Pins and needles and numbness in hands and feet is this RA related?

[cate72]

Hi, can anyone help i was diagnosed with RA about 6 years ago and I am on Methotrexate 20mgs and things are going well, yes I have pain but I take analgesia and it mainly helps, but recently I've been getting numbness in my hands and feet. I have tripped and fallen a few times and things just seem to fall from my hands, I hate going to the GP to ask because I end up feeling like moaning pain in the butt. Please could someone tell me if this happens with RA or should I just muster the courage to go and see about it. X

[Sunflower62]

Firstly NEVER feel you can't go to your GPS your not moaning your explaining a symptom that is concerning you. I have an RA/RD helpline at the local hospital you phone leave your number and they call you back within 24 hours do you not have one of these at your hospital? I also get numbness and pins and needles in my hands feet and sometimes all over that every patient is different and it would be a good idea for you to get this checked out to see if there's anything that can be done to help you normally for pins and needles they prescribed a drug called gabapentin.

[cate72 in reply to Sunflower62]

Hi, thanks so much for your reply, I don't think there is anything like that at my local hospital but I will ask my GP.X

[Sunflower62 in reply to cate72]

Have you seen a Dry and biological Ness at your local hospital?

[Sunflower62 in reply to Sunflower62]

DR and Nurse even

[denvajade]

Hi there I have had ra about 7.5 years and I have the same symptoms as you and very clumsy, always dropping or tripping or bumping into things.

[cate72 in reply to denvajade]

Hi, thanks for your reply, so I'm not alone. x

[nomoreheels]

Hiya & welcome cate72. Sorry you find need to seek help. This could be a neurological problem & I wouldn't worry about contacting your GP or Rheumy team. It sounds as if it's likely due to inflammation but best to get someone check you over if anything unusual occurs. You don't say if you take an NSAID or other anti inflammatory but it may be that what you are taking isn't controlling you quite well enough & maybe just needs adding or an increase in dose.

Don't think you're being a pain going to your GP. You have a chronic condition which needs control by meds which is all part of their remit!!

Hope you see or speak to someone & you get the answers you need.

[cate72 in reply to nomoreheels]

Hi, thanks for the reply, I do take NSAIDs but they don't help very much. I know I need to see the docs and thanks again for the support. X

[nomoreheels in reply to cate72]

It may just be a case of either upping the dose or frequency or even a change of med then. Just a quick question, have you told any of your Rheumy team that they don't help much? It could be that you're not too well controlled at the mo, but that doesn't answer your original question. I'm in a similar position with my NSAID at the mo but see my Rheumy on Friday & will speak to her about it then, so don't worry about going to your GP, that's what they're there for & don't forget you've paid for it all your working life!! It's your entitlement after all, they are service providers, think of it that way.

Hope it's sorted soon whatever it is. x

[cate72 in reply to nomoreheels]

Thanks so much for your reply, I have not told anyone other than this lot on hear. I've called my RA doc for an earlier appointment today so I will hopefully get some answers soon. Thanks again. x

[nomoreheels in reply to cate72]

I'm pleased you've done that & hope you get that earlier appointment & you find out just what's going on. x

[Hidden]

Hi and welcome. Yes I have this too and in my case it is part of my RD so a rheumy confirmed recently. It seems to me that it is when the soft tissue is inflamed and compresses the small and larger nerves - so for me it is a sign that the disease is more active. I agree with the others - you shouldn't be worried about bothering the doctor - you have Rheumatoid Arthritis and you need to tell them when and if new symptoms arise. Hope you feel better soon. Twitchy

[cate72 in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thanks for the support. X

[swarovskifan53]

I suffered with the same. I saw my doc and was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.This is associated with RA. I had operations on each hand at different times. Am now fine. Never be worried about seeing your doc. Unless he knows what's going on he can't help you. And you need all the help you can get. I have had RA for 13 yes. And have always gone to doc and rheumatologist with any new symptoms. Please see your team,don't suffer when you can get help. Good luck!..x

[cate72 in reply to swarovskifan53]

Hi, thanks for the support. X

[ZAbbott]

I too feel like a pain and a nag needing to see my GP and rheumy teams as often as I do (and try to keep number of contacts down) but am actually sometimes told off for this! They do (if they're good ones) want us to be well, and quick action can sometimes mean quicker results and more substantial pain loss - and will of course avoid the delay that you put in....

I immediately thought of fibromyalgia (FM) when you described your symptoms, it's something I live with alongside my RA: but you seem dismissive of your pain (is it all over, constant? Do you have trouble sleeping, and feeling refreshed when you do?) I love this forum as noone tries to play online doctor, and it would be dangerous for anyone to try to do so, just as it is dangerous trying to self-diagnose online... and often makes you more worried than anything else... but it might be worth considering and asking your clinicians about: there is some extra medical support for FM....

Good luck xx

[cate72 in reply to ZAbbott]

Hi, and thanks, I will go and see the docs. It did not occur to me that it could be anything else I tend to put everything down to RA. X

[phil_54]

Hi

I was diagnosed with RA 3 years ago, I take methotrexate injections once a week, the pins and needles you are experiencing are exactly the same as mine it just comes on with no warning and lasts between 1 minute and 5 minutes when I looked into this I believe this is a classic symptom of RA called Neuropathy and unfortunately their is no cure the only positive is as long as you continue with your medication then it will remain fairly harmless but if your RA is not being treated then it could manifest into something much more serious I hope this helps and wish you good luck in the future

[Amy_Lee]

Hi,

I am experiencing the same on my left thumb and index figures too. Few months ago, I did feel the same occasionally. I told my rheumatologist when I saw her last round. She told me nothing wrong. Then I felt more often after I did some house works, so I thought might be I over worked hence I ignored it too.

Recent few weeks, the feeling is continuous. I need to put down my left hand most of the time to feel better. I will be seeing my rheumatologist in coming 29/08, I will check with her again on this issue. I do worry that it is the symptom of RA being active again, I am not sure really.

I will also check if I can find any information online to share.

[harvestingkarma]

Hi

I have had loads of falls and for years I felt I was plugged into a dc electrical current throughout my body. Been on methotrexate, sulfasalazine and humira jabs am now on another MAB. My GP is not the curer of all things human as he is human so I figured I had better go figure what was happening. Exercise definitely helps however painful. I do not mean leaps in the air but just walking a little more than the pain barrier. Vegan diet and leave out sugars and junk food completely. Diet is everything in this condition. I have been severely effected for 11 years and am battling my way out on a minute by minute basis.

Moaning is great but being positive is better. Do something you enjoy, do not expect anything other than a positive outcome even when it doesn't happen. The docs do not understand our condition and stress is in it. They are learning too. My doc listens to me explaining how I am coping and how I got my bloods to go back to normal when all the tests were in the red zone, bi monthly bloods always showing how ill I was, then I changed my life a bit and my outlook and they went to normal. I am not cured but I am healing. I tell every cell of my body to heal and it seems to be working. I imagine each cell listening and trying to rebuild when they die off so the disease pattern is being replaced all the time like an old building that is crumbling being placed, stone by stone, with a new building. I do this imagining and it works if you work it or believe it. I walk and chat to people in the park with my dog who has helped me walk again. Still in pain but I ignore the pain as it is like getting in my way. I do what the pain tells me not to do, defiance!

Hope this helps

Cat