Numb hands at night

[CremeDeSudo]

Hi all, asking for advice. I keep waking up at night with numb hands. It affects both hands. I usually go to sleep on my side but wake up on my back. If I lie with my hands on my stomach to avoid any pressure etc it still happens. I have to hang my arms over the side of the bed to get the feeling back! It almost feels circulatory. I did go to my GP and she suggested an orthopaedic pillow - is that actually going to help? It felt like a cop out somehow. It's been going on for over a year now. I'm pretty fit ans healthy otherwise, I eat well, blood pressure is good. Does anyone have any experience of this?

Low b12

One of the most common causes of this is carpal tunnel syndrome. Do the symptoms fit?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/

It happened to me when I put on weight, it seems to have stopped since I lost a bit of weight. I think mine is circulation too, I'm assuming with the extra weight something is getting crushed when I lie down.

Had this post covid and my hands/wrists swelled too. Felt like arthritis/carpal tunnel. Ibruprofen gel did offer some relief and it’s pretty much stopped now. Others have told me they have experienced similar (although mine seems worse and other have had different joints affected).

I get this, its linked to my sleeping position.

I have had bouts of carpel tunnel. Wearing a wrist splint at night helped. I had to wear it for a few weeks.

I had this, I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel, then shortly after arthritis.

There could be many reasons obviously so don't want to worry you, but I would consider popping along to the doctors.

Watching. I have this too.

Sounds like carpal tunnel.
You can buy a wrist splint to wear at night.
If it's bad, and causing you problems you can get it snipped.

This happened to me when I had low vitamin B12 and vitamin D.

This was one of my perimenopause symptoms…how old are you?

The numbness and pins and needles do. I'll get some splints!

I've just checked my vitamins and am apparently taking a shed load of B12 so doesn't seem like it's that.

Perimenopause - I'm 42 but had a hysterectomy in 2019 and started hrt about 18mths ago, so could be that I guess. I'll pencil it into my list of symptoms!

Will give the splints a try thank you all

I used to have this, it’s cleared up now. I think it was a circulatory thing. I used to be slightly underweight and I thought it might have cleared up when I put on weight (it’s ironic to see another poster also blamed their weight, but the other way round). I take iron tablets (every other day). Maybe it went when I started taking them? I think that maybe women often need more iron.

It's carpal tunnel. Very classic symptoms. Buy yourself cheap wrist splints (somewhere like Amazon about £5), take out the metal bar, and wear them all night every night for 6 weeks. Also Google Median nerve gliding exercises.

I had a phase of this a few years ago and still happens now and then - I assumed it might be something perimenopausal? Seems mostly to have stopped now.

b12 tablets, if unable to absorb b12 can cover a b12 deficiency but not remedy the issue

Just in case it is CTS I’ve had both hands operated on… under local anaesthetic.. it’s really easy so if it comes to it ever.. please don’t worry…. It’s easy peasy!

Weird I get this and have never considered it to be anything other than sleeping weird with my hands. I often sleep with dinosaur hands.
maybe I should pay more attention and up my vits!
I get it only occasion though.

I get this a couple of times a week but I think it's just my sleeping position. Feel weird though!

What are dinosaur hands?! Like a T-Rex, do you mean?

I had this and it turned out I was hypothyroid....needed blood tests to diagnose.
I was also very vitamin D deficient
I take levothyroxine after a diagnosis of Hashimotos/hypothyroidism. No numbness since.

Interestingly my symptoms/Hashimotos seemed to be triggered by a gynae investigation for polyps, although it was not a hysterectomy. I remember ringing the surgeon and complaining about incredible numb hands and he said it was nothing to do with op but in hindsight it seems too much of coincidence ..auto immune reaction triggered by surgery or something I don't know

Also potentially folate levels.

Thanks all. Will give the splints a go. If they don't help I'll go back to GP. It's really unpleasant!