MS

[Vanessa115]

Hi,
I am a 32 year old female.  I have a very bad habit of sitting on my couch and playing on my laptop.  I started to have numbness and/or tightness in my right hand.  I went to a doctor at the practice i use (mine was not available).  He proceeded to exam me by moving my hands around and basically shrugged it off.  He talked to me about heart disease because I have family history, and mentioned MS.  But that's all he did was say it and then went on talking about something else.  He never clarified.  It didn't really hit me until I got home.  Could I have MS?  Now I am freaking out a little bit.  I have had no other symptoms.  I thought it was carpal tunnel but he said he didn't think that was it because I wasn't waking up in the middle of the night with pain.  Any advice would be appreciated.

[Lulu54]

There was just a speaker at work this week on Carpal Tunnel disease - two hand surgeons who gave up their lunch hour to do a brown-bag luncheon talk.   I learned quite a bit in about 45 minutes from them.

First - carpal Tunnel (CT) usually causes numbness.  He said it is a blockage of the nerves and used the anaulogy of a garden hose.  If you put a concrete block on a garden hose, you would still get a trickle  of water coming through but the flow would be restricted.  That is what happens with CT  - the signal is interupted and the flow is restricted.  

Secondly - they were emphatic that the use of keyboards and computer mouses do not cause CT.  It is through the repetitive movement of our wrists in the WRONG POSITIONS  that causes damage to these nerves that move through this *tunnel*.  

They correct the problem surgically by snipping the side of the tunnel of ligaments to relieve the constriction of the nerves.  


CT can be diagnosed through EMG's - many of us have had EMG's on our legs or arms while working through our MS dx.  

It was a very interesting  and informative talk.  I hope something here was of help.

Lulu

[Vanessa115]

Thanks guys for your response.  He is not my normal doctor.  Thank GOD!  This guy is nuttier than a fruitcake.  LovemyBostons can you describe exacty how your hand/wrist felt?  Also how long did it last?   My hand just feels a little stiff (tight like it's swollen but you can't tell) and I have noticed some achiness but it is not "waking" me up as this doc said it should.  My mother has carpal Tunnel in her right hand.  This is what she thinks it is.  I am going back to my regular doctor on Monday.  I am going to try not to blast this doc out of the water because My husband and I both use the practice but I am gonna ask her what the heck he is talking about.
Vanessa

[shermay]

I agree totally with ess, doc's should not mention things such as MS without the MS protocol.  

I can imagine how nervous you are at the moment, when a Doc says somethig like this without the necessary back up - such as MRI's etc.  He should not have said this to you without strong medical proof!!

Debs

[LoveMyBostons]

When my doctors thought my hand numbness was due to carpal tunnel, they sent me to OT and the therapist there told me that pain is not always associated with CT. I would suggest you wear a wrist brace, especially when sleeping or keying. You could also ask for an EMG to determine if there is evidence of nerve damage in your major arm/wrist nerves.

[essdipity]

Hi Vanessa, and welcome.

Doctors should *not* mention serious diseases like MS and then just drop the subject. That is very irresponsible and uncaring.

It is highly unlikely that you have MS, based on the one symptom you report. However, there are nerve tests that can demonstrate whether or not your arm problem is from carpal tunnel or some other peripheral nerve disease. You can also experiment by changing the way you use your computer and seeing how your arm reacts.

If the problem persists you should be referred to a neurologist for evaluation. Don't see that doctor again---he's useless.

Hang in there.
ess