Guys, my RA nurse says that I should try splints at night.. you know what its like, the pain wakes you early morning (anywhere between 2 & 4am), you get up at 6.30, feed the cat, go to work, feel serious fatigue at about 12ish, come home (I work 8am-1.00pm), do the chores, eat medication, make tea the collapse. Mind totally shuts off, physically knackered, this is pretty much my day for the week, and the nurse says splints will help me sleep through the night.... is this true?
All views welcome.
Well it depends on what part of your body is waking you up! Before that I was waking up crying to my mom that my hands and feet were "gone" (I was only 4) So yeah, they can be really helpful. For me they help when my wrists are sore and swollen. If I wear them for a few days (even during the day) the swelling goes down and they feel better. I've had numbness and tingling in my hands as well and the wrist splints have helped with that also. I will say though, in the beginning, the splints actually made my wrists feel worse. Not sure why...maybe lack of movement made them stiff. But now I use them quite frequently.I have the tingly/numb thing going on too but never considered it was an RA connected thing.... didnt bother to ask because I thought it just the way I was sleeping!
I've been dragged kicking and screaming into this RA how depressing I've got another symptom... I DONT WANT ANY MORE (stamping of feet going on, serious teddy in the corner tantrum
Well, definately try the splints especially with the numbness/tingly thing going on.
Hope they help!
My doctor recommended them to me about 4 or 5 months ago and they do make a huge difference for me. He suspects I have CTS and that's the cause of the tingling/numbness that use to wake me in the middle of the night as well.
It's started happening more often lately even with the splints though. Not sure the splints is an actual long term cure....but they do help so I continue wearing them. (At night only)
Give them a try. You can buy them at the drug store for about each. Well worth it for a better nights rest.
Good Luck.
Thanks guys for the useful info. When she first mentioned it I thought what, I'm not doing that, but with the dark smudges getting bigger under my eyes and the need for sleep becoming desperate, I think I'll give them a try.My wrists don't have a whole lot of mobility left in them as in being able to bend them forward and back. My RD says that my wrists are starting to drop and that to wear my custom wrist splints even during the day if they're hurting too much. As far as sleeping with them my hands can go numb or tingly even with them on. I have to admit though that they do help with the pain. My hubby has CTS and has to wear splints when driving. Sometimes he has to drive a thousand miles a week from job to job and has a lot of trouble with numbness. Then pain when the feeling comes back in
I tend to wear the right one more often most of the day too.