What Does Sudden Onset Of Numbness In Hands While Sleeping Indicate?

Posted on Fri, 15 May 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 15 May 2015 Answered on

Thu, 11 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : i am 53 res old female.i have been getting sudden numbness in one or both my hands only when i am sleeping .its associated with deep sleep.both the hands get numb at the same time and the feeling is as if the hand is filled with blood and numb.the symtoms go away on clinching and unclinching the hands.this started 1 1/2 yrs ago with few episodes in a month but now occurs daily at night
mri spine shows diffuse posterior disc bulge at C5-6 AND C6-7 LEVELS and indenting on anterior ccervical subarachnoid space.
i am diabetic on metformin sr 500mg bd and hbA1c is 6
what is the reason and treatment of my condition
i need help as it is affecting my sleep and behavior

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Need to exclude carpal tunnel syndrome

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for posting your query.

I have noted your symptoms and they are suggestive of carpal tunnel syndrome, where a nerve in the hand at the level of wrist (median nerve) gets compressed by local tissues. The diagnosis can be confirmed by doing nerve conduction studies.

Treatment would be with medications and exercises.

MRI findings are minor and there is no need to worry.

I hope my reply has helped you.

I would be pleased to answer, if you have any follow up queries or if you require any further information.

Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, XXXXXXX
For DIRECT QUERY to me: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar
My blog: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.com/

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar