Numb fingers and feet due to nerve damage?

Symptoms & Treatments
1

About 2-3 months ago my left hand went numb. It’s just the last 3 fingers; and they are only sort of numb, if that makes any sense? At the very least it’s like I can feel with them but the skin or something is numb. Other times it is more intense - I find it harder to feel things with those fingers. Makes it interesting when your hand is telling you that you don’t have hold of something, but your eyes are telling you that you do - seriously messes with the mind! :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Now tonight I noticed that my left foot is sort of doing the same thing. It is just the outside edge of the middle toe into the inside edge of the 4th toe.

In both cases I can move fingers and toes normally, they are just numb. And really it doesn’t hurt - at least not from the numbness anyway.

So, any ideas what is going on? I have an appointment with my doctor on Thursday and I plan to talk to him about it then. The appointment has me rather nervous anyway and must say this is not helping. :worried:

2

I’ve may have had this before but was related to degenerative disc disease in my cervical spine - in between my shoulders. It was diagnosed as trigger finger , I had pulled a muscle now it comes & go’s every so often . But it doesn’t sound like your in any pain so it may not be the same thing . Some medications can cause numbness or tingling too, best to let your doctor know because it could be something more serious. I hope you get it resolved.

3

I’ll talk to him, not really expecting much. He wasn’t at all concerned about my hand - just said I had messed up a nerve, try not to use my hand and don’t do anything to aggravate the nerve. :roll_eyes:

Last night was a up and down night - up every couple of hours and took awhile before down to sleep again ( :rofl: ) and I noticed the numbness had left during the middle of the night. As of this morning it still is good, so will see. My hand did that for a while - the numbness came and went - before it settled in for good about 2-3 months ago.

And no, I’d say not so much pain as annoyance. That’s what confuses my so much with this. Whenever I tell someone the doctor says I messed up a nerve they always grimace and look something like this :persevere: and then comment about how painful that always is. And then they always look like this :open_mouth: when I say no, just annoying. :roll_eyes: :rofl:

4

I can DEFINITELY relate to what you are going through! I’ve experienced this intermittently in my hands, and; permanently in my right foot. The outer aspect of foot, to be precise.
I would suggest you get your neck/shoulder evaluated though, as injury or degeneration in those places can also cause this.
Hang in there!!
I’m always grateful for this support group because when I stop by, frustrated by my symptoms, I feel NORMAL here!!(aka not alone :slightly_smiling_face:)

5

Yes, I also have degenerative disc disease in my spine and my hands and feet always go numb. My doctor told that our cervical and lumbar part of our spine is triggers for fibromyalgia. Get check to make sure there is no damage to your spine.

6

Is your doctor an orthopedic doctor? You might want to see one just so they can check to see if you’re spine is pinching a nerve.

7

Hello my name is Rossalyn I have neuropathy the symptoms you are talking about sound like neuropathy you should be checked by a neurologist or your doctor damaged nerve endings, mind is caused diabetes and fibromyalgia good luck to you oh yeah I shake my hand I massage my hand or feet ,legs stump my feet wake them up I take gabapentin for this also

8

Rossalyn, so nice to see you back! Other than your neuropathy issues, how have you been?
Seenie from ModSupport

9

You too, ebenizer! Great to see you posting again
Seenie

10

How are things, StrugglinginKs? Still having the numbness and tingling? We were wondering how things went with your doctor’s appointment.

Did you get any answers? Are you still feeling the same?

Everyone experiences and responds to pain differently. You said it’s annoyance. Someone else might have something similar that’s really painful to them. Whatever, it needs to be checked out.

Drop in and tell us how things are going for you!

Seenie from ModSupport

11

If I had seen your post a couple of days ago, I would be able to give you a “better” report . . .

The hand is the same. The doctor says it is just nerve damage and will either heal or won’t. For the most part I have sort of gotten used to it or rather have adapted to it.

And with the rest of it I don’t really have any answers. He said the fatigue and trouble focusing/memory issues are “just part of the depression.” The rheumatoid arthritis test came back negative so I still don’t know why the sed rate test was so high. He says I’m “just dealing with severe arthritis and I will have to learn to live with it.” He did give me some pain meds which have helped some. My normal pain is about half to 2/3 of what it was but it doesn’t seem to touch the flares.

And it is doing nothing for my back right now. I messed it up yesterday morning while making the bed - who knew making the bed could be so hazardous? :laughing: So I’m moving pretty gingerly - when I am moving.

12

Oh my, it’s hard, isn’t it? Are you getting any treatment for your depression? I have Psoriatic arthritis, and I was undiagnosed for almost 20 years. Treatment for the depression I suffered helped, a bit. But it was finally the aggressive treatment that I got for PsA (once I was diagnosed) that set me right.

The thing that caught my eye about your post was the numbness and tingling you mentioned: Before I was diagnosed, I had mysterious numbness and tingling too in my hands and feet for a long time. I had numerous nerve conduction tests done, and I got one Carpal Tunnel fixed. After that I was diagnosed, and treated and … ta da, no more numbness and tingling.

So I guess I should ask you whether you, or anyone in your close family (parents, siblings) have psoriasis or nuisance skin complaints (itchiness, dry patches, dandruff, sore, raw itchy areas in skin folds where “the sun don’t shine”, funky nails, nails that lift, etc.)? If so, the conversation may need to change to Psoriasis and PsA.

I hope I’m on the wrong track, or maybe not. PsA is not nice. But being undiagnosed and told it’s your weight, you have to eat better, you just have to tough it out, it’s menopause etc etc is way worse.

What is your doc saying about your ESR? Looks like you might have some inflammation going on somewhere.

Seenie

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13

Yes, I have been getting treatment for the depression, which has helped. I still have times - almost always they are when the pain is worse or when I realize that I have some new “loss” - those things that I once did with ease but now can’t. I have often asked if I am depressed and have pain because of the depression or do I have depression because of the pain? It is a vicious cycle it seems.

As for the Psoriasis, I don’t know. I deal with dry skin often (I need to buy stock in a hand lotion company!) and that will cause itchiness; and sometimes I get patches of eczema. I’ve dealt with that for years. But the rest, not really. I have an area on my elbow that has been driving me nuts all summer with being dry and cracking or it will get a scabby-like patch which peels off and then it is raw and sore. But I don’t think that counts. And as far as I know none of my family deals with any of that.

Out of grandparents and parents we have thyroid issues (p1), diabetes (p1), Parkinson’s (p1), spinal stenosis (p1), hypoglycemia (p/g 2), stroke (g1), heart disease (g3), osteoarthritis (g2, 3?), rheumatoid arthritis (g1), macular degeneration (g1) . . . hmm, think that is it. (My thyroid checks out fine and my sugars are always in the low-normal range.)

And yes, I have had the conversations - it’s all in your head, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, live with it.

Had one Sunday in fact - they asked what I had found out at the doctor. When I told them he says arthritis, but that I felt questioned that; they told me about a friend. “She was just sure the doctor wasn’t giving her the right diagnosis and in fact was saying she was fine. So she went to Mayo and you know what they found? Nothing, nothing was wrong with her.” Ok, thank you, I get the hint. :cry:

Or the well meaning conversations with grandma - “Oh, I know what you mean, everybody up here is complaining about their (knees, backs, etc.).” Or my favorite - lovingly given on my birthday the other day - “Well, you are a year older now you know. And you just aren’t going to be able to do now what you did at 20.” :roll_eyes: :cry: Yeah, I know, but is it too much to ask to still be able to do normal housework, laundry, grocery shopping, etc? To not have to decide between sweeping/mopping the kitchen floor and fixing a decent meal for supper - because I am will not be able to do both before my body revolts. And now I am trying to figure out how to make a bed without actually making the bed because I really don’t relish a repeat of yesterday morning.

Oh, and as far as the sed rate being high - your guess is as good as mine. :slightly_smiling_face: When that came back high he was just sure it was Rheumatoid arthritis. When that came back negative, the sed rate was suddenly no longer an issue. When I tried to ask about it, I was told it was just severe arthritis, that’s all. Discussion closed. :worried:

So now I have nearly $300 in dr. bills and lab work, I’m no closer to knowing what’s wrong than I was and with no interest from the doctor in finding out, I won’t know either. And since I lost the little income I had coming in and haven’t found a replacement income yet, I have no way to pay those bills either. :cry:

Yep, the frustration levels are at an all-time high.

14

Jesus that is frustrating! It’s all connected. It’s all auto-immune issues and when you have one you tend to get another. Since diagnosed with fibro I’ve had some small psoriasis and eczema. I also have the dry skin. If you buy stock in a hand lotion company I will buy some too. I need stock in full body lotion lol.

15

Oh boy, you are in a mess. I hear you. I feel for you. I’ve been there. The well-meaning advice from relatives and friends, the physical limitations, the feeling like you are a big fat failure because you can’t. You just can’t. But it’s not you: it’s something else that’s happening. You just don’t know what it is yet.

I’m sorry to say that your skin sounds a lot like mine: itchy, dry, flakey, a dry scaly/scabby patch on an elbow. Weird break out rashes that came and went, nails that looked like they had a bit of fungus. When things finally came to a head, I got sent to a dermatologist who lost her temper and said “It drives me nuts that people have skin like you have and it doesn’t ring a bell with their family doctor. Of course that patch on your elbow is psoriasis!” OK then. And her word pushed “Arthritis, unknown type” to “Arthritis Psoriatic”.

Doc was sure you had Rheumatoid. RA test comes back negative, and now it’s “just severe arthritis”? Inflammatory arthritis (there are several kinds) can wreck joints. And given the chance, it WILL. No, you need to pursue this. I know it means another doctor’s appointment but this just isn’t good enough.

I know it’s a tough one for you, but I really think you should consider a consult with a rheumatologist. There’s something called “Sero-Negative Arthritis” which is like Rheumatoid, but it doesn’t set off the RA factor, so doesn’t show on the RA blood test. But it would probably show up on the indicators of inflammation such as CRP and ESR. A rheumatologist will not blow you off like you have been.

Here’s the thing: RA, Sero-Negative Arthritis, and Psoriatic Arthritis can all damage joints. You don’t even want to think about that happening to you. Nope. After fifteen years of the usual (lose weight, exercise more, it’s menopause, we all have aches and pains, you aren’t twenty-five any more etc etc) I got angry and made them take an x-ray of my aching feet. (“Get orthotics, buy better shoes.”) The bombshell: the x-ray showed that I had extensive joint damage all over the mid-foot. I will never walk comfortably again. And don’t get me started on my three major joint replacements. Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment would have prevented those too.

In your heart, you know there’s something wrong. Really wrong. This doctor isn’t going to help you figure out what it is. No amount of supplements, exercise, sleep, healthy eating will fix that. I think your shortest route to a diagnosis is probably a rheumatologist. I know that’s difficult on your limited income, but the costs of not going could be far higher.

I’m so sorry you are in this position, and I feel bad about pushing at you to find out what you know in your heart is wrong. Living in chronic pain and totally lacking energy to do the most basic of domestic tasks is no way to live. I wish I could reach out and just give you a big, gentle hug. What you are going through is hard. I know, oh boy do I ever.

Seenie

16

Oh, yea definitely!

My favorite one though . . . I have lost track of how many times muscle and pain creams have been recommended and I think I have tried all of them. But if you read the warnings on them, it will say something like “do not use over large areas of the body.” Let’s see . . . shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, back, knees, feet . . . anything left? :thinking: :rofl:

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17

I know, eh? (Oh, there I go, giving away that I’m Canajan, eh?)

18

Oh, and I can add a new one to the symptom list too. :roll_eyes:

The joint and muscle pain, along with stiffness is a constant. Nothing new there. Sometimes joints, especially fingers, sometimes the knees, will be red, warm and more tender to the touch. Nothing knew there either.

But recently I have had more noticeable swelling. This summer it was my ankles - not my legs, not my feet, just the ankle. It would look like I had a softball or large grapefruit in place of my ankle, with the leg above and the foot below being normal. Often the left more than the right, sometimes both. More recently, it’s been my hands. Most often the right and it is usually more severe than the left. My fingers will suddenly be so stiff I have trouble bending them, can’t make a tight fist, etc. My hand will be puffy and my fingers will be swollen - sort of like sausages, yet the arm will be fine. I will see it with my knees too (left more than right), but I have a harder time seeing the swelling there - usually I notice more the sudden major stiffness that won’t let me hardly bend the knee. Then after a time, it will go away.

I feel like every day it is something new. And some days I think it would be faster to list what is right rather than what is wrong - the list being shorter! :roll_eyes: :rofl:

19

You are amazing to be able to get anything done with that happening. The “wandering” and intermittent symptoms are weird aren’t they? Definitely a puzzle for a rheumatologist! (I have a friend who swears that rheumatologists are the Sherlock Holmeses of the medical world!) I’m guessing a rheumatologist will have you diagnosed more quickly (and cheaper) than anybody.

Ever get one finger that went like a sausage? All by its little old self? Now that’s a weird thing.

20

Oh my god that’s a riot. Seriously. A tube of pain cream would last a day if that lol. I’ve never tried the creams to be honest. I really just despise them being a white Irish guy who has skin problems lol