I have a question. Have any of you experienced numbness and tremor? The tremor in my left hand started after a bad flare in the same area. It comes and goes. The numbness is throughout my whole left arm. From my fingers up to my shoulder. I was only noticing it when I sat upright in my computer chair but now I am having it when I sit in other places as well. Are any of you experiencing the samething? I thought it might be carpal tunnel but I am not sure the whole arm up to the shoulder would be effected? Please let me know what you think. Susan LeeI have people describe those symptoms with carpal tunnel. Not the tremor part, but that kind of pain. It sounds like nerve problems in general...and the swelling can do that. When I had bad swelling, I had so many nerve problems in my arms, shoulders and hands/wrists. I had the numbness when my elbow went out - but I don't have it now - except in that one hand, and that's because the nerve was permanently damaged. I wouldn't say I get tremors, but I get the shakes. It doesn't start with my hands - it starts deep inside of me. But I think that's a response to going from being on no medicine to being on a LOT of medicine all of a sudden. My body is making huge adjustments, and I wouldn't say it's happy about it.
I have very similar systoms, I don't get the shakes but I get numbness in my arms especially in the forearms and usually not long afterwards my hands and fingers will swell up. I also notice that when I get the numbness I also get leg cramps. Has anyone else experienced that. My Rheumy said it was the prednisone and now she is weaning me off of it, I'm down to 10mg a day.
One more unrelated thing, we have been in a very dry weather spell here in New Jersey since I was DX with RA in Dec 05 and today it is colder and rainy and I feel terrible, does the weather affect RA and us?
Yes Chuckan, I definately think that weather effects my RA. We moved to Florida because the winter weather was so bad in the Midwest that I was in pain all the time. Even in Florida when the weather dips below 60 degrees I have trouble. But, I seem to do better when there is humidity not when it is drier. Do other feel that way too? The doctor told me years ago that humidity helps circulation. Well, others say that Arizona is the place to be. Who knows!:) Susan LeeBut my RD did send me first to a neurologist to check it out where they did a brain MRI. But was partly because I was having a hard time walking at the time (but this was from osteoarthritis). The point is that sometimes you need to be tested because a person can present with arthritis type symptoms, but actually be developing MS. But this is rare.
About the weather, I am the official rain forecaster at work. My joints always let me know when rain is coming. It is the change in barometer pressure that causes it. I love it when it finally rains because before hand it hurts so bad. It is a great release.
Hi, I had numbness in both arms from the shoulder all the way down through the hands. It was worse in one arm. It turned out to be ulnar nerve involvement. It's similar to carpel tunnel but a different nerve. It has improved considerably since being on enbrel.
Susan Lee,
I have had numbness and tremor in my right hand & arm. Finally went to a neurologist, who sent me to a neurosurgeon for Carpal Tunnel. I had the surgery and no longer have the numbness and tremor. The surgeon said that more than one nerve was really compressed, esp. when RA was acting up. My doc was able to do the surgery on an out-patient basis using scopes and making only two small incisions. It was not bad at all. Hope that this is what is going on with you, because it is actually fixable.
Wishing you the best, Pam.
I have numbness in my left hand ,arm ,and almost up to the shoulder. I have a bulging disk between the C6-C7 that causes the numbness when it is irritated.
I increased the amount of weights that I was lifting several weeks ago and must have inflamed it as the numbness returned after bing gone for almsot two years.