Tingling hands and feet | Arthritis Information

Hi y'all,

Very long time no visit. I hope you are doing well. I have a new symptom that I thought I'd see if anyone else has.

This summer both hands and both feet started tingling. Some times it disappears or is barely notciable, other times its bothersome. My rheumy didn't think it was RA and has booked me in to see a neurologist in December.

At night I may be awakened by numb hands that I have to move to have the sensation lesson. I thought this sounded like carpel tunnel, but it seems the rheumy is thinking of something else given that my feet are also involved.

Online research seems to point to some sort of peripheral neuropathy.

Anyone have both feet and hands tingling/feeling like pins and needles (aka paresthesia)?

Thanks for any thoughts you might have,

- Joy

Hi Joy...nice to see you back.

I've had tingling/numbness in the hands and feet. When it was really bad in my hands it lasted for 3 months nonstop. Surgery was suggested after tests were done. I decided to wear my wrist splint (only took it off to shower or do dishes) and eventually the numbness and tingling stopped. It still comes back occasionally and when it does I just put the wrist splint back on. I don't get it as often in the feet but it still happens, just not as often as my hands.

So are you saying that your feet and hands have the tingling at the same time? or at different times?

Hope you get some answers soon.

My hands fall asleep at night while I'm sleeping. They also fall asleep while I'm holding a phone to my ear or simply resting my head on my hand. I'm not sure what it is, rheumy told me it was "positional" but it wasn't always like this for me so who knows.I have that in my hands and feet also, random times and it lasts anywhere from hours to days. hi Joy!

I had the numbness badly.... all the way up my legs.. and it was caused by inflammation!!!!

once inflammation reduced.... so has my tingling!! and numbness!!

I have in my feet and wrists/hand. Some times are worse than others, but it does happen a lot in my wrists/hands when I am sleeping. Enough to wake me up.I have tingling with burning sensation and in my toes bottom of my feet, at times running up my legs also, mostly I notice it at work I think because I don't sit with feet planted on floor - It's like a stool with my legs dangling or I cross them a lot - maybe a circulation thing or maybe inflamation - I'm constantly adjusting position with them. I was hoping the MTX would stop this. It sounds more like peripheral neuropathy. It can be caused by inflammation from RA and many other things. It may be hard to find the cause but it is treatable so hopefully the neurologist can offer you some suggestions. Peripheral neuropathy may cause permanent damage if it is untreated for a long period of time (usually loss of sensation). But if treated early the nerves can recover. I have some that have permanent damage and some that are recovering. It is good that you are going to see a neurologist. Good luck.

Laker

Well I don't know what it is but i do that to sometimes. My whole right side will go numb sometimes. I say oh i am having one of my strokes. It really is not a stroke i just call it that. Sometimes it means i have a flare coming on.

Let us know what you find out.Thanks everyone, I truly appreciate your sharing your own experiences.

I do get tingling/numbness in hands and feet at the same time. My RA is pretty active these days (albeit mild), so perhaps it is a result of inflammation pushing on the nerves. I'll let you know what the neurologist says in December.

And thanks, Laker, for the note about damage being reduced with early ID and treatment of peripheral neuropathy. Always encouraging to know that treatment and recovery are possible if that's the dx. Hi Joy, I have peripheral neuropathy diagnosed by a nerve conduction test. Everyone says it's the worst experience ever, but the tiny needles were barely noticeable. I am currently treated with Lyrica and it seems to be doing the trick. Before that, I was falling a lot which was quite scary. Please get it checked out. Most of the time it is just inflammation pressing on the nerves and may require a change in your anti-inflammatory. I havent been on one for a couple of years because of other medical conditions they made worse.oh, and you have to get a referral to a neurologist to have this test done...Thanks owiemom -- great to know that Lyrica is an option and that it works for you. And that the nerve conduction test isn't too bad!! :) I'm off to a neurologist in Dec and hope he'll have some answers. I got a print out right then and there showing where exactly the nerve damage/problems are. I found it fascinating and finally something made sense. I couldn't feel my feet, and I wasn't lifting them high enough which caused tripping especially going up stairs. the tingling and numbness is nearly gone.

Owiemom

I believe that is called foot drop. Not that you were not lifting your feet high enough and tripping. Your feet were dropping. That really stinks I have had that a few times and i hate it. Others have had that also. My foot just flops down and it's hard to walk like that. I do not get it often it's been about three years scince last it did that. I just get it in the right foot.

joy,I had that and went through all the tests only to find nothing. I soon after had to come off of Enbrel and my numbness and tingling went away. In my case it had to be the enbrel.I am onrencia now and never had the problem again.

are you on Enbrel? also the nerve conduction tests werent bad at all. they were interesting actually. good luck

This was borrowed from another board and I thought that it should be shared.

We talked a lot about my RA and other issues going on with me over the past 6 months. She is very familiar with RA meds because she uses them a lot on her auto-immune patients, too. When I told her I have a lot of neuropathy in my feet now, she said that was probably due to the mtx I've gone up on recently. She said she has had several patients develop neuropathy after going on mtx. She said the coorelation has never been proven, but that's her opinion. I've been off and on mtx for years and the neuropathy I have (pins and needles, constantly) just started a few months ago.

So I'm curious.....have any of you current or past methotrexate takers developed neuropathy while taking it? That's a new one for me.

I had neuropathy before I started the mtx, Interesting though.

Milly, I always trip with my right foot, which happens to be the side with a very weak ankle I always sprain. foot drop was mentioned, but that was all...

I have peripheral neuropathy which started in both legs and feet in 2000 when I had a herniated disk in my lower back. Surgery did not help the back nor the feet. I had the nerve conduction test and was offered Neurotin, the side effects of which scared me off at the time.

Today the herniated disk is much worse, as is the PN. And I have developed PN in both arms and hands though especially the left. The middle finger of my left hand is almost always numb and cold and painful (I am right-handed). Both hands go to sleep as soon as I hold a pen, the phone, whatever.

I took mtx for awhile in 2006 but for me at least, there is no correlation with my PN.