# Dead Arm **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998 "2012-11-14T16:54:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998/21 "2012-11-15T11:34:42Z")
Color changes? Could it be [Raynaud’s phenomenon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynaud%E2%80%99s_phenomenon) I wonder? > [@mkelly4275](#): > > I slept on my other side last night and woke up even worse this morning and the arm has been sore all day. My fingers seem to go a different dark colour and my hand has been cold all day Definitely go to a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998/22 "2012-11-15T12:07:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Well, yeah, but you’re not entirely cutting of the blood flow; you’re temporarily restricting it. And it’s not for the entire night anyway, only a few hours typically. You think if you put a tourniquet around your arm for a three hour ambulance ride you’d end up with an amputated arm? If you put it and don’t loosen it periodically, yep. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998/23 "2012-11-15T14:20:28Z")
IANAD and have no ability to diagnose the OP. Having said that, I might advise being on the alert as you age for future problems with [frozen shoulder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhesive_capsulitis_of_shoulder). It’s just a hunch/WAG based on my own experience, but you seem like a candidate for this problem. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998/24 "2012-11-15T14:38:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > You think the arm’s going to rot off from a temporary restriction in blood flow? Y’okayyy. It might not rot off - but an interrupted blood floor for more than a few minutes CAN cause tissue death. Dead tissue, well… I agree that it sounds more like a nerve issue than a blood flow issue. Does the arm look normal? A blood flow problem would, I think, come with some fairly obvious symptoms such as a change in coloration, swelling, or something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998/25 "2012-11-15T14:45:46Z")
> [@mkelly4275](#): > > Have been to doctors and had tests but noone can seem to find out exactly what it is so have given up on doctors If real doctors can’t help, then a message board CERTAINLY cannot. What we can do is give you things to investigate / suggest to doctors. What kind of exams / tests have they done? What kind of doctors have you seen? If you haven’t seen a neurologist and/or a vascular specialist yet, you need to insist on one. Tests for neurological issues (pinched nerve or whatever) might be unpleasant - electromyelograms etc. aren’t fun - but can give a lot of good information. A vascular specialist I’m less familiar with, but Doctor Learning Channel suggests it might include things like an ultrasound scan to make sure blood flow is unimpeded. Can you trigger the symptoms while awake by lying in a normal sleeping position? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-arm/640998.md?page=1)