PMR and Hand issues

Hi Kim @kim555, Welcome to Connect. I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy along with PMR and a few other conditions including carpal tunnel syndrome. Because I'm a side sleeper, I too have had many nights in the past where my hand and arm go to sleep and I wake up in pain. What has been helping me is being more careful about how I hold my arm at night so that I don't lay on it which I think makes it worse for me. I've found that using a smaller travel pillow on top of a regular pillow allows me to have my arm on top of or under the larger pillow so that I don't lay on it.

I think the numbness for me is more nerve related than anything to do with PMR since my PMR is currently in remission but hopefully you will get some answers when you see your rheumatologist. I thought you might find the following article from the Sleep Foundation helpful.
-- Numbness in Hands While Sleeping: Why It Happens and What It Means
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/numbness-in-hands-while-sleeping.

Can you let me know what you find out at your appointment with the rheumatologist?

Hello John, and thank you. Thank you for your suggestions as well. I can't tell you how many pillows I have and have swapped out over the last month dealing this this - I've lost track. I have become a back sleeper over the years, that's been a process of it's own. I am so very careful with where my arms and hands are, thus the wrist wraps as well, but that's just how I've learned to live with this wonderful pain from head to toe. Mechanics. I am constantly thinking about body mechanics and how to move (or not move in this case) so that it doesn't cause me more pain. Good times.
Totally checking out the link you've shared. Thank you for that.
I will most definitely let you know what comes from my rheumatology visit! Thank you for caring!!!

Although aspirin and ibuprofen do not help me, either, I have found that naproxen sodium (Aleve) does cut the pain a bit, enough to make a difference on those days when the prednisone falls short of the comfort zone. You don't want to be habituated to it, though, nor take it on an empty stomach.

When my PMR was active I also had carpal tunnel symptoms of numbness and tingling. As my PMR went into remission these annoying symptoms disappeared. Good luck to you in your journey. I hope you get some relief soon.

Hi all

So my husbands have major hand issues with his PMR. Basically it’s neuropathy and it really is conversation as he hast to be very careful how he moves his hand.

Has anybody figured out a way to alleviate this? Thank you in advance.🙏🏻

I also have major hand issues and wish the connection between the hands and PMR could be better explained. My rheumatologist considers my hand issue as rheumatoid or inflammatory arthritis. He put me on hydroxychloroquine and it has helped, but the hands are still an issue, especially in the mornings. He thinks the hydroxychloroquine will also help with the tapering of prednisone. I just tapered to 6.5 mg of prednisone and am tapering by .5 mg every two weeks. So far that is working well for me.
Best of luck to your husband.

I can't explain the hand issues with PMR either. I just wanted to say that I had hand issues too. My issues were more prevalent during my years with PMR. I had some minor hand issues when I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis some 20 years before PMR was diagnosed. My favorite explanation was that my problems with my hands were caused by a combination of inflammatory arthritis and PMR.

I used to tell my rheumatologist that my hands were like a barometer for how widespread the systemic inflammation was. My hands would get very stiff and sore when disease activity was the most active. I would wake up every morning and the very first thing I would check was how easily I could open and close my hands.

I had other problems with trigger fingers not to mention a spontaneous tendon rupture. The hand surgeon couldn't explain why the tendon connecting my thumb ruptured spontaneously.

I was diagnosed with "diffuse" peripheral neuropathy but the EMG/NCS focused more on my legs. They asked if they could check my arms in addition to my legs. I said yes and they said the peripheral neuropathy was in my arms too even though I wasn't symptomatic there.

The other problem I had was the feeling that my hands were freezing. This wouldn't happen all the time but it was strange how cold they felt sometimes in the summer. I would blow into my hands trying to warm them up like it was winter and freezing outside. My hands were always warm though but they felt like they were on the verge of frost bite,

I just think autoimmune problems and hands are linked somehow. It might be prednisone related because I'm off prednisone now and my hands aren't causing me any problems now. I'm still being treated for a deranged immune system but currently I'm taking a biologic and I'm off prednisone. I don't have the hand problems anymore like I used to.

Oh boy, I just noticed all my typos 🤪… I recite to see her and then she types whatever she wants! 😝

Thank you for sharing your experience. I really appreciate it.😉🙏🏻

Ps. I just read a really interesting scientific report on the vagus nerve and how the vagus nerve is completely responsible for all inflammation in our body. It sent out the directions on what to do..

Bottom line is the end of the conversation was towards whether soft tissue massages of your neck and shoulders seems to help get your vagus nerve back in shape-so to speak. This was not trying to say that everybody should feel they can get a massage and life will be grand. It just meant that you could help the vagus nerve by getting a soft tissue massage.😉🙏🏻

I’m pushing my husband towards that… decide who doesn’t love massages??!!!😉 and my HSA pays for it! Bingo! 😉

Hello @ctjpmarie, @sharonanng, and @dadcue. You will notice that we moved the discussion started by @ctjpmarie to an existing discussion on the same topic and changed the title a little to better describe the discussion . Click the link to go to the top of the discussion and read what @kim555, @pkalkstein and @scpartain have shared.

-- PMR and Hand issues: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hands-and-pain/