What causes: hands get numb at night?

[Alk8944]

Paradise Road is correct. If the numbness involves the thumb, forefinger and middle finger then the problem is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If it is the little and ring fingers then the issue is Ulnar Neuropathy that comes from the elbow.

Carpal Tunnel is relatively simple to repair, even more now than years ago. when the wrist was opened.Now it is generally performed arthroscopically. I have had both wrists done years ago.

Ulnar Neuropathy is more complicated. I have it and have discussed it with my G.P. who advises strongly against surgery as it is often unsuccessful and can result in making things worse. She has it herself(!) and recommends living with it.

You are going to have to be evaluated by a neurologist before anything is done anyway, so get it done as soon as possible. Neither condition will get better on it's own!

Paradise Road "...she has had Carpal Tunnel surgery on one side...won't have it done on the other...". I suspect she had her surgery back in the day when the wrist was opened and than you were in a wrist brace that held the wrist in a reflexed position for weeks during healing. Current methods are nothing like that, no brace usually, and recovery is far shorter. My wife has had both sides done by the newer method and was hardly inconvenienced by either at all. Letting the condition go can result in permanent, irreversible incapacitation. Seriously, encourage her to see a doctor about the second surgery.

 

[walkin jack]

I had the same thing. Tired of the surgeries, which can sometimes cause more problems than they cure, and broke down and tried acupuncture.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the worst, my discomfort and pain went from 8 or 9 to 1 or 2.

I had 6 treatments. I thought the problem might return but that was back in May and if anything it is slowly getting a little better.

It is not painful and IT WORKS!!! Did for me anyway...

Please let us know if you try it, how it worked for you. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Rule3]

Mother always said you would go blind but never anything about "numbness"

 

[Wee Hooker]

I get that occasionally. I thought maybe it was because I was sleeping on my arm in a way that cut off my circulation. Now I suspect it's my wife slapping them as I try to act on my dreams

 

[H Richard]

There are multiple reasons why this happens. You need to see a Dr, and a neurologist. They would need to run several tests, including an electronic stimulation test (such fun). It can be a simple carpal tunnel, complex carpal tunnel, nerve damage, C6 cervical disc problem, etc. You need to get a definitive diagnosis. Have your primary care physician refer you to a specialist.

 

[Steve912]

Mother always said you would go blind but never anything about "numbness"

Actually, she told you that you'd go blind, become a dolt, and lose
your memory...

 

[pasound]

I agree with muddocktor's early diagnosis. Have the same problem in my left hand. My shoulder socket was broken 35 years ago in a fall - not really fixable. Leaves me with limited vertical mobility and a pinched nerve. As long as the numbness goes away after a little movement, things are good - it's a pinched nerve. If not - it's blood flow, and that's a doctor visit.

 

[ParadiseRoad]

Paradise Road is correct. If the numbness involves the thumb, forefinger and middle finger then the problem is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If it is the little and ring fingers then the issue is Ulnar Neuropathy that comes from the elbow.

Carpal Tunnel is relatively simple to repair, even more now than years ago. when the wrist was opened.Now it is generally performed arthroscopically. I have had both wrists done years ago.

Ulnar Neuropathy is more complicated. I have it and have discussed it with my G.P. who advises strongly against surgery as it is often unsuccessful and can result in making things worse. She has it herself(!) and recommends living with it.

You are going to have to be evaluated by a neurologist before anything is done anyway, so get it done as soon as possible. Neither condition will get better on it's own!

Paradise Road "...she has had Carpal Tunnel surgery on one side...won't have it done on the other...". I suspect she had her surgery back in the day when the wrist was opened and than you were in a wrist brace that held the wrist in a reflexed position for weeks during healing. Current methods are nothing like that, no brace usually, and recovery is far shorter. My wife has had both sides done by the newer method and was hardly inconvenienced by either at all. Letting the condition go can result in permanent, irreversible incapacitation. Seriously, encourage her to see a doctor about the second surgery.

...my wife had the open surgery many years ago...it worked until she returned to her hand work intensive job...and it immediately returned...

...she was able to change jobs within the same company...and that helped enough that she retired from there this summer after 35 years...

...now she's hand pain free in retirement...

 

[Doug627]

Space alien tests in the mother ship. I would still get it checked out. You may just be sleeping wrong. Better safe than sorry.

 

[GWW]

Fellow ex-mechanic, I twisted wrenches for 25 years until I lifted a trans one day and felt a pop in my lower back, well I did continue for another year trying to fight through it then one day my doctor told me, "You have to face it, your just hurting yourself, you have to give up the mechanic work." Five years later the neck pain started, it's the toll of either bending over the hood or looking up at the bottom of a car on the lift.

The numbness in my hands is from the pinched nerves in my neck, it comes and goes, usually worse in the morning when I wake up then it goes away after an hour or so.

See a doctor, like others said lots of things that can cause it, don't let it go until something really bad takes hold, life is to short.

A few years ago my voice got hoarse, didn't go away and I had no soreness. I was debating to let it go and see if it would pass but I decided to see a doctor, he found a tiny tumor on my vocal cord, cancer. But because it was caught early they got rid of it with radiation treatments. The doc said I was lucky it started on the vocal cord and effected my voice, he said if it started elsewhere it would have grown until it made it hard to swallow and then I would have faced a different outcome. OK, moral to the story, don't let it go until it creates bigger problems! Call tomorrow and make an appointment!

 

[shouldazagged]

In my case, confirmed by doctors, it's both carpal tunnel syndrome and poor circulation. It's worse on my left arm and hand. I have almost no surface sensation in the thumb and first two fingers of the left hand, and it's limited in the right. It's only at the skin level. I can feel pressure and pain in the underlying tissue.

I sleep wearing a brace on my right wrist, which helps some. Because of my age and health problems I'm probably not a candidate for surgery, so I just live with it and do some hand exercises.

 

[Ματθιας]

Get some Baoding Balls.

They help with dexterity, circulation, strength, and probably help CTS/Neuropathy.

They're cheap and won't hurt anything.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Keep moving, message affected areas as much as possible, and if you buy a brace - don't go cheap. The carpal tunnel is caused by not moving fingers both ways. It helps me greatly to stretch my fingers toward the back of my hand and hold them there several times a day. Got everything back eventually. Good luck.