Carpal Tunnel and Rheumatiod | Arthritis Information

Do any of you get the carpal tunnel syndrome along with your joint pain when you have flare ups?

Tingling, numbness, ache, etc...

If you have not been diagnosed with carpal tunnel and you are experiencing those kinds of symptoms ONLY when you flare, it is mostly like the inflammation affecting the nerves and tendons there. That happens to me and I do not have carpal tunnel. Inflammation does not just affect our joints. It can affect nerves, tendons, ligaments, etc.

I just ease up on the typing and crocheting when it happens to me. Wrist braces may help you out too.

I get pins and needles and numbness in my middle, ring and little fingers in both hands when my elbows are a bit inflammed. It's due to ulnar nerve compression. It was actually my first sympton of RA - developed about a month and half before any joint pain reared it's ugly head. I was originally diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Scattered39161.5712615741My RA doctor checked for this and He told me about a glove to use at night. He said that a lot of people sleep with their wrists limp and that promotes this problem. I did the glove thing on both wrists for a while and it really helped. The glove has a piano wire that supports under the wrist to support the problem area. Thanks for reading CJamesThanks for the info guys...

Grammaskittles...i have burning and aching in most all of joints and it seems the worse they get, the worse the carpal tunnel symptoms get. I am so very tired...i go in the morning for nerve conduction tests on both wrists.

When I awake in the mornings my feet, ankles, knees, hands, etc...are stiff and sometimes my hands and wrists tingle and are half numb. And the pain jumps around from joint to joint. One minute the top of my left foot hurts, then it's the right...hands do the same as well as knees and so on and so on and so on...

Does this sound like RA?

The morning stiffness can be one sign of RA. Most of us have that. Does it take more than 45 minutes to disappear? Yes, the pain from RA can jump from joint to joint. The problem with RA is that it effects everyone so differently. There are only a few for sure things that everyone shares like fatigue, joint pain, and the morning stiffness.

When you first find out that you have RA it does take some emotional and physical adjustments. Heck even us old timers with it still make emotional and physical adjustments. But you are in a good place to find support for both of those issues. The best thing I can say to you is to keep asking questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to this illness. It is ok to have bad days and feel down. Coming here and posting when you feel like that can help a lot. Many of us have been there done that with the down days and the bad days. It is a normal part of this disease.

Good luck with the nerve conduction test. It isn't the most comfy thing in the world but it is necessary to pinpoint the nerve issue and get you treated and on the way to recovery or at least pain management. Let us know how it went.

Blessed, I had a nerve conduction test a couple of weeks ago for suspected neuropathy. Neuropathy did not show but the doc said it's not unusual for it to not show on tests early on. I did, however, show carpal tunnel. The test wasn't too bad - uncomfortable but not painful. Good Luck!

One of my first indications of RA four years ago was sudden onset of carpel tunnel symptoms at night - both hands would be so numb it would wake me up and I would have to get up and walk it off. Of course, it was straight to the hand surgeon for surgery, which I declined becaused I thought there was something else wrong. Did I get checked out more for another cause, nope, got dismissed for refusing the surgery.

Then it went away all by itself for about three years. Then it came back with a flare a year ago and I realized its caused when I inflame since my diagnosis and the predisone took care of it. I will never have the surgery. Doctors are morons.

"justsaynoemore"

I was having the same problem. It will wake me from a dead sleep. The prednisone helped that my PC prescribed for me. Now I have this nerve conduction test to do in the morning on both wrists for carpal tunnel. I don't know why All of my symptoms are coming back now that i have stopped the prednisone yesterday.

Hi Blessed,

I was diagnosed with CT in both wrists about 6 years ago. For the past 8 months the CT in my left wrist has been really bothering me. I'm taking Gabapentin ( Neurontin) which gives me a bit of relief, but my index finger and thumb are still buzzy and sensitive to heat and cold.

I've just had the nerve conduction and emg tests. My left wrist definitely shows that the CT has worsened so I'm being referred to a surgeon.

Blessed: the nerve conduction test was a breeze... just some teeny weeny zaps, nothing that triggered any nerve pain...so don't worry, you'll be fine.

BTW, I got to see onscreen how my nerve conduction test results compared with the ones from 6 years ago.

Hi Blessed. I had carpal tunnel surgery about 5 years ago, both wrists. I had been plagued with it for about a year before that, had been having cortisone injections, but they became less effective and the surgery was recommended. It was successful and I had no problems.

Two years after that - I developed sero neg. RA and Polymyalgia Rheumatica. It was pain in my wrists arms & shoulders when I was diagnosed. I was sent for nerve conduction studies, and there was slight carpal tunnel involvement again at that time - and no ulnar nerve involvement. It was after that test that they suspected polymyalgia, and diagnosed that and Sero Negative Arthritis.

Despite the meds working very well for everything else, I am now again troubled with numbness and tingling down the ring and little finger sides of my hands, and still very painful arms, both above and below the elbow, when it "blows". I wear wrist splits at night, but almost invariable wake up with the tingles.

This would appear to be connected to Ulnar nerve compression and I suspect that my Rheumatologist will be referring me back to the Neorologist after my visit next month. He has been injecting my wrists for the last couple of years, but that seems to be less effective now. As well as the Ra, I also have osteoporosis in the wrists and hands, so I guess that adds to the mix.

If it comes back to me, I will return I'm really frustrated! I'll just have to wait for my RD appt May 10th.
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