Do your fingers ever go numb?

sarahp

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All the fingers of my right hand and the right side of that hand have just gone numb and tingly. It happens every now and again for no apparent reason, and a few minutes later just goes away. It's very weird.

Anyone else get that or know what causes it? I'm guessing that there's a nerve being pressed somewhere, but I can't figure out where. My back feels fine!
 

carolpetunia

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I guess you mean something different from the ordinary "I slept on it wrong" kind of numbness, like when your leg "goes to sleep?"

I've been having numbness in my hands, too, but I think I know what causes it: all the clapping along I did at the Michael Buble concert a couple of weeks ago.
Ever since, I feel swelling inside my elbow joints, and if I stay still too long, my hands go numb.

Could you be having swelling in your joints, maybe from fluid retention after all the medication you've been on?
 
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sarahp

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It is my mouse hand, but I use a laptop with a mousepad, so rarely hold a mouse.

It's the same kind of feeling as if I slept on it, but during the day while just going about my every day business.

ETA: I just looked up Carpal Tunnel and it said it's usually in the thumb, or starts there. Mine starts in my little finger, and generally only goes as far as my pointer finger.
 

bnwalker2

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That happens to me all the time. It's almost always on my left hand and usually only the pinkie finger and ring finger... and even then usually only between the knuckle and tip. No idea what causes it, but it usually goes away on it's own after awhile.
 

kittymonsters

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It could also possibly be Raynaud's. This is a circulatory disorder, but it causes a similar type feeling. My fingers and feet though turn completely white when it happens. Usually when gripping or if I get chilled.
 

tigerontheprowl

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I lost most of the feeling in my right hand when I was younger. I was climbing over a chain link fence and at the top of it the wire was sticking up and I wasn't watching where i was putting my hands and I put one of the wires right through my hand. I struck a major nerve and ever since, I've had very little feeling in that hand.
 

natalie_ca

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I get the same thing in my left hand. Mine is due to a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder. At one time I was going to a chiropractor and he fixed it right up and it didn't happen anymore. I haven't been back since I've been off work, and the problem as returned. Going back to see him is one of the first things I have on my "to do" list once I get back to work and have more funds.
 

mzjazz2u

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I get it all the time. Mine is from carpal tunnel syndrome. It comes from repetitive motion and stress points. Many people get it from things like being on a computer a lot, kniting, crocheting, writing etc.
 

jugen

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I get that from carpal tunnel syndrome.
I have had the surgery on my left hand but it still goes numb all the time. I don't think they fixed it right, since I was in a sling for 6 weeks, and had therapy the whole time after I had the surgery. Now my right hand is doing the same thing since I had to go back to work 2 weeks after I had the surgery but since I am left handed, I had to try and do everything right handed. It wasn't pretty let me tell you.
But can still use both hands even though they are numb about 85% of the time. Gotta love doctors that don't fix you right and work places that make you come back sooner then you should.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by sarahp

ETA: I just looked up Carpal Tunnel and it said it's usually in the thumb, or starts there. Mine starts in my little finger, and generally only goes as far as my pointer finger.
Look up ulnar nerve. People forget there's more that can cause numbness in your hands then just carpal tunnel.

Last June I did have weird numbness in my right hand, it was more typical of carpal tunnel in that it was from thumb to middle finger. Shaking my hand helped relieve it. Went away after four days.
Other tingling or complete numbness I get elsewhere it likely just from my NCS.
 

valanhb

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Originally Posted by sarahp

ETA: I just looked up Carpal Tunnel and it said it's usually in the thumb, or starts there. Mine starts in my little finger, and generally only goes as far as my pointer finger.
Like strange_wings said, it's your ulnar nerve. I learned all about which nerve controls what part of your hand with the stuff I just went through.
It travels on the pinkie side of the wrist, through the elbow and up through the shoulder. A lot of times, it's actually a shoulder issue that can cause nerve symptoms in the hand. Have you noticed a lot of increased tension in your shoulder or arm?
 

pookie-poo

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It's called Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, or Ulnar Compression Syndrome. This is compression of the ulnar nerve. It usually causes tingling in the pinkie and ring finger, and that side of the hand.
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/elbo...italtunnel.htm
This happens sometimes to me, when I sleep with my hand/arm extended over my head at night. I've also gotten it by resting my left arm on the edge of the window of the car, when I'm driving long distances....must press on the ulnar nerve somehow.

The nerve that supplies the middle finger, index finger and thumb, is the median nerve, and compression of that nerve at the wrist is called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
 

mrblanche

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I have always had trouble with my hands going to sleep. It runs in our family, and is due at least partially to low blood pressure. I DID develop carpal tunnel syndrome at one time, due to handling too much heavy freight, but I was promptly taken out of that fleet and it went away. If I hold my hands above my heart, they will go to sleep pretty quickly.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I get that tingly numbness in the pinky and ring finger off and on. Mostly it's when I've been on the computer too long and my shoulder gets tense. The tense part I feel around just below where my neck curves...easier to explain it with a picture. The worst it ever was, it lasted a few days.

I'm relieved to hear other people have that and to know what it probably is!
 

capt_jordi

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Oh yea it always gets me. But I was kinda doomed the moment I picked up a saxophone!
Normally if I sleep with my wrist bent a little or if I'm on the computer a lot or playing sax it starts acting up. For me I just take some ibprophen and use a brace for a few days. And it seems to help. I also sleep with my wrist propped up a bit (by means of a teddy bear.)
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

I have always had trouble with my hands going to sleep. It runs in our family, and is due at least partially to low blood pressure. I DID develop carpal tunnel syndrome at one time, due to handling too much heavy freight, but I was promptly taken out of that fleet and it went away. If I hold my hands above my heart, they will go to sleep pretty quickly.
Mine do that too, and always have. As a kid I couldn't hold my hand up in class, more recently reaching over my head caused me to faint. Are your hands extremely weak when you first wake up, too?

Back to ulnar nerve - Despite my doctor not really finding much wrong with my elbows (no x-rays were done...), they hurt quite often. I don't get pain in my fingers (unless you count a couple knuckles swelling and hurting) but I do get pain in my wrists that feels more like nerve pain.

Originally Posted by sarahp

It's the same kind of feeling as if I slept on it, but during the day while just going about my every day business.
You may be doing that. Do you sleep on your right side or put your arm under your head? DH did that and had to break that habit when he had tendinitis.

I hope you can try bracing and if you can take them NSAIDs to get this to stop. And you won't need any more serious treatment for it, I'm sure you've had enough of doctors lately!
 
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