arms and hands falling asleep

[ang]

does anybody else suffer from their arms or hands "falling asleep" while they're sleeping? i've noticed its been happening more often lately that i'll wake up in the night (sometimes more than once) because my arm / hand has fallen asleep. i don't think my sleeping habits have changed. its kind of annoying (since it disrupts my sleep) and also kind of worrysome. is this the beginning stages or neuropathy? just wanted to get some thoughts / opinions from all the people in the know here on the forum. its definitely a concern of mine and on my list of questions when i see my dr. in january.

thanks.

[belyro]

does anybody else suffer from their arms or hands "falling asleep" while they're sleeping? i've noticed its been happening more often lately that i'll wake up in the night (sometimes more than once) because my arm / hand has fallen asleep. i don't think my sleeping habits have changed. its kind of annoying (since it disrupts my sleep) and also kind of worrysome. is this the beginning stages or neuropathy? just wanted to get some thoughts / opinions from all the people in the know here on the forum. its definitely a concern of mine and on my list of questions when i see my dr. in january.

thanks.

Sounds like carpal tunnel. I've often had that and it is directly related to how much I'm using my hands during the day, and for what. When I worked in a factory, and ran a machine that required me to have my wrists fully extended for much of the day, I would wake up with the "sleeping hands/arms" probably 4 nights a week....and sometimes it really hurt. These days (now that I'm in an office), I get it mostly on the days that I'm doing a lot of typing. I find if I don't use my hands/wrists for as much, I really don't have problems with it.

I would say it's very unlikely that it's neuropathy, but some others may want to weigh in on this one.

[ang]

i never thought of carpel tunnel. i sit at a desk and computer for most of the day every day (yawn). maybe that has something to do with it. hopefully the doctor will have something to say about it.

[belyro]

i never thought of carpel tunnel. i sit at a desk and computer for most of the day every day (yawn). maybe that has something to do with it. hopefully the doctor will have something to say about it.

My understanding is that this is a very common symptom of carpal tunnel. Much less worrisome than neuropathy. :)

[Gangrel]

I find i have this problem, but i know it's because i sleep on my side and curl my arms and hands under my pillow. Thus, my 100 pound head full of rocks is pressing on my arms and probably causing it.....

do you do something like this?

[xMenace]

I find i have this problem, but i know it's because i sleep on my side and curl my arms and hands under my pillow. Thus, my 100 pound head full of rocks is pressing on my arms and probably causing it.....

do you do something like this?

Yup. Same mold.

[rudi]

I developed numbness in both hands and arms. It was all carpal tunnel, tenosynovitis and DeQuervains something or other. I had seven hand surgeries, fine now. Working at a computer and being diabetic is not the greatest combo. See your MD about it.

[belyro]

Is it dangerous to leave carpal tunnel? Isn't it just an annoyance? Can it actually cause permanent damage?

[JasonJayhawk]

Is it dangerous to leave carpal tunnel? Isn't it just an annoyance? Can it actually cause permanent damage?

Danger, no. Painful, very much yes! Ignoring it will make it get worse, to the point of disabled hands. Don't let it get that far.

A neurologist can actually test the conductivity of the nerves with a simple test to determine if it's carpal tunnel. X-rays might also show compression of the nerve. When it gets very serious, surgery might help.

One home method of detecting your risk for carpal tunnel is pretty simple. While standing, hold your arms outward, parallel to the ground, as if you are getting ready to take flight. Keep your hands straight out, too, with fingertips stiff, pointed away from you, palms facing towards the ground.

Then, bend at your wrists to force your fingertips upward, but keep your hand flat.

If you have problems doing this trick, you'll know you've got problems headed towards you.

Tingly hands/feet can also be caused by other things, and a electromyogram can help diagnose it! I had tingly hands/feet when hyperthyroidism was at its peak.

[liz32]

mine fall asleep to the point of being numb: and sometimes it's only down one side of my arm and hand...usually it's all over. It's interesting to see that others have this same problem. The chiropracter (not that I really put much faith in him) said that becuase I sleep in a fetal position I'm pinching off the blood to my arm becuase of the angle of my head (up too far) while I'm sleeping. Is there really anything you can do about it? I've tried trying to retrain my body to sleep on my back and I am getting better at it but still most on my sleep is on my side.
Liz

[mark-TN]

Harold made a great post about this subject over a year or so ago. He explained that hands can fall asleep at night from sleeping with your wrists bent. This compresses the nerve and causes your hand and arms to fall asleep. The remedy is to train your wrists not to bend during the night. He suggested a wrist brace that will keep the wrist straight. I was having this problem. Instead of buying wrist braces I just consciously fell asleep with my wrists straight (either flat on the mattress of laid out flat on a pillow. This worked very well to train my wrists to stay straight during the night and I do not have the problem anymore.

Mark

PS- Harold, I never did thank you for that post. It was a big help. Thank you very much.

[Harold]

Mark, Your Welcomed! Although I used a brace from the doc on the one hand I trained the other one without in the same manner you did. Sometimes when a hand gets ornery I'll stick it open under the pillow and put my head on it.

[bfitz]

Was researching this problem and found this thread, so I thought I'd resurrect it. I've experienced this problem in recent months, and find it is definitely related to low blood sugar. If I wake up with my hands fallen asleep, I test my BS and usually it is low. This is a new symptom of low BS for me and I wonder if it is a sign or precursor symptom of neuropathy. I'm 35 and have been diabetic since I was 11 years old, so maybe it's about time? I've also read it affects feet first usually, but my feet are fine....this is just my hands, and it's more a numbness than a tingling. Oddly, it does not occur during daytime hypoglycemia, just at night or when first waking up. I know this is related to my sugar levels at the very least, and wonder if anyone has any information about this, or generally about the mechanism by which hypoglycemia causes hand and lip numbness?

[glashalful]

I can remember MANY years ago slowly waking up one morning, rolling over, and my arm didn't come with me! In my sleepy haze, I "pulled" my shoulder over, and the entire arm came flopping over and bonked me in the face! Never had such a weird thing happen! Took forever for the darn thing to "wake up". This was years before my diabetes.

Anyway, having said that, I now have numbness quite a bit in my hands and arms overnight -- I personally wouldn't jump to any conclusions that it has to be medical -- what about your mattress?? How old is it? How hard is it?? Even if you need a firm mattress, you can still get one of those memory foam toppers quite inexpensively at the local department store. So nice and cushy!!!

Lots of good ideas on this thread -- try those first -- carpal tunnel surgery is no fun!

Good Luck!

Elizabeth

[bfitz]

Well, actually, I've slept in all sorts of different conditions lately, Long story, but the short version is I'm a long distance hiker and have been on the trail all summer, as well as the last few summers and have slept mostly in a tent on a thin bedroll, but I've also slept in beds in hotels, on couches and in various peoples houses...and the condition seems pretty persistent regardless of where I sleep...also, it's the same in both hands...and goes away when I correct my blood sugar (although sometimes if it was really low and very numb there is a sort of lingering effect that takes a bit longer to dissipate). My sugar control is definitely not as good as it should be lately, and I wonder if this has contributed...but there is no denying that there is a link between these symptoms and my blood sugar, If my sugar is normal to high in the morning I don't feel it, but if it's a little low then it's sure to happen....I plan to consult my doctor, but trying to get some info beforehand, like has anyone been diagnosed with neuropathy and experienced similar symptoms? And what exactly does neuropathy feel to those people? And, why and how does low blood sugar cause numbness in general?

[notme]

I have been diagnosed with neuropathy in the radial nerve of both hands. I don't suffer numbness in my hands from low blood sugar. I do have a slight numbness in my baby finger and ring finger on both hands. I take a very small dose of neurontin for neuropathy because without it, I have pain in my elbows that runs down into my hands and fingers.

Maybe someone else here has the numbness problem you are describing. I haven't seen a thread on it in the past, that I can remember.

[bfitz]

Okay, the more I read about carpal tunnel syndrome the more my symptoms seem to match up, but why the low blood sugar connection....? I've read that low blood sugar can cause numbness in the hands and now I'm experiencing it for the first time after many years of diabetes, along with symptoms that seem to be carpal tunnel, except they seem to be occur only along with low blood sugar. This is why I'd like to better understand how hypoglycemia causes numbness...I can't seem to find any information about it online...is it the effect on the brain from lack of sugar or some effect directly on the nerves? I know high blood sugar damages nerves, so they are sensitive to sugar in some way...anyhow thanks for the responses...I suppose it's good to know whatever I'm experiencing doesn't seem to fit any classic symptoms of what I most fear.

[bfitz]

I just read that people with diabetes and other metabolic disorders that affect nerves are at a higher risk fo carpal tunnel, but also have read that carpal tunnel is usually the effect of some outside pressure on the nerve rather than something wrong with the nerve itself...could this mean my apparent carpal tunnel could also itself be diabetic neoropathy of some kind? Jeez...I guess it's time to go ask the doctor, but I'm still interested in what others have experienced....