Tingling, numb, left small fingers; pain below left elbow; tingling left leg

[bd7273]

Hi! I am 41, male. For last 5 weeks I am having tingling sensation and occasional numbness in the two small fingers of left hand. With occasional pain right under the elbow and also in the middle finger. From yesterday I also feel tingling on my left leg. I spend long hours working on a computer.

Doctor suggested blood tests for uric acid and diabetes, cervical spine xray, nerve conduction study. Uric acid at 8.1, all the others 'normal'. Gave medication for reducing Uric acid and B12 supplement. I also take medication for high blood pressure.

Is there anybody with similar experience I can learn from?

[earthwitch]

The cervical spine xray may show up something that could be pressing on one of the cervical spinal nerves and causing that tingling down the outer side of your arm, although it wont show the actual nerve (you'd need an MRI for that). I can't remember which nerve it is, but I think the C6 to C8 (6th to 8th cervical vertebrae) nerves are the ones that go down the arm - one down the outer side to the little finger, one of them down the middle fingers, and one going down the thumb side. I get that, and its because I have degenerative disease at that level of my neck. Unless its constant tingling, they don't seem to want to do much about it. It would only be if the nerve was completely compressed. You can get those symptoms not just with problems at the neck, but with compression virtually anywhere between where there nerve comes out from between the neck bones down to the tips of your fingers, most usually at places where the nerve goes around bones - like the shoulder, elbow, or wrist (carpal tunnel). To some extent you may have answered your own questions by saying you work long hours at a computer - that can trigger that kind of pain from wrong positioning of your body, either neck, shoulder, elbow or as a kind of repetitive strain injury. Is it possible for you to get a proper health and safety ergonomic assessment of your workstation? A few simple changes to height of desk, position of monitor and keyboard, etc can make a world of difference, and is a whole lot simpler than having a whole lot of medical tests. The tingling down your leg could also be related to your seating position just slightly pinching the sciatic nerve.