Hands tingling !!!!

[frayne]

For the past 12 months or so I have noticed a weird sensation in my hands where the feel like they are going asleep or have an annoying tingling. It hasn't affected hand strength or ability to hold anything. I have my annual physical this Tuesday and will run the issue by my PCP. Just wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them and if so, cause and remedy, if any. I know asking for medical advice on any internet forum is not such a wise thing but just wanted to throw this out there. Thanks in advance.

 

[MRG]

Yes, haven't felt my pinky on my left hand since May. In my case the issue is the nerve at C7-T1 was injured. Have you had spine issues in the past?

My strength was an issue and I've done months of PT to get it back. My PCP did give me some gabapentin which seems to help the numbness.

 

[ER2B]

What medications are you on? I am thinking possible side effects.

 

[MichaelB]

Any time of day when it is more common? Does a specific activity set it off? Does it go away unaided or do you do something to deal with it? Hand tingling is common with arthritis.

 

[frayne]

Yes, haven't felt my pinky on my left hand since May. In my case the issue is the nerve at C7-T1 was injured. Have you had spine issues in the past?

My strength was an issue and I've done months of PT to get it back. My PCP did give me some gabapentin which seems to help the numbness.

As a matter of fact yes, I had L4,5,S1 fusion surgery six weeks weeks ago but this hand/finger numbing tingling started long before surgery. Priori to surgery I had probably a half dozen or more epidurals and facet joint steroid injections in the L4-5 lower back over a two and half year period.

 

[njhowie]

May be blood flow issue of some sort. When it happens, put your hands down by your sides and let gravity help. Maybe your hands were on the table, typing on the keyboard, or above your waist doing something. It happens sometimes to me when I'm in bed and my hands are on my chest (above my elbows).

 

[PatSea32]

check put Reynaud disease.

 

[street]

It maybe carpal tunnel syndrome. I have it in my left hand mostly noticeable at night or morning hour before waking up. JM2¢

 

[Rianne]

Yes, this has happened to me a few times over the years. Mine went away in time. I recall one time the tingling was from nerve damage but it healed. Also, blood flow to the extremities is poor.

 

[ER2B]

My right thumb went numb for a month before it went away. I was on atorvastatin and stopped it immediately.

 

[Born2Fish]

For the past 12 months or so I have noticed a weird sensation in my hands where the feel like they are going asleep or have an annoying tingling. It hasn't affected hand strength or ability to hold anything. I have my annual physical this Tuesday and will run the issue by my PCP. Just wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them and if so, cause and remedy, if any. I know asking for medical advice on any internet forum is not such a wise thing but just wanted to throw this out there. Thanks in advance.

I am not a MD but experienced L4/5 extruded disc fragment 30 years ago, resulting in left lower leg symptoms. Mine cleared completely with epidural steroid injections. So I think this area (L4/5, L5/S1) would impact lower extremities.

Wait on the MD or specialist to look into this before you devote time to worrying about it too much.

 

[razztazz]

For the past 12 months or so I have noticed a weird sensation in my hands where the feel like they are going asleep or have an annoying tingling. It hasn't affected hand strength or ability to hold anything. I have my annual physical this Tuesday and will run the issue by my PCP. Just wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them and if so, cause and remedy, if any. I know asking for medical advice on any internet forum is not such a wise thing but just wanted to throw this out there. Thanks in advance.

Yes, maybe a carpel tunnel-like situation. Simply wearing those wrist braces (nearly all the time) can clear it up.


OR... I had this in a more severe way last Winter. Not just the tingling I had been living with for years but numbness and grip disruptions setting in. Two degenerating discs in my neck. I took a few months off from upper body workouts then restarted with somewhat down-sized workouts.
Hardly noticeable now.



The MD said it's basically just age. Gravity. A lifetime of "taking it." Warranty on the discs is up.

 

[pacergal]

Definitely discuss with your Doc.
Mine was/is caused from impinged nerves in my shoulder joints. I've had surgery to remove calcium deposits, but didn't completely resolve.
Could be arthritis, carpel tunnel, ??

 

[SecondCor521]

My Dad had spinal problems in his lower extremities for a long time and had had several lower back operations and injections over the years.

About two years ago he had tingling in his hands and discussed it with his spine surgeon. The doctor said he had some serious problem with his neck and needed surgery right away else he could become a quadraplegic. He had a cervical anterior discectomy and fusion (CADF I think is the acronym they use) and had cadaver bone put in as well. After the $50K surgery, he did not end up a quadraplegic, but I never did follow up and ask him about the hand tingling.

Who knows, maybe my Dad's insurance just paid for a semester or two of college. Although the doctor is very good and ethical, and my Dad is a retired MD, so I don't think he would be snowed easily.

 

[Calico]

I agree about bringing it up to your PCP. It could be any number of things.

I was on a medication for the first 10 months of 2019, and while on it I began to experience daily tingling in the fingers of my left hand. I told the Nurse Practitioner about it at my mid-year recheck and she said she suspected carpal tunnel syndrome, since I have been using a computer 8 hours a day for the past 30 years at work. I thought it was a side effect of the medication myself (it was listed as a possible side effect). It didn't really interfere with my ability to use my hand, and the medication is necessary, so I didn't worry about it too much. It was annoying more than anything.

One month ago they switched me from the first med to a different one in the same "family" (for reasons unrelated to the tingling), and I have not had one instance of finger-tingling since the switch.

I would definitely tell the PCP about all medications (including over the counter) that you have been taking in the past year, in case it is something simple like that.

Good luck, and I hope you find a simple remedy for it, because it really can be annoying after a while!

 

[mystang52]

I am not a doctor. With your arm outstretched. repeatedly tap on the affected wrist with a finger. If that causes any tingling it may very well be carpal tunnel. If the tingling is not that extensive, a stiff metal wrist brace may alleviate the symptoms.

 

[msieweke]

Your description sounds like peripheral neuropathy, which can be caused by B12 deficiency. It's cheap/easy to do a trial of B12 (1000 mcg/day of methylcobalamin) to see if it helps. There's a blood test, but the reference range is too wide and it's not useful if you're already taking B12. It should be over 500 pg/ml if you're not taking B12. If you're taking B12 is should be higher.

Several common medicines lower B12 - metformin, PPIs, H2 blockers, etc.

Another possibility is B6. B6 helps with carpal tunnel, also. Again, cheap to do a trial to see if that helps. It's probably a good idea to take a multi-B formula, since the B vitamins work best together.

 

[JDARNELL]

I have some nerve damage in a hand and sometimes have a numbing feeling in the morning especially. Turns out my body doesn’t make a certain chemical which contributes to it. I take deplin and it helps so much. I can tell when I am not taking it. Dr recommended it.

 

[dixonge]

Peripheral neuropathy can also be a symptom of diabetes.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352061

 

[ckelly78z]

check put Reynaud disease.

I believe this is what I sometimes suffer from...when really cold, I lose feeling in my fingers, and they turn blue/white until I run them under warm water for awhile.

I am on blood thinners already.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

For the past 12 months or so I have noticed a weird sensation in my hands where the feel like they are going asleep or have an annoying tingling. It hasn't affected hand strength or ability to hold anything. I have my annual physical this Tuesday and will run the issue by my PCP. Just wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them and if so, cause and remedy, if any. I know asking for medical advice on any internet forum is not such a wise thing but just wanted to throw this out there. Thanks in advance.

Yes, this sounds exactly what happened to my hands. For me it was peripheral neuropathy, the first sign of my diabetes 3 years ago. The A1C test with my next physical confirmed it.

 

[imoldernu]

Your description sounds like peripheral neuropathy, which can be caused by B12 deficiency. It's cheap/easy to do a trial of B12 (1000 mcg/day of methylcobalamin) to see if it helps. There's a blood test, but the reference range is too wide and it's not useful if you're already taking B12. It should be over 500 pg/ml if you're not taking B12. If you're taking B12 is should be higher.

Several common medicines lower B12 - metformin, PPIs, H2 blockers, etc.

Another possibility is B6. B6 helps with carpal tunnel, also. Again, cheap to do a trial to see if that helps. It's probably a good idea to take a multi-B formula, since the B vitamins work best together.

A little more on polyneruopathy. (peripheral), being the extremities. Commonly attributed to diabetes, but not necessarily.

For me, back in 2107, wrongly diagnosed as carpal tunnel, meaning an operation. No help at all. Dr.s' wanted to atribute it to diabetes, but not the case for me.

So today... little to no feeling in the finger tips, both hands, and no sense of temperature, so I have to be careful. Typing is difficult, as it's easy to hit two keys or the wrong key. Takes twice as long as before. A common aside to this is "trigger finger".

I don't know of a cure, but the loss of the sense of touch, and yes... the pins and needles is another nuisance. I take Gabapentin which helps alleviate this.

The good part... for me at least, was that the onset lasted for 12 years, and I've gotten used to it, and it never went into my feet. If that's the worst of being 84, it's all riight with me.

One more thing. While in bed, flattening the hands between pillows tend to help the natural tendency for hands to curl up ... associated with age.

If there's bright side to all of this, it's that it is not termnal.

Good luck!

 

[Fermion]

I have had numbness in my pinky and ring finger for about, oh, 15 years now. First it was only the left hand but about 12 years ago it started up in the right hand (though not as bad). It is an ulnar nerve phenomenon. I have had nerve conduction studies done that do show a poor signal transmission down my arm. I think they "sort of" pinpointed it to the elbows, a place where the ulnar nerve passes through a narrow channel and can become pinched. The operation to fix this is beyond scary imo so I have just learned to live with it. Most of the time I don't even notice it, except when I sleep on my arm, those fingers go numb much much faster than the rest of my hand or sometimes when I am typing on the keyboard.

Not a lot of help I guess, but at least know someone has been able to function with some numbness for 15 years.

 

[JoeWras]

Definitely discuss with your Doc.
Mine was/is caused from impinged nerves in my shoulder joints. I've had surgery to remove calcium deposits, but didn't completely resolve.
Could be arthritis, carpel tunnel, ??

The peripheral neuropathy is possible, as others mentioned, but I want to also give pacergal a chance here with good points.

frayne, you sound a lot like me. I don't have diabetes or PN, but I get this too. I also had lower back surgery.

Here's the thing: I have osteoarthritis. It is subtly affecting all my joints, including my shoulder joints and cervical vertebrae. I've learned to live with it. But on some days, I get radiculopathy down my arms to my hands. No need for surgery, just irritations. Other days, it is fine. Then the next day, I get a tingle in my foot. Sigh.

 

[Mdlerth]

Being a proactive patient helps the doctor help you

Two more potential suspects to mention to your PCP:

DW recurrently experiences a combination of tingling & numbness as a consequence of Multiple Sclerosis.

Tingling in hands and feet also is a symptom of a systemic allergic response. Think about possible environmental or ingested allergens which correlate with the sensations.