Numb hands

[Fruitandnutcase]

I normally sleep well but for the past few months I’ve been sleeping really badly - falling asleep quickly then waking up every couple of hours - it’s particularly depressing to look on my Fitbit and realise it is only 12.00 or 12.30 and there’s a long night to go. It is really exhausting and I’m beginning to feel really tired all the time. I don’t have a nap during the day, we are usually up around und 7.00am and I go to bed before 10.00 most evenings if I can last that long.

This morning I realised that my hands were ‘dead’ and I realised that they are often like that either that or ‘pins and needles’ so it looks like my arms go to sleep for some reason then I waken up.

Does this happen to anyone else and does anyone know why and has anyone got any suggestions for how to stop that. I tend to sleep in the foetal position. Sounds weird but if I lie on my back I often bite my tongue as I drop off which is pretty painful and wakens me up more unpleasantly than the numb hands. I’ve got two hand splints I bought ages ago when my hands were painful so I think I’ll dig them out and put them back on tonight and see what happens but any other ideas should be helpful. Thanks.

[patsymay13]

Hi there, this is only a suggestion of what I found happened to me ,well b4 I was diagnosed my daughter gave me a fitbit which was great , but I was getting restless sleep I mean like waking up a few times throughout the night and tossing and turning were usually I sleep quite well and stay on my right side , It was my hubby who said that it could be because of wearing the fitbit to bed , so I now don't use it and back to sleeping as normal , as I say this is only a suggestion if it helps.

Jayne....

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to patsymay13]

That’s an idea, I’ve had a Fitbit for years and I went on holiday and forgot my charger so it ran out. I still woke up but I just didn’t know what time it was,

I’ll try without it and see what happens. Maybe it’s not so bad if I don’t realise I’ve woken up after just an hour of sleep.

[patsymay13 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

yeah anything is worth a try, but I forgot to add that I am one of those people that when I wear a watch it usually only works for a few days then stops so maybe my body clock is out of sync.

[mccaffs2014]

I wear compression gloves in bed, more comfortable than splints. Maybe this would help.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to mccaffs2014]

Good idea, I’ve got a pair of those I got them to wear when it was cold.

[patsymay13 in reply to mccaffs2014]

Hi mccaffs just wondered how often you use your compression gloves as I have some and used to sleep in them but I now have tendonitis in my finger and thumb so stopped wearing them , I thought maybe I had worn them to much and caused myself a problem , guess im just trying to rule out things.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to patsymay13]

Gosh the things we all get. I’ve had tendonitis in one hand and in my feet. All these horrible things seem to hang out together don’t they!

[patsymay13 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I know it's just horrible it's like we just seem to accept stuff ..did your tendonitis go on its own?

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to patsymay13]

My hand did but that was before I developed inflammatory arthritis so I didn’t know any better, I knew it really hurt and the back of my hand was swollen.

When it was my foot I saw my podiatrist, then I iced it regularly throughout the day and stayed off it as much as I could and eventually it sorted itself out. It came back again after a couple of months and I did the same but I’ve not had it for about three years.

I’ve had plantar fasciitis too a couple of times and I’ve got really good little supportive socks for that, very comfortable supportive trainers again I try to keep my foot up as much as I can, plus I ice them by rolling my foot over a bottle water that has been frozen I and do exercises to stretch things like standing with my toes on a step and lowering my heels down.

[patsymay13 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Ok thanks sounds like a good idea 're the ice bottle for ur feet a good tip for future if needed.

[mccaffs2014 in reply to patsymay13]

I have loads of gloves and I use them every night. I use the ones supplied by the hospital most nights but if my hands are really bad I use the ones that I bought in Boots. The rheumatologist advised wearing the splints at night but I find the gloves more comfortable. If I don't wear them I feel the difference and I haven't had any problems with them.

[Hidden]

I would ditch the fit bit at night. If you Google sleep hygiene it's recommended to not have a clock near you if you have any sleep issues. I wonder if you have carpal tunnel syndrome? I've got severe RA but my hands have never gone numb. I hope you can get help from your rheumy.

[Shelby37]

Hello, I was regularly getting dead arms. Terrifying as I then couldn't move when they both go. I found swapping my pillow to a flatter one has helped. Good luck

[Montys-Mom]

I had exactly the same problem, pain in my hands waking me up along with numbness and pins & needles at all times. After tests at the hospital I was diagnosed as having Carpal Tunnel in both hands. Your symptoms are classic, being worse while you sleep and one of the causes can be RA. You will need to go to your GP who will refer you for test. The first line of treatment was wearing elasticated hand and wrist supports, which did give relief. By the time I was offered surgery about six months later the condition had improved so I declined although I am told it could and probably will come back. It is worth checking Carpal Tunnel on Google.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Well everyone. Thank you for your suggestions.

Ive ditched the Fitbit last night, I don’t have any sort of light in the bedroom at night - not even the charging light for my tooth brush and I’ve stuck black tape over the light on the phone so it’s blacked out too! I don’t even have my husband, he absolutely hates the room being totally blacked out and I hate it being light, he is also always really hot but doesn’t ever feel hot, it’s weird, he says I feel cold but I feel so hot, bizarre anyway, we have agreed to differ and he goes to the spare room until about 6.00 am then comes back to our bed until it’s time to get up.

The low pillow is a good suggestion but I’ve got to about as think and flat as a pillow can go, I sometimes move off it completely, so low is good.

So, I woke up a couple of times, hands / wrists were uncomfortable but as I didn’t have the Fitbit on I don’t know what time it was and I went back to sleep until morning. I was ready to go to sleep when I realised I hadn’t put on the splints or gloves but as I’d got rid of the Fitbit I thought I’d see how that went and try that and gloves / splints tonight.

Once I got the room dark (and got the bed to myself) i have always slept well so hopefully I’ll get back to that soon. So thank you all.

[BoneyC]

I get numbness down the outer side of my hands and little finger and ring finger. My elbows are quite bent into almost 45 degree angles and I am told it is a trapped ulnar nerve, caused by having arms in a certain position at night. As soon as I move arms, fingers, the numbness goes away.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to BoneyC]

I think it’s probably what causes my numb hands, I’m not sure where exactly they are numb because I’ve always been asleep - never happens during the day - but I know I bend my elbows and I also tend to bend my wrists.

Think something is pressing somewhere because straightening my arms makes things go back to normal. It would be ideal to sleep with straight arms though but I can’t manage to do that.

Was thinking maybe I need to get a couple of bits of drainpipe or something like that and sleep with my arms in them, that would keep my elbows straight and wrists too if I made it long enough. Probably be too uncomfortable to sleep in though .

Actually I’ve just googled and you can get night time elbow splints so numb hands must be quite common!