Loss of strength in hands on laughing!?!

[keeponsmilein]

Hi, wondred if anyone else has had this, since I was a small child
both my hands can loose strength and ability to grasp ect if I've really laughed , sounds weird i know, and 35 years on its still happens, am i nuts or has anyone else had this???

[keeponsmilein]

look i know this sounds like im at it, but please be assured im not.  Breif history... Had a schwannoma tumour removed four years ago from C4, because it had been there so long ( approx 12 years maybe more!!) I have permanent damage so lose strenght in hands,legs etc. Problem I have is when I really laugh I have no fine motor movements in fingers for at least half an hour afterwards. Like  i cant lift a cup or use a pen. On thinking back this used to happen as a small child in school. I dont have any appointment with surgeon now as my last MRI was clear. apart from confirming the kink in spinal cord, is it worth mentioning it to him in a call?  Thanks for any input folks   Anne x

[Annie62]

I would mention it to your neurologist, especially if your hands become so weak you have trouble picking up a cup.  Lots of strange things have very logical explanations.  It doesn't sound as if it had anything to do with your surgery, though, if the weakness happened when laughing even as a child (unless the surgery was done in your childhood, too).  Could it possibly be you lose strength when you just become very emotional (laughing hard would qualify I would think)?  I know I became weaker a couple times (especially with my speech) when I was upset/stressed/angry.  You should do a search typing in the keywords schwanomma (sp?), laughing, muscle weakness, etc. and see what you come up with, if anything.

[REILYSMOMMA]

I have the same problem, Its always happened ever since i was a kid but i always thought it was normal and never thought anything of it till i pointed it out one day to one my boyfriend and he said that he never had that problem. It kinda scares me a little bit and i would like to know why my hands lose strength whenever i laugh real hard.

[Annie40]

It's happened to me all my life, too. I remember in school I wouldn't be able to grasp the pen/pencil to write after I had laughed really hard...it still happens to me to this day (I'm 40).

[talicole]

ya girly i feeel u so much when I laff 2 much my hand is so weak xD my frend has 2 write for me hahaha add me on MSN girl ^.^

[lisa774]

I have this same problem, it's so weird! If I laugh in class or at work, I can't hold my pen to write anymore. It only lasts a few minutes, at the most 15 minutes. And it's only in my right hand, my left hand is totally fine.

I found some articles talking about this type of symptom occurring in people with narcolepsy and/or cataplexy, but I don't have either of those problems- just the hand. I hope it's not progressive! Yours never got any worse did it?

[7yoyo7]

Same thing for me. This thread is old but I just realized that I could go around the Internet to see if other people have the same thing.
Glad to see that I am not the only one.

I am 26 years old and I have always had this "symptom", the 2 hands when I am laughing. Everytime I was laughing in class I just could not write anymore until I calm down (which make my other friends laugh).

[Milliepochet]

Same thing happens to me!  I'm 39 years old and it's happened since I was a child. I convinced myself it was normal, despite all of my classmates always finding it peculiar and laughing at the symptom- which in turn made me laugh and just prolonged the weakness. Sometimes it's not even a hard laugh - even with a silly slaphappy moment (which disproves some theories I've heard about hyperventilating or lack of oxygen from laughing hard).  Not as frequently, it happens absent of laughter too!  Should I be concerned?

[BozHog]

This happened to me all the time through my school years and years after. It hadn't happened for many years.... until this morning! I'm 49. I used to think this was a common thing, but obviously it's not. I'm surprised at what little information there is on this subject.
I don't do a lot of writing by hand anymore, so maybe I just haven't noticed it.
Now I would really find out what's going on.

[Phoenixglaid]

I've have the same problem for as long as I can remember. I'm 26 and though mine is the worst when laughing hard, I find that there are times it just happens when i'm angry or sad. It's almost like cataplexy of just the hands. I was hoping someone had found a name for it.

[Sangrail]

It's a mild form of cataplexy.
"Cataplexy is a sudden and transient episode of loss of muscle tone, often triggered by emotions."

[ayushee]

yes even i face the samething every time i laugh
but dnt kno the reason behind it .
and my father used face this also , so may b this is heredity!!

[redsummer2000]

My son has the problem and he is 11 years old. He told me that he has had this problem for some years now, but he has never told me; or maybe I was doing something else and not paying full attention.  At any rate, I am surprised to see that no one has a diagnosis for this besides "cataplexy," and that so many people have been experiencing this since childhood.  I will continue to do my research.

[Its_Laughable]

My siblings and I have the same thing, as did our mother, and I think her mother, as well. If I mention it to a doctor, they've "never heard of anything like that."  Seems to be familial in my case!  I don't even have to laugh - all I have to do is THINK of something funny, and I can't write or pick up a teacup.  It's a tad worse in my right (dominant) hand, so I learned early to write with my left hand as a backup.  I remember taking a spelling test in elementary school, and some kid said something funny, and after that I couldn't keep up with the words the teacher was giving us to spell.  Finally ended up trying to hold the pencil with both hands.  I also have this thumb phenomenon when I first wake up in the morning, or if I get very, very relaxed.  LOL - it's kind of a curse!

[JulianRamia]

Lol I've had this problem since elementary and I'm in 11th grade now. My thumb and fingers would feel ticklish when I would go to write and that just makes me laugh more. I always wondered what it was. Wow this thread is from 2006 :o well hello from 2017.

[Nonajay]

I literally just googled this as I have had this issue since childhood. Dont have it as often now as I am a misery arse. But still get it even if I THINK something is funny. So glad I am not the only one. Looks like we are all trying to find answers!

[jeef101]

I have the exact same problem and I'm so relieved that I'm not the only one! I just wish we could spread the word and make this known enough to have research conducted.

[ksl2017]

I have had this my whole life as well! I thought I was nuts! I'm now 29 and I agree with the last comment, research needs to be done. It's a horrible feeling to not be able to write anything or pick up anything just from laughing!

[Themanhimself]

I also have it whenever I laugh I can't even hold a pen properly if I write its as if I'm writing with my left hand and it ain't pretty one day I was taking notes and a kid in my class said something funny ...I started laughing so hard and continued to write but I couldnt..so it's normal for me

[darkenobel]

So this is going to sound slightly redundant, but I have had this condition since early elementary school, from what I can remember. I would get the giggles or just start laughing for a little too long, and then have to write some assignment or other down in class and not be able to. Annoying as it is, for me it only lasted for maybe a minute or two afterwards; then I would be fine. Lately, however, it has been happening more often, sometimes when I'm not even laughing that hard. Today, I got a checkup at the doctor's and asked my doctor about it, to which he replied that he had no idea what it was, possible pinching of the ulnar nerve. I've seen some other pages discussing it, but it seems like nobody has a name for it. The best answer I can think of is - as lisa774 suggested - slight cataplexy, while I do not have the usual narcolepsy or other symptoms. Whatever it is, it isn't serious, but if you have it please don't just read, post! I want to see how widespread this is.

[chloedanab1994]

I’m 24 and I get this too! I thought it was due to an from injury years ago but I’ve had countless MRIs and there’s nothing to pinpoint it to! One doctor did say that it could be an anxiety reaction to holding the laugh in and being nervous to be the person to keep on laughing? It happens even when I don’t physically laugh too though!

[Munchkin_7]

I’m 26 and have had this and anxiety since childhood too. It could be some kind of release of emotion/anxiety maybe, interesting!

[BiiteMy_Potato]

Like most people here I’ve had this for a long time, never really thought anything of it until it hindered me from taking notes in class a year or so ago. I read about cataplexy and pinched nerbed but I just don’t have the symptoms. Someone misspronounced something and I found this really funny while I was using the PS4 controller and I had to quit the game cause my hands would not cooperate. I really hope someone studies this because there are quite a few posts on this site alone— it’s kind of crazy that no ones done so.

[Parpariwindi]

I have the same experience when ever i laugh

[bac0812]

I have had the same problem ever since I can remember and have mentioned it to my doctors and they didn’t know what caused it. I notice it when I’m using the laser light to play with my cats and I always start laughing so hard and then I can’t hold the button in because I lose all my strength in my hands.  It will come back in a few minutes but is frustrating when it happens.

[Laurence_page]

Hello, I am 25, and I have had this problem since i can remember it happens especially when I laugh! Suddenly loose strength in fingers and hand, its weird. I'm glad I'm not the only one, Looking at what that person posted about cataplexy i think it might be that. We all have cataplexy.

[Laurence_page]

I've also come up with my own name for the condition, 'floppy hand syndrome'