very best outcome for you!
Good thoughts for you!
Kally, if it turns out to be some sort of repetitive stress thing, I found that regular massage (tell them to go to town on your forearms and not be gentle - works wonders) worked, but it gets expensive. I recently went to YouTube and found some stretching exercises I found. I do them 3-4 times a day at work and in the evening and if I'm stuck in traffic. It's only been a few days, but I feel a lot better already. I do have the braces (bought at Target) that I wear at night.
thanks, I am not liking this waiting to find out part, but I am sure many of you have been through it before.
Sending oodles of positive thoughts your way, kally....
lhamo
Bastelmutti
9-9-11, 9:00am
I do second the book It's not Carpal Tunnel. It may be, but my repetitive stress problem turned out to be related to muscles and tendons instead.
well an update. I had a Cat scan so they can tell me it is not a stroke or bleeding in my brain. They do see damage in my neck. So next up is an MRI (wait and wait) and then a neurosurgeon.
I am trying not to get too down, but my arm fires off about every day or 2nd day and it feels like it is electrified. I am no use for about 45 minutes, and then I am fine. On, Off, On, Off. It is wearing me out.
Also, I have had to give up some public event work that I do because I never know when I am going to fire off.
Still, what can I do but wait. I am NEVER EVER going on the internet to look up symptoms again. I figured by the time I had read all the information that I was basically a goner. No point in worrying and fretting before I get a diagnosis.
But, truthfully, I am fed up and feeling rather fragile. I am a hale and hearty type and bomb around and do tons of stuff, and now I feel nervous and well, fragile. Any tips on handling this stage - don't know what it is yet, but don't like the symptoms. Some of you have probably been through feelings like this, so feel free to share what helped you. Thanks pals.
Sorry to hear that you are going through this. For the emotional aspect, when life throws me a huge curve as it is wont to do to all of us at one time or another, I simply get back to my gratitude list and keep reviewing all that is going so wonderfully right to balance and even neutralize the yucky stuff.
thanks, razz, a good idea.
update: Still firing off most days and it is a bit exhausting. Down to the neurologist and more tests required. MRI coming up next. Thank God I live in Canada and I don't have to worry about the financial end of all this. But I find it all a bit overwhelming.
Join in the discussion anyone who has had to wait for tests and test results. Moan, moan, whine and whing.
you are mad you feel fragile? that is a problem. you are fragile. life is balance. this is from a website i found:
You’re Not A Machine (http://tossociety.org/blog/?p=567)
Posted on October 18, 2011 (http://tossociety.org/blog/?p=567) by admin (http://tossociety.org/blog/?author=1)
Article by Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar
You are not a machine.
You’re mortal. Organic. You don’t come in a shape that will always easily slot into all the timetables and schedules and systems that beckon.
That’s probably no surprise. (And yet how many demands do you put on yourself sometimes?)
So there might be times when you can’t “keep on keeping on,” or where maybe you don’t always have the energy to “push on through.” Where it’s not always so easy to “just do it.”
Times, instead, where you might need to rest.
Replenish.
Respect the boundaries of your humanness – perfectly imperfect just as it is – and simply restore the balance a little. To stop treating yourself like the machine that you’re not…
I had a week like that myself last week (which is why you wouldn’t have seen me here on the blog). A week where I just needed to drop out of some of the routines and demands and pressures. I needed a whole lot more of “nothing” on my to-do list.
Do you know the feeling?
Where you yearn for a deliberate clearing of the decks and a clearing of your mind?
When do you know that it’s time to remember that?
What are your cues to recall your humanness?
(Or do you tend to ignore them until they become warning bells?)
And when you actually get around to it, what do you do to honour your mortal limits?
How do you relax?
Or replenish?
Or remember yourself?
It doesn’t have to be big. Or take a lot of time.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as remembering to breathe – consciously.
Just coming to rest for a moment.
Finding a quiet moment and being still.
Absorbing whatever the moment has to offer – and letting there be moments that aren’t stuffed to the brim with “important,” “busy” stuff.
Perhaps even letting some moments have the time to bring their gifts to you.
For perhaps it’s not only us that aren’t machines.
Perhaps moments aren’t machines either…
by Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar
thanks heydude, that was pretty cool.
Bastelmutti
10-21-11, 10:43am
FWIW, a friend of mine recently had this & it turned out to be a protruding disc in her neck. Hope you're on the mend!
I hope so too, but it is a long and tedious affair getting to a diagnosis. While in the midst of it my mind screams always the worst outcome, and the longer I wait, the more it screams.
I didn't read through all the posts... But just in case it was not mentioned, it sounds like you might need a chiropractic adjustment! Chiropractic adjustments have been a life saver for me, I have had similar complaints with my R arm, with pins and needles down my arm to my pinky finger, and progressing to my whole hand if not treated, a treatment works perfectly, usually by the next morning I am back to normal in terms of residual stuff.... :D I share office space with a chiropractor, and he always knows that when I have been to a birth, especially if there have been a number of births in a few days, that I will need an adjustment and a massage! I am lucky enough to not have to pay him, I rent space from him, and we provide services to each other foe free, so when the time comes to provide midwifery care for his wife, I will not charge him either!!!
thanks midwife
sounds you are getting the better deal, how many kids can his wife have?
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