Dead hands and arms .

[doseydoe]

Does anyone have any ideas ?

I have been on CPAP treatment for about 7 months and its working fine , except my arms and hands below the elbow are numb 90% of the time . I spoke to the Hospital who don't believe the problem is related to APNEA . I also have seen a Physiotherapist who does not believe the problem is a muscular problem but will still try treatment " private medical care of course they will have a go " .

Where do I go from here ? as dead arms in the night keep me awake , need I say more !

[silvercarper]

I have the same problem but I dont have any answers.

[Tigers Fan]

Hmmmmm......

Part of diabetes can be neuropathy - nerve ends die at the extremities.
I had - have - numb toes and the medics could not find a reason, gave up when a lumbar puncture showed nothing amiss. However, when I was diagnosed as diabetic, my unexplained symtoms were suddenly typical.

Have you used pneumatic drills much in your lives, the pair of you?

Have you risked blindness excessively at any period?

TF

[doseydoe]

TF we speak again

I check my self regularly for diabetes as it runs in the family so am confident that I am OK on this front . Drills not quite but have ridden motorbikes for 20 years and do occasionally get pins and needles while riding , but that is also quite a common problem on bikes due to the vibration and lack of movement in the hands while holding onto bars .

I really am miffed about this little problem as are the medical profession for now .

The implications of not being to use my hands to work is causing major problems probably more so that being sleepy . Its ashame because CPAP treatment is working so well for me " I have no intention of stopping " intact I would give my right arm rather that lose my machine .

Basically ****off about it .

[andysnorer]

Hi Doseydoe, I used to be a biker (both motorised and pedals), and when OSA took hold, I noticed pain and numbness in the wrists and fingers. I have been diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but I think that it is more likely due to the lack of circulation caused by OSA.

Andy

[Tricia]

It could also be down to the fact that you're not tossing and turning all night now. Lying in the one position for a long time with your arm in certain positions could lessen the blood flow to your hands, thereby causing pins and needles.

[doseydoe]

OSA and Tunnel Carpel

Hi ,

Its been some time since my 1st post on dead arms etc .

I tried 10 sessions of physio and it didn't make a lot of difference . I then tried sleeping with splints and the pins and needles problem at night went away .

This pointed me in the direction of Tunnel Carpel which was proven with Ultrasound , Nerve Tests and while they were at it blood tests for every thing under the sun . On the 12th April I had Carpel release in the Right hand which has sorted out the dead hands bit , although my fingers are frozen open in the mornings still but that is probably related to sleeping position as I used to sleep on my rights hand side and now sleep 75% on my back .

Andy if you are interested in investigating Carpel problems I can recommend a specialist who did my hand and my GP's hands which has to be a good reference , he is private and based in London Bridge .

I don't really want to post his name but will email if you want . Be careful who you use as its becoming a fashionable op with a lot of surgeons who will carry it out without proper investigation eg Nerve tests

[andysnorer]

It could also be down to the fact that you're not tossing and turning all night now. Lying in the one position for a long time with your arm in certain positions could lessen the blood flow to your hands, thereby causing pins and needles.

Hi Tricia, I think I may have been worse before being diagnosed. In the last couple of years before having CPAP, my grip strength was abysmal, I found it difficult to pull a plug out of a wall socket. I have heard other people say that OSA causes problems with circulation, especially to the hands and feet. I also used to get very bad cramping in the lower legs. I wonder if untreated OSA can lead to DVT?

Andy

[James @ Intus]

This may explain it to a degree:

http://doctorstevenpark.com/how-peripheral-neuropathy-can-be-caused-by-sleep-apnea

The numbness, pins & needless and cold is what's called "Peripheral Neuropathy" and is indeed associated with OSA.

It's supposed to disappear when OSA is properly under control.

[ElleCee]

I have to admit that mine is much less severe now. I used to get numb hands while driving and when in bed, this would be on both hands and I knew I was not laying on both of them at the same time. I still get it a bit when I try and read in bed so I have learnt to read on my side. Seems that anything above waist height for a short length of time and they drop off to sleep. Most odd.
At least they are improving a lot now which is a good thing.

Lorraine

[Tigers Fan]

I'm going nuts!

or maybe there are two threads on the same topic?

Anyway - the peripheral neuropathy I have in my feet was "without discernable cause" despite extensive testing - until I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, when it became a typical symptom.

I wasn't diagnosed with OSA till much, much later - which is not to say the on set hadn't begun when diabetes was diagnosed. My medics have never associated neuropathy with OSA within my hearing and - unfortunately - it most certainly hasn't gone away with good CPAP therapy.

TF

[Richard]

peripheral neuropathy

It is well known that OSA, left untreated, will lead on to diabetes, and there are many examples on this forum of that being true. Whether diabetes causes OSA is a different matter, but there is a commonality of symptoms.

If you are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, where it is a matter of keeping your blood-sugar levels under control, this can often be achieved without drugs and by eating a sensible, balanced low-sugar diet.

There are a couple of advantages to having such a diagnosis, however: as a diabetic you qualify for free NHS prescriptions, and you are asked to submit to an annual check-up with a diabetic nurse, who will examine your feet and an eye-specialist who will examine your eyes for any evidence of retinopathy.

Both these examinations will reveal any evidence of 'peripheral neuropathy'; high blood-sugar may destroy the tiny blood-vessels located in your toes and eyes leading to the risk of blindness and atrophied tissue.

High blood-sugar brought about through a malfunctioning pancreas, puts tissue and organs at risk. OSA does the same because of the low levels of blood-saturation that are a feature of the OSA condition. Taken together, the high blood-sugar and the low oxygen saturation conspire to produce a poor-quality supply of blood.

Prof. Stradling, who addressed the recent SATA conference, has a view on this, and you can find him at

http://www.ndm.ox.ac.uk/principal-investigators/researcher/john-stradling

[Berneta]

Tingling and Numbness

Hi Everyone. Before I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea I used to wake up in the night ( and some mornings) with numbness on my left side, so bad that the whole left side was useless. I could not stand or walk. Then It started happening in the daytime--usually after a nap. I went to the hospital by helio and ambulances several times--and by the time I got there, my side was normal again. The seizures only lasted 10 min to an hour. After many trips to the local hospital where no cause could be found--then I was sent to a University hospital where all their tests showed nothing. They thought it might be phsycological. They gave me anti seizure meds the whole time I was there-- and the numbness did not happen. But while there they discovered that I had Sleep Apnea. After that I was put on a small dose of valium morning and night to control the numbness seizures. (the disabling numbness was gone completely but I still could feel a tingle now and then in my left side.) Then I did a sleep study and severe Sleep Apnea showed up. I was put on the CPAP and continue to take the small doses of Valium 5mg twice a day, and have not had a seizure since. I have Central Apnea-- and have been told the lack of oxygen may have caused the numbness. My Dr discussed my problem with other DR's and they decided that the diabetes, and high blood pressure narrowed my arteries and veins, in the right side of my head causing a lack of oxygen that showed up as seizures on the left side of my body. I have been on the CPAP and Valium since last July, Have not had a bad seizure since then (Now and then I get a tingle)--and now we have discovered through a log book that I have been keeping-- that the tingling I get on the left side corresponds to times when my glucose is high. I take a small insulin shot and that ends the problem. Since being on the CPAP I rarely have that happen now. The Valium keeps my arteries and veins open, and the CPAP gets the oxygen into my blood stream. So the numbness was apparently a severe symptom of diabetes, combined with Sleep Apnea for me. I don't have diabetic problems with eyes, ears, kidneys, or extremities, Its different for most everyone. Sometimes if I lay on my hand it will get numb--but that has to do with blood circulation in my hand (or rather lack of it). Sleep Apnea is something we really know very little about and I think this forum helps us find some answers that may apply to what our symptoms are showing. It may be mild or very bad---but it seems the CPAP helps. So hang in there and give the Drs a chance to figure it all out. XBerneta

[Barely Awake]

This thread has proved or huge interst and use to me having suffered this daily for over twenty years. It doesn't stop, it just varies in intensity and pain levels. CPAP didn't alter it, perhaps after 14 years it came too late. I wear wrist splints and elbow supports in bed and also a blanket raiser - with CPAP as well it is not unlike being dressed for skate board space travel, but it does minimise it!