Is this a pinched nerve or something more serious?

[skleep]

Last night I wore a very tight coat, as well as a backpack, and I held a container of food in my hand (with my elbow bent) for about thirty minutes while walking home.  The circulation in my arm felt like it was completely cut off, but I figured it was fine as long as I took my jacket off upon getting home.

Well, I felt fine at home but when I woke up in the morning, my pointer finger was very slightly tingly, and my entire arm still felt like there was poor circulation.  My boyfriend says it's probably just a pinched nerve from carrying the food like that all night, and my mom says the same thing.  But I'm very worried it could be MS.  I'm a notorious worrywart and I have OCD, so I don't want to go overboard, but it seems like tingling hands were the first sign for a lot of people with MS.  What other symptoms should I look for, and how worried should I be?  Do you think this is just a pinched nerve?

[skleep]

My fingers have stopped tingling on and off and at this point it's almost entirely gone.  Now I'm noticing mild muscle fatigue all over, although everyone I know is telling me that it's just psychosomatic because I discovered what ALS is and started freaking out.  I was able to lift weights this morning so I may still be OK.

But yeah, the finger tingling is about 99% gone, so it may be nothing.  I notice it comes back a little bit whenever I twist that wrist.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your symptoms, though these are likely symptoms resulting from muscular fatigue and expected to settle in a few days. I would suggest taking plenty of fluids and avoiding heavy work with the arm for a few days. If the symptoms do not seem to resolve in 5-10 days, you may consider an evaluation by a primary care physician to look for other possibilities such as infections, inflammations, nerve impingement, muscular/ tendon injuries etc.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!