hi. question here about possible carpal tunnel.
i have had joint pain and swelling since i was about twelve-now 38. doctors said it was related to an immune deficiency (hypogammaglobulinemia/iga deficiency-diagnosed with first and then it changed after i took myself off iv gamma globulin after about twenty years).
i am used to this and so last weekend when my hand blew up like a balloon i was not really concerned. there was tingling, which is normal for when this happens. my friends, who have got RA, looked at my hand and told me (again) that i better go to the doctor. ihave seen rheumatologists on and off since age 14 and was prescribed some nsaids that didnt do anything. the next step was steroids but my mother didnt allow it. thank god. the last time i went to a rheumatologist was two years ago and everything was negative again.
so i went to the doc and she ordered the same tests as a couple of years ago (sedimentation rate, rh factor, some immune complements cd3 and 4-both are always low, and iga, of which i have none, basically). she also ordered a hbla27 test, which is a gene marker for rheumatoid disease.
the swelling went down but my hand and pointer ring and middle finger are still tingling/pins and needles constantly and anytime i write, hold something, do anything with my hand, the tingling increases. a week has passed like this. the tingling is not pain. its just tingling. if i shake my hand out it, it goes away for a minute. i dont have the normal strength in my hand. this sounds very much like carpal tunnel.
all my bloods always come out normal for sedimentation rate, etc so how is this diagnosed if not thru bloodwork? if you were negative for all this, were you able to get a diagnosis and treatment? did the treatment work? can it go away forever? could it be something else? could it be neuropathy related even though im well controlled and have only been diabetic for two years?
thanks for any info, this hand is driving me crazy!!
A few years ago, I had some wrist issues in my rt wrist that flared up during fantasy baseball season, scrolling up and down lists of 2B, etc. I started mousing lefty and it seems to control it pretty well.
It sounds like you've got more than one thing going on. Numbness in the thumb, index and middle finger are classic signs of carpal tunnel, with symptoms worsening with repetitive actions. But the swelling may be something else. I got CTS from knitting, had symptoms for about 10 years and then they went away for 10 years and now they're bad.
To confirm diagnosis they do a nerve conduction test where electrical impulses are shot up your nerve and then measured..
Treatment is usually surgery, to cut the fibrous bracelet of tissue that surrounds your wrist and free up some space for the nerves It is day surgery. I know several people wo got good results, and a couple who didn't'. In fact, my violin teacher recently had the surgery and feels like a new person.
Some people also get relief from wearing a brace at night. You can get them at Target.
I agree with Kathy. While at the worst, I experienced some swelling with my CTS, it was nothing like you describe. My symptoms were mostly about loss of feeling and compression pain. Whatever you have going on may have compressed your wrist tunnel and caused transient CTS. As Kathy said, a neurologist can use a conduction test to check to see if you have compression. You can also do an at home test to see if you have the classic compression of CTS. This test is called Phalen's test and I describe it in the post here.
I have unconfirmed carpel tunnel syndrome (I've seen a clinic doctor about it not my GP). Like you describe, my thumb, index, and middle fingers go numb. I also get some pain in the front of my wrists sometimes. It happens mostly overnight, but also if I'm carrying bags or doing other things during the day.
My aunt has RA and I know that at least some of her tests were negative. I'm not sure about all of them, though. It sounds like a second opinion wouldn't hurt, because I don't think carpel tunnel syndrome is supposed to involve swelling.
I haven't had CTS yet(touch wood) although both of my Parents did(non-Diabetics) and my 2 Brothers did(Diabetics). I do have RA and I can't remember having tingly or numb fingers or hands unless I had been sleeping on them. I haven't seen tingly or numb fingers/hands as a part of the RA symptoms. Pain, stiffness, swelling definitely yes. I wear splints when needed also.
i'd recommended seeing a neurologist who they can do a nerve stimulation test to confirm CTS or whatever else is happening. fluctuating blood sugars can, of course, cause neuropathy, which can result in tingling, pain, numbness (kinda like your hand is asleep), etc...
