I’m having problems with my right hand going numb at night. It’s very painful and wakes me from sleep. It takes about 20 minutes of being upright before the pain will ease.
Back when I had good insurance, I was tested for Carpo Tunnel, but scored low for that.
What other condition might cause this and what might I do to ease it?
Thank you.
If it’s not **carpal **tunnel syndrome, it might be nerve compression at your neck. Broadly speaking, your hand is “driven” by three nerves - radial, median and ulnar. If it’s an all-over numbness, the trouble may be with the median nerve. If the numbness is more on the thumb side, that would be the radial and the other side (eg: the little finger) is controlled by the ulnar nerve.
You could try a firmer or thicker pillow with the idea that your head is sinking down too much and is bending your neck too far, especially if you sleep on your side.
I’ve been getting the same thing with my left pinky and sometimes ring finger. Not at night, but all day. I think that it’s the way I lie on my couch. After being away for three days, it feels better.
Are you sleeping on your arm funny?
Cervical radiculopathy (what gotpasswords said), CRPS, or possibly some type of compartment syndrome. The latter would usually be the result of some kind of trauma, though.
I have a habit of sleeping with my fist curled into a ball and pointing down onto my wrist. This can leave me with a tingly hand when I wake, is it possible you’re doing something similar in your sleep?
I had symptoms similar to the OP and that was the reason - I dunno why, but my right arm naturally gravitates to an unrealistic position behind my head while I sleep. For years I’d wake up with a numb arm, lift it and move it to a better position with my other arm, and think “this can’t be good, my whole arm is numb…someday I’m gonna have a problem because of this weird sleep position.”
I did eventually get frozen shoulder, so I was right. The good thing about frozen shoulder is that I was physically incapable of putting my arm in the harmful position, which helped train me out of it. (Now that I’m all better, I still gravitate to the odd position, but not as often.)
Apologies if this has no relevance to the OP.
How about some yoga or stretching exercises, get the muscles stretched and blood flowing? I think a lot of us don’t use our bodies enough with our office jobs and easy chairs at home.
I sleep in different positions on my bed than I do when napping on my sofa, just because of the way the cushioning works. Do you have anything like that, so you can do an experiment and see if your symptom goes away when you force a change?
-D/a
Oh for crying out loud, of course it’s carpal. I plead extreme fatigue and lack of sleep. Sheesh.
Overuse of my arm/hand is what has triggered it in the past. I’m thinking this may be because of my new job description, which is much more physical, but there isn’t much I can do about that.
Are there any treatments for this condition? I may be forced to try to sleep sitting up.
Thanks gotpasswords. I have tried the pillow from the sofa, but it was no help. I do sleep on my side though, so maybe I’m sleeping on my arm too much.
edited to add: D/A, it happens on my sofa too. It seems to be any position that isn’t upright.
Are you sure it’s carpal? Does it get worse when you position your head in certain ways? In other words, do some neck exercises (touch chin to left shoulder, touch chin to right shoulder, look straight up, look straight up and try to touch your ear to your shoulder, etc.) and see if any of the movements make it worse.
I also had this happen to me. In my case it was a pinched nerve in the neck.
I tried neck exercises, but they didn’t do much good. So I hit the gym and started lift weights, with emphasis on upper body muscles. This included lots of military presses.
At first the numbness got worse. 
But I kept lifting anyway. And then it went away. I believe my weight-lifting regime is what fixed the problem.
No, I don’t think it’s carpal tunnel Crafter Man. I was referring to my brain fade in my first post with that comment.
Thanks for the suggestions.
You almost certainly have a problem in your neck or shoulder area. Thoracic outlet syndrome is one possibility; my partner has rotator cuff issues and her arms used to both go numb at night. She’s since had surgery on one shoulder to relieve that, which apart from cleaning up the torn tendons etc also enlarged the hole the nerve goes through and that shoulder is fine in that respect now. She’s probably going to have to have the other one done shortly.
tdn, you might want to get that looked at. I had the same thing for a few months and then Bam! seemed like overnight my pinkie and ring finger had curled down toward my palm and I now have very little strength in my thumb and index finger. It’s a pinched nerve (damage to the ulnar nerve) and the doctor said it will take many months to resolve itself because I let it go so long. He told me a couple things I could do to not aggrevate it, like don’t prop/lay my arm on the desk. (Now I lay my forearm across a folded handtowel at the edge or rest it in my lap.) My left hand is pretty useless for now (I can’t even cut meat.) The only other recourse is surgery.
not what you’d expect, because I learned you don’t mess around with nerve trauma and try to tough it out, I’d say see a doctor before it gets worse.
I also suffered from numbness in my hands from an odd sleeping position, so that may be your problem.
If it’s work-related, a stretching and rest regime for the affected area may help.
I’d see a physiotherapist for professional advice.
Neck compression. Neck surgery corrected this in my left hand and arm but r/s is not bad enough to warrant surgery et. Seems to be aggravated when I spend too much time on computer then when I lay down it acts up.
Impingement of nerves and/or peripheral neuropathy. I have both (impingement which leads to tendonitis in my shoulders, neuropathy in my feet). In both cases it comes and goes, there are various triggers; thankfully mine is not usually very painful.
Definitely worth consulting doctors if possible.
Try having your other hand take care of itself, lose a little weight, and maybe put on some makeup once in a while.
I know it may be hard, but you should try to stop what you are doing, lest you suffer blindness, or a hairy palm.
Sorry, I could not resist any longer.
In all seriousness, I had a pinched nerve in my shoulder area, probably one of the nerves gotpasswords suggested. I complained to my doctor, and he sent me to a physical therapist. Several ultrasound sessions later (yes the same ultrasound that is used on pregnant ladies), and the muscle that was pinching the nerve relaxed, and the numbness in my fingers subsided. Mine was not occupational, but recreational - my cycling neck position evidently strained muscles in my upper back. I have since changed my riding posture and have not had the problem since.
I concur with the others - go see a doctor to validate what is causing it, and see what can be done. A friend wears wrist braces (the in-line skating variety) at night to prevent the curling of the wrist and associated pain, if that is the problem.
Good luck!
I’m not fat!
But my health insurance is inadequate and I work 7 days a week, so I was kinda hoping for some home remedies.