Extreme hand/wrist/arm pain for over a year, still no diagnosis!

by 29wristsymptoms

I am 29 years old and have always had excellent health. A little more than a year ago I began having numbness in both hands when I woke up in the morning and during my morning shower. The numbness would go away on it's own after the shower.


About 6 months ago I started waking up in the middle of the night with EXTREME (= to labor) hand/wrist/arm numbness and pain!! Additionally, throughout the night I started getting an electrical feeling in my forearms that causes me to thrash my arms violently in an attempt to alleviate the sensation.

At this point I began to start having pain & numbness throughout the day as well. The ONLY relief I got was to hang my arms at my sides, but as soon as I lift my arms to reach for something, a cup, a doorknob, the car steering wheel; the pain & numbness returns.

I have two daughters ages 3 & 4, I work and I go to school so I can't spend my day with my arms draped at my sides all day! I don't have a primary care doctor but have a good relationship with my chiropractor so I decided to start with him. I had seen him for years for work-related neck and shoulder pain (I'm a Dental Assistant), and also I have had a couple of car accidents that I have needed his care for as well.

With this history I thought maybe I had a pinched nerve or residual issues from one of the car accidents. With my health history in hand and after hearing my summary of symptoms, he performed several movement tests. With all this, he advised me that it was not an issue that chiropractic care would help with and he recommended I see an orthopedic surgeon for a possible case of Carpel Tunnel.(even after saying it was rare for a person of my young age and even more rare to have it on both sides).

I couldn't get in to see the ortho. dr for almost 6 months so for a temporary relief my chiro told me to try wrist braces that are for CTS and found at either CVS or WalMart. This provided some relief so that I can better function during the day and I now have to sleep with them as well.

I am taking Neurontin (gabapentin), a prescription for nerves and it seems to help somewhat. I have just applied to Dental Hygiene school and do not want
to lose my dream career before it ever even starts! My appt with the orthopedist is another 3 wks away, I just hope my sanity can hold out!

Does this sound like CTS? Wrist Tendonitis?

Something else you know of?



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Joshua Answers:

Hi 29.

Well, from the clues you've told me so far (pregnancy, dental assistant repetitive motion and posture, multiple incidents of car crash whiplash, numbness when raising hands up/over head, it very much sounds like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Which of course shares various factors with Wrist Tendonitis.

But my focus for you would be on two things. The first is, compression up at the front of the neck/chest/shoulder, with hints of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (a fancy term for carpal tunnel up at the front of the neck/chest/shoulder).

The second, is nutritional deficiency.

Pregnancy takes a lot of nutrients from your body, which it's unlikely you replaced adequately.

See: Pregnancy Carpal Tunnel

The Process of Inflammation eats up Vitamin B6, the lack of which causes Carpal Tunnel Symptoms.

See: Inflammation Causes Vitamin B6 Deficiency

And if you do some research, you'll find that Neurontin causes some serious neurological side effects (which are mostly just because it causes nutritional deficiency).

Also, interestingly enough, if you work with laughing gas much at work, Nitrous Oxide causes significant vitamin B12 depletion (which causes neurological pain/dysfunction issues which you're then given dangerous pharmaceutical drugs like Neurontin for....)

Obviously I haven't seen you in person, and I'm not a doctor, so there certainly -could- be something medical and 'bad' in play, but chances are, from what you've described to me, it sounds like you're just suffering from the predictable progression of a Pain Causing Dynamic. Meaning, due to injury and nutritional deficiency, your body can't function properly, which then creates pain, which creates more pain, etc.




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Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
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Comments for Extreme hand/wrist/arm pain for over a year, still no diagnosis!

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Feb 19, 2012
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Forearm and wrist pain for 2 months from computer job
by: Jen

I spend a lot of time in my job on my computer. I recently have a different computer set-up at work and think that it's affected my left wrist and forearm even though I am a righty. It's been hurting for about 2 months but more intensely the last week or so. Primarily, my forearm and the outerside of my wrist (not the palm). At time the pain goes up to my elbow. I don't have swelling but my arm is warm to the touch and my fingers feel tight.

What can I do other than rearrange my computer? Do I need to stop using the computer for a while?

Thanks,

Jen


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Joshua Comments:

Hi Jen.

As far as rearranging your computer, see: New Ergonomics Definition

And regardless of computer usage, really it's the Pain Causing Dynamic that is to blame. Plus possibly nutritional issues playing a role.

So...what have you been doing for self care?
Nov 20, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		chronic tendonitis and calcified tendonitis
by: miss priss

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and for the last 9 months have been suffering with a body riddled with tendinitis.

My arms and upper back are most effected. I cannot do simple tasks, even taking a shower feels impossible, I can't work, hold a book, drive, can no longer perform yoga, pilates, or even swim laps.

In the last 9 months, 4 months I took prednisone, now I'm taking relafen twice a day. I see ortho next week, my right shoulder MRI showed chronic calcified tendonitis, tendonitis, and a cyst.

Any suggestions or ideas I can discuss with ortho?


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Joshua Comments:

Hi Miss Priss.

If your doctor believes in nutrition and inflammatory foods, I'd talk with him/her about getting TOTALLY off gluten and other inflammatory foods, like sugar, processed vegetable cooking oils, etc.

But since your doctor has you on pharmaceutical drugs, which have no chance of fixing the problem, he/she doesn't believe in that.

So I'd find a doctor that does, or I'd skip the doctor all toghether (since it doesn't like that care is helping you at all) and start looking into 'alternative' therapies. Or as I like to call them, 'common sense' therapies, which include stop ingesting foods harm the gut and cause systemic inflammation, which can/does result in rheumatoid arthritis symptoms (that doctors consider to be a mystery and don't know how to fix).

Here are two vital questions:

1. Are you 100% gluten free?

2. What is your vitamin D level?
Mar 18, 2015
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		pinched nerves, pain in top of my hand sharp at times
by: Sugar L.

Hello there, my name is Sugar. I just got results from an MRI the other day. They say I have some pinched nerves.

I've been having pain in my neck the last couple years. I'm 40, sit in a cubicle 5 days a week and have stress. And probably bad posture. I dream of having a job where I can have freedom to roam or just like what I do. or at least it's interesting. lol. Anyways.

This week I started having new signs of pain. My left hand feels pain and weakness in the wrist. And the right has sharp pain in top of hand once in a while and constantly weak all the time.

I'm falling apart! Help!

Not sure what is wrong with me maybe you can help me.

Thank you.


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Joshua Comments:

Hi Sugar.

Well, if you have neck pain, and later are getting symptoms down the arm, then it's a safe bet that tightness and resulting compression up at the neck/shoulders is causing problems.

Remove the tightness and compression, symptoms go away.

While that takes a little something, it's not particularly complex.

My Reversing Whiplash Tendonitis program will show you how to do that.

You may or may not have 'whiplash' per se, but it's the same dynamic. Meaning, certain factors are in place, and progressively getting worse, which causes chronic and ever increasing symptoms.

It doesn't matter where in the body it shows up, Tendonitis is the same dynamic.

See: What Is Tendonitis?

You might have some wrist tendonitis dynamic going on as well, but from what you've said I'd start up at the neck area and deal with those 'pinched nerves'.

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