tingling in hands and feet

[Kevin Larkin]

>
> I am a 35 year old male who has trouble getting a diagnosis for my ongoing problem. I have been having problems on and off with a tingling sensation in my hands usually when I woke up in the morning. This has been going on since I was around 19. I attributed it to my sleeping position. It got worse when I was in college and was working a summer job at a bottling plant. I would wake up in the middle of the night and both my hands and arms would get the same tingling sensation like when your foot goes asleep. I went to the doctors and he said I was probably allergic to the rubber gloves being used. I switched to different glove but it didn't alleviate the problem luckily I made it through the summer and the problem seemed to subside. For the next 10 years or so I still would have the tingling feeling when I awoke in the morning and occasionally I would awake unable to move my right arm at all. I would then have to lift it with my other arm in order to get the circulation moving once again. Recently it has seemed to be gotten worse and I would
wake up and have numbness in the middle/ring/pinkie fingers I went to a neurologist and he diagnosed me with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. I left it at that for a year,  but during that year the same systems seemed to be occurring with my feet also. Whenever I was at rest especially as soon as I laid down at night I could feel the circulation worsening in my
extremities. And occasionally calluses would form on my feet that I attributed to the overall loss of circulation to my feet. I went back to the neurologist and got an EMG on my right arm which came back with the same carpal tunnel diagnosis. This however didn't speak to my problem with my feet so he sent me for an MRI of my lower spine which wound up showing a slight bulging disk which my regular physician said could not be causing my problems either. Now it seems as though the tingling and numbness has progressed into more of an overall burning sensation (especially in the elbow) and constant joint pain. I still get the tingling on and off but the joint pain and burning sensation is now more constant. I just recently got a shooting pain in my leg that I never had before. I am a computer programmer so the carpal tunnel diagnosis makes sense but I can't help but feel that is the sole cause of my problems.
>
> I don't know if it will help or if it is related but last year It was also discovered the I have congenital emphysema. I went for an xray then an MRI with discoloration in order to diagnose that I had this since birth.
>Also I had a heart murmur as a kid but grew out of it. I also have a floater in my left eye and every once in a while I will get this bruise on my upper left arm around my tricep area for no reason at all. Like I said I don't know if any of this matters but this is really driving me crazy and any help would be appreciated.
>
>Kevin_larkin***@****

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Kevin Larkin:

Sorry to hear about your problems.  Difficult to tell you what is going on.  To have carpal tunnel (did your say both arms?)at such a young age is unusual.  Then to also experience symptoms in the legs.  I assume that all the lab work has been normal.  One entity that might give you some of the symptoms you describe is amyloidosis.  I would have your physician check this out, it is more of a long shot since your so young, but it can happen.  Another entity is lupus or collagen vascular disease.  But since you likely had a negative ANA and sedimentation rate, this would be unlikely.  May be you might want to gather all the information with all the results from your tests and go to a large medical center and get a second opinion.  Sorry, but I can't add much.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[Lee]

Have you ever consulted a chiropractor?  I had many of the same symptoms you describe and after a number of chiropractic sessions my symptoms greatly decreased.  I have seen many cases where someone went from doctor to neuroligist to other specialists, and after several treatments with a chiropractor, found dramatic relief, practically eliminating the troublesome symptoms.  I can't say that it is always the answer, but it is certainly worth a try.  Good luck!

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

thanks for the comments.

CCF Neuro MD

[Joyce Small]

I am a 54 year old woman..I have been experiencing
the following and need some advice..
first of all I have been experiencing a tingling
sensation that radiates from my right elbow to
my right hand...I use a personal computer at
home...Second I have been experiencing a slight
bit of dizziness which started on Sunday...
I take Claritin-D allergy medicine and
it says on the bottle thatmedicine can cause
dizziness.  I also use reading glasses
and have been getting headaches behind
my eyes..like if from eye strain..
I haven't been experiencing any problem
using these glasses until the last few
days...Any advice?

[JP]

Have you looked into Raynaud's?  It is a circulation problem, usually of the extremities.  Do any of your nails ever look black and blue or even just white?  Are your hands and feet often cold and sometimes hot?  Is cold painful to them?  These are some of the symptoms of Raynaud's.  Just a thought.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Joyce Small:

I would see a neurologist about your tingling forearm.  Stop taking the claritin and see if it makes the dizziness go away.  Have your vision checked by an opthalmologist.

CCF Neuro MD

[Merryl Tamaka]

I also have the same problem with numbness in both my arms and only at night time, and only when I'm NOT leaning on them (ie. when I'm on my back) - in the last year during the day now my arms feel very weak, I can still lift the normal things but they feel similar to how we feel when we have overexercised, strained and a little trembling feeling inside my arms - during the night both my arms (at the same time) will go numb from my shoulders down to the tips of my fingers, other times during the night I would experience the numbness in my hands (middle, ring and pinkie fingers) in both hands, I could have episodes of this for months, then not experience for a few days/weeks then it will be back again (I have had this on and off for about 5 years now - I currently 37 female).  I have had an embolisation for an Dural Arteriovenious fistula (AVM, which was located near my brainstem, AVM wasn't removed, only embolised)  - doctors say it is not related - but after my operation I didn't experience the numbness for about 18 months - it has started to come back, more noticably this time.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Merryl:

I would go see a good neurologist, it may be that you have an ulnar entrappment.  It would give you the symptoms you describe.

CCF Neuro MD

[Suellen Heath]

Kevin:

I dont know why this was not mentioned to you..but you could have Peripheral Neuropathy ( nerve damage in the feet & hands). I have been dealing w/ it for 2 years now. The burning comes later and then the numbness can accompany it. I belong to the Neuropathy Association on the web site and it has been a big help to me. It is www.neuropathy.org/
Several people including myself had none of these symptoms until a disc injury. We dont know why the docs cant figure out that this PN is from back injuries also!

[Kim Barnard]

Kevin,
I have had similar symptoms to yours for years. I was recently diagnosed with HNPP(Hereditary Neuropathy with Pressure Palsies)
at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. You may want to check out this website for more information  www.hnpp.org
Hope this helps.
Kim

[Kevin Larkin]

Kim,

I checked out the web site www.hnpp.org and I think it describes  what I have been experiencing. I am going to present some of the information to my doctor and see what he thinks. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again I can't tell you what a relief it was to see that there might be an answer to what has been bothering me for so long.  

[Kim Barnard]

Kevin,
Glad that I could help, but thought I should warn you, all doctors are not familiar with HNPP. The blood test that revealed the HNPP in my case was only done after I suggested it to the neurologist at the Mayo Clinic. He did not believe that was my problem but did the test to rule it out. Sometimes, we need to take control of the situation ourselves to finally get a diagnosis. Like you, after reading this website, I was sure I had HNPP. We are the only ones who know how we really feel. Keep me posted, and good luck to you!

Kim

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

thanks for the comment.

CCF Neuro MD