Calling All carpal tunnel experts!

[endoftether82]

When I was pregnant I started to get stabbing and burning pains in the tips of my fingers. The gp at the time informed me that this was common in pregnancy and it would resolve itself post birth.

2 years later and I still get it daily and nightly. It's much worse now in fact. I also have hypersensitivity in one of my fingertips so that if I so much as brush it against something Its like slamming my finger in a door. I've had an mri scan and a nerve conduction study both of which have come back normal. The neurologist also said that initial clinical examination suggests carpal tunnel.

The pain isn't just isolated to the finger tips, I now get nerve twinges and aches all up the arm and into my shoulder / collar bone.

Some weeks I can have several days on the trot where I have minimal issues and other weeks my whole arm is in pain with twinges and a dull ache.

Does anyone know if you can have these sort of whole arm / shoulder / collar symptoms with carpal tunnel. And what can I do to help resolve it if so.

Hi @ilkleymoorbartat thank you for replying. The pain is so bad that it extends to my neck, shoulder and upper back muscles on the left side. I’ve had a neck and brain mri which was all clear. I’ve also been referred to a hand surgeon but that’s all the way in March! How do they diagnose a glomus? What tests could I suggest? My doctors think I’m a crazy postpartum lady but this pain came on a few months after my son was born and is on and off. Ranges from Mild to excruciating. Feels like one big bruise from my neck down to my fingers. I had carpal tunnel before and it went and this just feels so extreme!

Do you get a sharp pain in the tip of your finger? In a very specific point? Mine pain, like yours, also extended up arm into my next. Almost like my arm muscles were completely seized up and constantly aching really badly.

The way it was diagnose was just through a consultation and taking my history, and then the MRI on my hand.

It's awful feeling like there's something wrong and you're not getting the right answers. It might not be a glomus tumor in your case but it's worth investigating if you're not getting answers.

Also, weirdly I got my pain in pregnancy initially which I think confused thjngs because obviously carpal tunnel is so common in pregnancy.

@ilkleymoorbartat my thumb, index finger, middle finger and half of the ring finger are numb. But to confuse things I had already lost some sensation due to an accident when I was 18 where I partially cut the median nerve with a plate that fell (freak accident, I know). So now I’m so confused as to whether this is truly carpal tunnel as it is going up my arm, chest, part of my neck and shoulder too. Also starting to get pins and needles up my right arm too now which is starting to worry me. I hate the idea of surgery! I’m so glad yours turned out to be benign and you are now doing much better. I feel the same with arm muscles seizing!