Carpal Tunnel?

[WillFlyToDisney]

Does anyone have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

My fingertips have been going numb quite a bit lately so I did an internet search and came up with Carpal Tunnel as a possible cause.

Any experience with this?

Thanks!
Kel

[WillFlyToDisney]

It's really just the fingertips not the whole finger. The thumb, forefinger and middle finger on my right hand (I am right handed) just go in and out of numbness.

Guess I need to go see my Neurologist.

[StPeteMark]

Kelley,

Check this article out:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/22/AR2005042201739.html

It may give you a clue about your fingers.

Mark
.

[WillFlyToDisney]

Wow. I didnt even think of the Blackberry connection, Mark.

I don't have a Blackberry but have had an Ipaq for about a year and in February got a Palm Treo that has buttons like the ones on a Blackberry.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/KBarrett20/photo_treo650_overview.jpg

I love my Treo. I can take pix and video, surf the web, answer email, play games and talk on the phone. It is much easier to use than my clunky Ipaq but it does have a smaller screen.

I guess combine that with my increased laptop use and my wrists aren't bending at the right angle or whatever.

Thanks,
Kel

[EyesSkyward]

I guess combine that with my increased laptop use and my wrists aren't bending at the right angle or whatever.
Maybe. Or it could be any one of a number of other things, ranging from "oh, that's not so bad" to "yikes!"

Seriously, don't cancel that Neurologist's appointment just yet. Treat your body like you'd like the mechanic to treat the next plane you're on and check out the suspicious stuff! :)

- Jeff

[tabbygirl]

Kelley, I have had similiar symptoms in my right hand. Mine was from a pinched nerve in my neck, exacerbated by being at a computer all day long at work and tensing up on my "mouse" side. Could that be your situation?

I was sent to a physical therapist who gave me a set of very subtle neck exercises, and it got a lot better. Oooh, and they did gentle traction, and warming massage. SO nice.

I had to switch from using a mouse to using a keyboard with a touchpad, and that helps a lot, too.

Angela

[WillFlyToDisney]

True, Jeff. My googling came up with Carpal Tunnel and MS as 2 of the possible causes. Yikes!

[WillFlyToDisney]

I love my Treo!

Angela - what kind of doctor did you see that made the first diagnosis??

[tabbygirl]

I just went to my regular doctor, an internist. She had me go through some range-of-motion stuff until I went OUCH so she was able to figure out which nerve/vertebra were involved. Then she referred me to the PT.

I waited longer than I should have to see the doctor because I was at the point where I could hardly lift my arm without crying, and I'm not normally that wimpy! But it still resolved fairly quickly with PT.

Angela

[Insert Clever Name Here]

Kelley, a few questions if you want to answer.

Which side of the hand is it? The palm or the back side?

Is it tingling, burning, or numbness?

Does it get worse at night? Does the feeling ever wake you up?

Is it just those fingers, or does it radiate anywhere?

Is there anything you do that makes it appear or go away?


These are some questions to think about before you go to the doc, they should ask you these and some more. Like Sean said, a neurologist is the best person to work it up - they can do electrical studies that primary care (GP's) docs may not have access to, and they tend to have more experience in proper treatment.

Carpal tunnel is pretty common, and usually is treated with splinting (sometimes just at night) and occassionally steroids if it is bad enough. The surgery is a last effort, but works very well in most everyone.

I wouldn't jump to MS yet - MS symptoms usually move around, and often start as vision problems that come and go, foot tingling that comes and goes, etc.



Disclaimer: I'm not diagnosing, just some things to think about. See your physician for treatment.

[kari]

I would approach these online diagnosis sites/google symptom searches with some serious caution. They always err on the side of disaster. According to them, every headache is a brain tumour, every mole is skin cancer.

You've not hurt your arm or anything recently have you? A couple of years ago I walked into a door (a malfunctioning, extremely dangerous door - I could have sued :D ) and whacked my elbow on it, hurt like hell, still hurts now if you press on it, and for weeks after my hand was sort of numb and weak.

[WillFlyToDisney]

Well I had to go to my Endocrinologist yesterday anyway to get my thyroid meds. Long story but my Dr passed away unexpectedly in December and the other 2 doctors in that office are not Endos but have other specialties. The one I saw yesterday happened to be an Internal Medicine doctor so I asked her about the fingertips. She said she would almost bet money it was carpal tunnel and told me to get a wrist brace and wear it at nite.

I got one at Target and wore it part of last nite but it hurt my wrist where the bone rubbed against it so sometime in my sleep I yanked it off. I'll try to keep wearing that and see if it helps.

[Jeff California]

This is Andrea. In my job (work comp rep), I see a lot of medical reporting regarding conditions that cause symptoms like yours. Obviously I am no doctor or in the medical field, but... I stayed at a Holiday Inn Select last night :lol:

The post above with the questions to ask is a great one. So many doctors out here in Cali jump right to CTS and want to do releases and the patient ends up worse off.

Here is some info I have collected over the past 7 years: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a collection of symptoms that are caused by compression of the median nerve at the wrist. The median nerve starts in your neck and goes down through the arm, through the "carpal tunnel", carpal bones in the wrist and into your thumb, pointer and pointer-side of the middle finger. It can be caused by many things including inflammation from pregnancy, menstruation, obesity, overuse etc. Typically overuse would more likely cause tendinitis (inflamation of the tendins). All of the things mentioned in the posts above can also cause numbness in hands/fingers - nerve compromise in the neck, arms, hands. Also peripheral neuropathy from diabetes causes symptoms in hand, basically anything that presses anywhere on the sensory nerves will cause some form of numbness, tingling, burning or pain.

A lot of the people I see go to either neurologists or hand specialists. Either of these can do nerve conduction studies with electromyography (uncomfortable test but not horrible). When these two tests are done together the doctor can specifically pinpoint what area of the nerve is compromised and using the test results combined with symptoms and orthopedic tests, they can narrow down the diagnosis.

Remember any overuse inflammation can improve with RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation. Take a couple advil and don't do the activity that causes problems (ie. PDA)

About your wrist support - you might want to find a medical supply company and actually get fitted for the right size guard. It shouldn't hurt you. I had some elbow problems a few years ago and wore a great wrist support that was black and had laces that velcroed around my wrist, very comfortable but kept me from moving too much.

Hope that helps.

Andrea:)

[WillFlyToDisney]

Thanks, Andrea. I have had a migraine for the past 2 days so I need to make that appt with my Neurologist for both things. I have very thin, bony wrists and the brace I bought just hits the bones the wrong way and hurts. I'll be returning that!

:) I'll let you know what the doctor says. It usually takes about 6 weeks to get an appt with him. Ick.

Kelley