wake up in the night with dead hands worried

[Beckie4567]

For few days now iv e woke up in the night or morning with th e feeling my hands are numb like wen u lean on them and they fall asleep I have a bad back which I've had for years now and its sore to touch.i think I had this before for a while e but then it went anyone else experienced this I'm worried about spinal cancer or tumours

[KeeKee]

I've always woke up with dead this or that. I even get a strange sensation that one side of my stomach is dead. GP said it's related to how we are lying (or sitting if it's during day) and some people are more prone. They even said some people get numb legs whilst sitting on the loo, so do I if I'm too busy on my phone to actually get up hehe

[countrygirl]

I wonder if you have started sleeping with your arms above your head, My husband does this and wakes up with totally numb arms/hands but his arms have fallen back down just before he wakes ( this is what wakes him up) so if it wasn't for me seeing it he would be none the wiser.

I have carpel tunnel in both wrists and if I don't wear splints at night then I wake up many times a night and my thumbs and first two fingers are totally numb, carpel tunnel syndrome in the wrist generally only affects thumb and first two fingers.

Neck problems can also cause numb hands again due to sleeping position. Try and notice your position when you wake with this.

[.Poppy.]

I wonder if you have started sleeping with your arms above your head, My husband does this and wakes up with totally numb arms/hands but his arms have fallen back down just before he wakes ( this is what wakes him up) so if it wasn't for me seeing it he would be none the wiser.


Just what I was thinking. I do this a lot and it's a scary feeling for sure! It feels to me like I'm not going to be able to actually move my arm, though of course that's not true. Once I bring my arm back down the feeling eventually comes back. :)

[Beckie4567]

I tent to sleep on my right side which I the right hand which is usually the problem one I'm not sure weather my whole hand is numb or just my fingers ill see tonight.when I wake up and lie on my back and it subsides and goes bk to normal scared ��

---------- Post added at 17:24 ---------- Previous post was at 17:04 ----------

Ots not my arms tho its my hands ��

---------- Post added at 17:58 ---------- Previous post was at 17:24 ----------

Anyone else x

[Beckie4567]

Guess not lol ��

[.Poppy.]

It's very likely you're just pinching a nerve when you lay like that.

[Beckie4567]

No one

[Fishmanpa]

I havnt plucked up the courage to take these yet �� I just feel once I start them I cant just suddenly take them I have to be weaned off just don't no what to do

Perhaps if you do as the doctors are recommending and take the meds, you might actually start to feel better (as many have said they have) and not have to seek reassurance for a very common side effect from sleeping in an awkward position.

Positive thoughts

[Mindknot]

I get this regularly, I told my doctor and he said it was nothing, just sleeping on them awkwardly.

I've got a bunch of other aches that I would also put down to my sleeping position, which I'm told, (by the person who shares my bed) is a/ sprawling and b/ totally twisted. I quite often find myself lying on top of my entire arm which cuts the blood off, hence numb hands, & the brain wakes you up so that you can shift position.

For the record, this certainly seems worse when I'm anxious, but it does happen all the time, it's just that when I'm less anxious I probably don't fully wake up & notice.

[KeeKee]

I agree it's worse when anxious. Maybe we lie less comfortable when we're anxious/stressed.
I've even had the opposite hand (and whole arm) to what I was lying on go numb so I really do think anythings possible. I also got a strange numbness in my back at some point last year but it went and never returned. Was my upper back and the centre and wasn't related to my position. The GP said it's nothing more than an inconvenience.

[Mindknot]

I agree it's worse when anxious. Maybe we lie less comfortable when we're anxious/stressed.

Yeah, I thought that too. I guess if you're muscles are tight & tense all the time then it takes longer for your body to relax fully at night, so what you think's comfortable as you're getting to sleep, maybe 'collapses' into a different position as various bits relax.
But I expect if your brain is also wired for panic, you're probably also likely to get a few wrong messages sent out, which makes you even more likely to wake up and notice any numbing.

[Beckie4567]

I also have a bad bk and have done for bout 5 years its sore in quite a few places on side of my spine wen u press it I've had xray and bloods and all normal surely this isn't normal for a 29 year old

[Mindknot]

I also have a bad bk and have done for bout 5 years its sore in quite a few places on side of my spine wen u press it I've had xray and bloods and all normal surely this isn't normal for a 29 year old

A bad back can be normal for anyone at any age. Most people don't and never will have perfect posture, plus we all pick up various habits during our lifetimes that might affect each of us differently - it could be the way you cross your legs, or carry your bag - lots of repetitive movements over time can cause your muscles to develop in a certain way...

I can only really speak from experience (I'm 33) but visiting an osteopath has really helped me understand what those habits are and how to correct them. E.g. I tilt my hips forward which puts strain on my lower back, & have done since I was a child in dance lessons (i've seen pictures), but of course once I got bigger, those little lower back muscles were relatively under more strain - and more so with each year that passes until, the pain became regular and noticeable... tried everything, but with my osteo I was able to learn why I had this pain and have started trying to actively work to fix it i.e. pulling in my core (stomach muscles) and levelling my pelvis - only now is it getting better :) I've also got a host of other postural niggles that I'm working on with the osteopath, it works for me - a bit expensive, but also the best money I've ever spent.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that everyone "holds themselves" differently, but I would try to trust your doctor on this one and instead start thinking about other, simpler, reasons that you may have this back pain - when is it most noticeable for example? Standing/sitting/lying down & if so, what do you notice about how are you standing? what are you sitting on? what are you lying on? etc etc...

[.Poppy.]

This may not be helpful if you don't believe in evolution but I read in one of my father's science magazines that as humans transitioned to be more upright, they did so too quickly and as a result we have all those curves in our spine that aren't ideal. As a result, back pain is VERY common, no matter your age.

You'd be hard pressed to find someone, young or old, who hasn't dealt with back pain.

[Beckie4567]

I no I slouch I always have and sitting at a computer dosnt help it just bothers me it hurts wen u press areas down side of my spine it just cant be normal I dunno thanks for your reply's ��

[Beckie4567]

I'm getting dead hand every night now tho for a week it is mainly thumb and first finger tho

[Beckie4567]

Panicking ��

[uru]

Please take your meds. You're back in the cycle again.

Take your meds.

[mourningdove]

Thumb and first finger? Hmmm what a coincidence, two of the biggest fingers used for being on the computer. ;)

It's either nothing or maybe mild carpal tunnel. But you're fine I promise. Also poppy is right! Same thing with our eyes; they're inefficient in their design. We have blindspots that more sophisticated visual receptor systems do not have. The funny thing about science is that it's true no matter what you believe in. But that's a discussion for another day I wager.:shades:

[glassgirlw]

I type all day for my living. Have the same issues sometimes. Think it's the extra strain we put on our hands and mourningdove makes a great point about those two fingers being used most in typing!!! Very probably just a pinched nerve or mild carpal tunnel.

[Beckie4567]

I'm feeling abit disorientated this morning �� so scared in a state of panic don't no what to do keep thinking bone cancer spine cancer ots horrible

[Gary A]

That's the problem though, you keep trying to give yourself cancer. You must have worried yourself sick over practically every cancer known to medical science. You have absolutely no reason to think you have either bone or spinal cancer, none of your symptoms remotely suggest either.

You've got a sore back from bad posture and occasional numbness in a hand upon waking, something that has happened to pretty much everyone at some point in their lives. Stop trying to convince yourself that you have cancer.

[Beckie4567]

I've got hand numbness for every morning for bout a week

[Gary A]

If this was being caused by a tumour in the spinal chord it would be there constantly, it wouldn't just be a morning symptom.

Do you see what you're doing here? Do you see how you actually try to support the notion that you have some terrible illness?

How many times can you do this, seriously? You do not have cancer.

[Beckie4567]

Sorry if I've offended anyone on here this is bot my intention I appreciate everyone's comments I really do and hope after taking meds I can return and be positive just cant shake this is there a chance xray wud miss it

[Movielife]

I've had this on and off for about 6+ years...maybe more! I only noticed when I had time to think about it.


Mine is ALWAYS hand related. Never anywhere else.


I've noticed if it DOES wake me up, I usually end up confused as to why I've YET again slept with my hands under my head like an extra pillow, or I've got my arms above my head, or I've laid on my entire arm.


Never happens during the day like that.


I've been there with the worry as well. Huge bout of health anxiety and I'm almost out of it. It can slip back, but I realise later I'm being over the top.


Worrying/being anxious makes it worse/happens more often. I assume due to relaxation problems during sleep.


Please try and relax. Take meds/see the GP/therapy. That is what I am doing. Light dose of meds, and CBT. It is working!


As people said, I would expect anything serious to affect you all day in a very severe way. Not just when you sleep on your arm.


The other way to see it is when you move it to a normal position, it comes back normal.

[Beckie4567]

Thanks for your reply just struggling at mo

[.Poppy.]

I think the nasty thing about HA is even when logic is telling you it's okay, even when the doctors say it's okay, the idea that something is wrong just roots in our heads and it's really hard to get it to leave.

I've not seen your other posts, do you have any kind of support?

[Beckie4567]

Yes it does. �� its horrible

[Beckie4567]

It seems bit better just seem in morning and mainly thumb and next two fingers