Tingling and numbness in extremities

Question

About a month ago out if the blue my husband started experiencing digestion issues and started having chest pains. We went to the doctor thinking it was related to heart. He had three EKG's done and a stress test and everything came out fine. A week after his chest pain he started having numbness in his left arm...we thought this was heart again but since all the tests came out fine we didn't know what it was. A week later he started having tingling and numbness in both his wrists and fingers. When I researched about it it said it was carpal tunnel syndrome. What baffles me is how the digestion issue that came out of nowhere triggered all this. Now a month later his chest pain has completely gone away. Digestion is 99% better and the tingling and numbing went away EXCEPT when he sleeps at night he gets numbness and tingling in his left arm. I am so worried. Not sure what this is. One day he said he had the constant feeling of going to urinate like 5 times in couple hours but when he did he only urinated a little bit. I am so scared. I wonder if his symptoms are related to MS.

jemma116 · Accepted Answer

The numbness in the arms are likely to be spine related.
A massage by a qualified physiotherapist may help.

For the digestion problems: no fried or heavily spiced foods and no fatty foods; cut our or cut down on sugary, processed and junk foods; sugary and fizzy drinks. Light, small meals are better and soups - no cream or butter.  Eating small meals more often with healthy snacks in between is much better than eating a lot in one sitting.

No food before bed time and no lying down for at least an hour after eating or drinking anything.  This will help stop any acid reflux.

Keep off citrus fruits, apples should be fine.
Keep off the white bread.

Rice and boiled potatoes will be fine, but be careful what you put on them - no fatty, highly spiced or flavoured foods.  Boiled plain vegetables will be fine too.

Boiled lean chicken and poached white fish should be fine.

Keep a written record of what is eaten and drunk and note any symptoms to avoid eating and drinking what causes a problem.

There are remedies for digestion problems that can be purchased from the pharmacy and the doctor can prescribe different types of medications to help.

Digestion problems can be caused by a number of different problems -  stress, anxiety, acid reflux, hiatus hernia, etc.

jemma116 · Answer

Anxiety and stress can cause many problems and digestive and heartburn issues can be caused by stress.  At the age of 17 I was being treated for a stomach ulcer and put on a bland diet - I had no ulcer - it was stress due to work.  I was prescribed with medication to calm my nerves which helped.

Even if your husband is at home, the stress will be still inside and he may be very good at concealing how he feels.  He still be may be stressed without realising that he is.

If he is still having heartburn and digestive problems, he does need to see his doctor.  The doctor can prescribe the appropriate medication and if that does not work, there are different ones that could help better.

Sometimes having a bacterial infection like Helicobacter Pylori can cause stomach problems and ulcers.  A stool or breath test is done to find out if the cause is by this bacteria and 2 different antibiotics and a stomach remedy is prescribed.  

Obviously the best cure would be relieve the stress, but this is not always possible if it is work related.  

I don't think it is his heart hurting, but more likely to be felt as a tightness in his chest more than likely caused by anxiety.

He needs an appointment with the doctor.

Pins and needles felt in the legs and feet can be from lower spinal problems.

Godslove15 · Answer

It appears that all the symptoms he been having including heartburn is from stress. He is highly stressed at work and he said two days after having a very stressful morning he started getting tingling in his fingers and also his toes (this was the first time in toes) and his heart started hurting. I have a hard time relating heartburn to stress. How is that possible for someone to have heartburn and indigestion from stress? It started overnight and been going on for the past two months. He gets heartburn most of the time when he is home and not stressed.

Godslove15 · Answer

Thank You everyone for the comments and helpful answers. He is doing much better now. All the symptoms has pretty much gone except the digestion issue. He also has numbness in his arms when he lies down to go sleep. Hopefully everything will go away soon.

jemma116 · Answer

Pins and needles can happen for a number of reasons.

The pins and needles in his hands and fingers, like you mention is highly likely to be from the carpal tunnel when the nerves are impinged.  Does he do a lot of repetitive work?  A nerve conduction test would show whether there is a carpal tunnel problem.

Pins and needles running down the arm, are usually from the cervical area, which is the neck bones.  

Pins and needles in the feet can be referred from the lower spine.

Pins and needles can also be felt due to nerve damage from diabetes.

The digestion problem may just have been coincidental, with him worrying about his symptoms.

If you husband experiences a problem to urinate, but has difficulty to pass any urine, get him to book an urgent appointment to get checked out.  Symptoms like this can be caused by a urinary infection and an enlarged prostate in men.  When the bladder is not able to be emptied it can become very serious and life threatening.  

If your husband has not had a scan or xray of his spine, it may be worth getting that done to see if there is any degenerative bone changes.

Make sure he books an appointment to see his doctor to get his prostate gland checked out, a blood HBA1C blood test or a glucose test to check for pre diabetes or diabetes, imaging done on his spine, nerve conduction on his hands and a referral to a physiotherapist.