When I woke up this morning my right arm was asleep.
That’s not uncommon.
Back in the 90’s I discovered that I have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome which to keep it short is basically a disorder that causes a nerve to be pinched in the lower neck and it causes numbness in the hand and often pain in the shoulder area.
For the most part the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome doesn’t bother me too much. When it does it mostly causes my shoulders to hurt for a day or two. Usually my left shoulder.
I do however think that waking up with either my left or right or sometimes both arms asleep is a side effect of this disorder.
Anyway … so we’ve established that I often wake up with one of my arms asleep. A good shake or two and within a few minutes the arm is usually back to normal.
Not this time.
My right baby finger, ring finger, outer palm and outer right wrist are numb and tingly. They’ve been that way for hours. It’s a little better than when I first woke up, but it’s still there.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to type or do pretty much anything when half your hand is numb and tingly? My hand is doing everything I tell it to do. It just feels weird and I don’t want to trust myself to hold a hot coffee in my right hand either. Just in case.
Good thing I’m a lefty!
I’ve taken an aspirin just in case I’ve got some inflammation around a nerve in my neck, shoulder or somewhere in my arm. I was hoping that once the aspirin started to take effect the tingling would go away, but so far it hasn’t.
I’ve also been doing a lot of neck rolls, shoulder rolls, shoulder shrugs and stretches and shaking of my right arm.
I’m very well stretched out and limbered up … but I’m still unhappily numb.
This had better go away! I really don’t need any more strange health problems, thank you very much.
Anyone else have Thoracic Outlet or wake up with one arm asleep regularly?
I wake up with tingly arms sometimes, but this is because of how I sleep, and it never lasts very long. I can’t get anything accomplished until the tingling stops though… hope you get it sorted out soon!
My arms, and fingers get this feeling sometimes 2x a month..I never knew what caused it, but I wake up and have that feeling.
I got bad knees…two surgeries on the left one because of an injury and I got arthrosis on my right knee. If I sleep on one side my left lower leg is tingly and my left foot is numb. It’s hard to get up with only one foot, but the feeling comes back in minutes if I straighten my leg.
Uncanny that you mention this. My Mother inlaw has been experience this very thing.
I KEPT WAKING UP THE PINS AND NEEDLES IN BOTH OF MY HANDS AND ARMS. I ASKED MY DOCTOR ABOUT IT AND SHE SENT ME FOE AN EMG TEST. I FOUND OUT THAT I HAVE SEVERE CARPAL TUNNAL AND NOW I CANT WORK MY REGULAR JOB!!
Hi , I also have Thoracic Outlet syndrome. I know exactly how you feel. I was diangnosed in 2004 and now I am permantlly disabled because of it. check out my blog and you can read my story.
I too wake up with one arm or the other and sometimes both sleeping. I am currently 3 months pregnant and it seems to happen nightly. I have also noticed that sometimes even after the arm wakes up, i have almost a tingly, burning sensation. Just wandered if any one else shares my symtoms or has a suggestion as to why it may happen?
Have you looked into applying for the disability tax credit?
You may be able to get back some tax refunds that you can use towards medication or therapy.