Nerve Pain and Throbbing Hand Pain
I am relatively new (3 months) to this diagnosis and just started methatrexate which doesn't seem to be working so far. My Rheum tells me I have carpel tunnel which is causing the painful numbness in my hands. I'm wondering if anyone has these same sensations due to RA induced carpel tunnel. I have had numbness and pins/needles in from my thumb to ring fingers on both hands. At night the numbness gets works to the point that I can't feel anything at all. Lately now I have a burning sensation when I bend the fingers (only at night during heightened numbness), and when they're not burning it feels like frostbite (that happens all day long). And then on top of that, there are times when I just feel a throbbing pain that occurs in my palms to my fingertips...even if I'm not doing anything with my hands. As in I'll just be sitting idle and my hands are throbbing.
So in addition to that pain, when I lay down at night, I have pain in my arms that runs from the shoulderblade (on my back) down through my armpit and to my fingers. Between the hand pain and the arm/shoulder pain I haven't sleep well in months.
My question is: Is this normal? Do others have this sort of feeling in hands? And what has worked for you to provide relief.
I am doing OT/PT, methetrexate, B-complex, Turmeric pills, licorice extract, Advil, heating pad, wrist braces...and nothing seems to help.
Hi lloest ~
Have you talked to your rheumatologist about the pain/numbness in your hands? Any time you have a strange or new symptom the best thing you can do is talk to your doctor about it - as he/she is best qualified to figure out where the issue is coming from and what you can do about it. Unfortunately for many people living with RA, methotrexate alone isn't enough to control the pain - oftentimes a biologic medication needs to be added before the symptoms are reduced. That's how it is for me! So it may also be worth asking your rheumatologist what he/she considers to be the next step in your treatment, since you say the methotrexate alone doesn't seem to be doing much.
I also thought you might find this article useful: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/medical-conditions-occurring-along-with-ra/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/
Best of luck and please remember we are here to support you!
~Mariah~ (Site Moderator)
