Help! Anyone with this symptom?

Well......this was not a symptom I was expecting during pregnany and it just seems to be getting worse!
Both of my hands, but especially my right one, just ache all the time! The first three fingers on my right hand stay somewhat numb pretty much all day. I can barely make a fist and my hands just ache.
Night time is the worst! By morning I can't even open a bottle of water because my hand is so sore and I don't have the strength to twist the cap! Uugghh!!!!

I mentioned this to my doctor at my last appointment and he said that it is due to swelling/fluid retention which is then pressing on the carpal tunnel in both of my wrist. He really didn't have much advice on how to alleviate the pain or discomfort so I guess I just have to live with it.

Just curious if anyone else has had these symptoms and if they had any tips for some relief!

Thanks for reading!

 

I had this from 7months on with my last pregnancy (singleton) - it sounds like carpal tunnel, like you said, and there wasn't really much I did for it, but mine wasn't painful, my fingers and hands were just numb. I've heard that those wrist braces really help, and drink lots of water...

I remember someone mentioning some exercises you can do with your hands, but I don't remember what they were.

I hope it feels better for you soon!

Jenny

 

:hug99: to you b/c I know exactly how you feel. I would wake up in the night crying b/c they hurt so bad. The only thing was some type of support, like a brace. I don't think it really helped though.

 

I had the same thing!! It is not fun for sure. My OB also recommended a hand brace (as mentioned by Brandy). I never ordered one, I just suffered. For me the pain/numbness took a couple of weeks to completely go away after delivery. It got much better shortly after delivery, but didn't subside for a couple of weeks.

 

its the increased weight and swelling putting pressure on the carpal tunnel. Its very hard to treat as the weight/swelling don't decrease until u deliver.

You could try massage therapy to decrease the swelling doing drainage work and you may get some relief for a couple of days. Icing the inside of your wrist . also if you raise ur arm up above your head (I know its a pain), but may decrease the pressure too.

Hope you get some relief soon.


amanda

 

Mine did not go away after birth. The repetitive motion of picking up my singleton and doing all the things we mommies do just exacerbated the problem. My suggestion honestly is to drink a lot of water and go for a wrist brace. I personally found a lot of releif in that and have been wearing mine at night off and on since about 12 weeks this time.

 

Sounds like carpal tunnel to me... I got in in college while typing out a very, very, very long paper....a thesis, really. My sister, a physical therapist, got me wrist splints that I could wear while typing. It helped immensely. I could wear them at night too for a bit until things settled down. My right hand was worse than my left, to the extent that at the peak of this issue I could not even grip a pencil in my right hand...it would just fall out of my hand... I made a conscious effort not to use my right hand at all for over a week...and to leave it in the splint as much as possible... It gave things a chance to heal. Make sure that when you are typing on the computer your hands are in a good "posture"... Don't rest your wrists on the keyboard, or angle them funny...try to keep them in line and level with your hands. Laptops are actually much better for this...or lower sitting keyboards...almost lap level... HTH!

 

Yeah I'm going through the same thing right now. The brace has helped me a lot. I, too, was waking up in the middle of the night crying because it hurt so bad (I'm a big baby though...) But try the brace first. It was almost immediate relief! Goodluck!

 

Yes, it is Carpal Tunnel. I have had full numbness in both hands and extreme pain, almost arthritic, in both hands since 19 weeks. I wear a soft brace while at work and driving and that helps with the symptoms. I also wear a special night brace on both hands at night so as to not put too much pressure on the median nerve while sleeping. I always ended up sleeping on my hands so that made the situation worse. It also doesn't help that I work on the computer all day and paint my new house at night.

Try to lessen your hand use, if possible. I began icing my wrist and hand at night before bed. That helped lessen the amount of times I woke up crying in pain.

My doctors have said that I can try physical therapy but I have decided to just suffer through it.

Just know, you have a friends suffering along side you!

 

I had this as well - it's carpal tunnel caused by the increased fluid build-up during pregnancy and it hasn't gone away yet (I'm 2+ mos. post-delivery) so I'm wearing a wrist brace - just a simple cheap one I got from Walgreens. It's helped A LOT. Without it, i got to the point where I couldn't even pick up my babies b/c my hand hurt so much. With it, the pain is just about non-existent.

 

I am so glad you posted this! I have just started the numbness part of your symptoms this week... it is usually my thumb, index, and middle finger and usually happens at night. I thought it was from falling asleep on my arm, but when I switch positions I'll still wake up a little later and they are numb again.

No pain for me (yet). Sorry to hear you are in pain!