Elbow pain and fingers going numb

[lilyjames]

Getting little finger and ring finger, side of hand falling asleep every night (usually a couple of times a night) this has been going on now for a number of weeks, however my elbow is now very painful especially in the morning but seems to be lasting most of the day now.
I can have this in both hands but usualy left, surely both my elbows cant be trapped????
I had an EMG about 5 weeks ago and he said that the nerve wasnt trapped but I cant understand why this is getting worse and now the pain in my elbow

questions are

Has anyone had these symptoms and pain in elbow?
Should I go back to doctors and ask for meds?
What can I do to help this?
Did it go away?
Can anyone please explain what is happening?

Also, new hotspot in the last couple of days twitching between thumb and pointer finger? is this normal? could it be paid of the Ulnar issue?

Thanks again

[bobajojo]

Lily,
I know a lot about this as I've had it too and I've talked to my neuro about this several times. First off, its not worrisome at all. With BFS, your nerves are very excited and easily irritated. When your little and ring fingers go numb (mine do every night), its called Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. It is caused by irritating a nerve at your elbow that controls those two fingers. If the other three fingers go numb (thumb, index, and middle), thats Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. Different nerve from the elbow. Its caused by keeping your hands in the same position for an extended period of time, i.e. while sleeping. Most likely, you are resting your arms up on your chest at night. The best position for them to be is by your side. But for me, my fingers will still go numb even with my hands by their sides. My nerves are so exciteable that just keeping my arms in any position for an extended period will cause this for me. But just know that this is not concerning. When you notice it, just shake your arms out and change positions. I hope this helps.
-Matt

P.S. I get the twitch between my thumb and pointer a lot too so it could very well be related. If you can calm your BFS down, this issue will go away. Mine has not gone away, but it definitely has gotten better as my anxiety about BFS came down.

[lilyjames]

Thank you so much for your reply, it does seem exactly like mine

Have you had the pain in your elbow?
Did Neuro give you anything for this?
How did this get better? was it when your BFS settled a bit

Good to be able to communicate with someone who knows what I am going through

[bobajojo]

Yes, I had pain in my elbow along with aches in my forarms. My neuro did not give me anything for it. I tried sleeping with elbow pads which helped a little... but I stopped using the elbow pads after a few days... too much effort!

If I were you, I'd try the elbow pads and make an effort to sleep with your arms slightly bent at your sides. And by that, I mean don't have them perfectly straight, just a slight bend at the elbow but don't rest them on your chest. That makes it worse. Try it and see if it helps. As your anxiety around BFS gets better, and it will, your elbow problems will get better. I promise.

-Matt

[lilyjames]

Thanks again Matt, I suppose I am just a bit concerned that I am doing some damage to elbow nerves/elbow itself, I shall try what you have suggested and see what happens. This BFS certainly keeps us wondering what will happen next, never a dull moment

[chrissi]

http://www.nextination.com/aboutbfs/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17156
scroll down tp parts "arms" and "hands"

[Yuliasir]

Hi lilyjames,
I do have that in my left elbow. After bearing a suitcase, any more or less hard work etc. I have quite prominent pain about 2.5 cm higher than elbow bone spreaded along the forearm. I also have night numbness in my pinkies and ring fingers (sometomes to the point Ii can not feel them at all). Matt is right, however this is not carpal but ulnar syndrome, for carpal you have pains in wrist and thumb, index and middle fingers numness. I have them both without having really entraped nerves, and this is good because in case of real entrapment the pain is hardly bearable... My friend had it once and his memories are very unpleasant.
Matt is also right that we should not have entrapment to get symptomes, just slight irritation already causes neuritis symptomes.

Should you have the pain and numbness persisting, on my opiniom you should go to the surgeon/neuro. usual care for ulnar neuritis is wearing orthesis for a while and some NSAID for the same while. Very seldom, in very heavy cases it needs surgery. Physio also helps but it is better to talk to doctor, what is better: cold applications, hot applications or massage.

[jorge]

Hi,

I have been dealing with burning pain on my wrist and elbow (right arm) for 3 weeks. There is also constant numbness of the little and ring fingers. Waking up at night with tingling in these fingers (both arms) is very common since BFS stared in Sept.2011.

First, I was thinking of tendonitis or tennis elbow. Went twice to the orthopedist, did a ultrasonography but everything was fine, no entrapments. When I started to feel the burning pain on the sole of my left foot I was convinced that this condition is related to my BFS. Somehow my peripheral nerves are irritated and little effort brings pain and inflammation (neuritis?).

I decided to do a little search on this forum, and there it is… BFS to blame again. Chrissi describes what I am felling very well: “arms: internal vibration, arm feels fatigued very easily, sore muscles, arm twitches, bad arm tremor when leaning on it slightly or lifting objects, almost constant pain in elbow, often a whole strain along my elbow is hurting, wrist pain, , arms fall asleep easily, veins stick out a lot”

The tremor and the twitches worsened since the pain started.

I am using a wrist splint to sleep and during the day, when it is possible. Today I am starting with an elbow strap. One week of NSAID did not help at all.

I am really worried that this pain may become chronic or that this may evolve to fibromialgia.

[Scandinavian girl]

This link was in a way good for me to read because I have excactly what you all writes about. Often my 4. and 5. (little) finger feels totally dead (and "hard") when I wake up, but the feeling comes quickly back. It has happened with my whole hand and my whole foot (and often toes) as well. I get very scared everytime. Can I don't recognize is pain in elbow. It must in some way be possible to have bthe fingers feeling "dead" without having pain. But afterward my arm feels so heavy and a bit painful, the whole arm.
Can physiotheraphy help in some way?? excercizes?

[Scandinavian girl]

I asked a doctor I know about this right now, he told me that if I had what you calls ulnar/cubital syndrome ,then it would have shown on neurography. My was normal. But I'm not surpised I was normal because my fingers was not numb/dead the few sekunds the test lasted...
So, is what we are having just "nerve irritations" of some sort, not a real "short place"/trap (in the albow)?
When I read about normal fasciculations that most people are excperiencing some times (not in the way we have it), it stands that is is because of nerve irritation that last for a little while. Are all my nerves irritated?? sensory, muscular? (For my case it all started with a really bad stomach infection)
Is there really no one who does reseach on this? I can not handle this at all.

[Tom_65]

A good post for me to read as well. I've had the elbow pain extending a couple inches down my forearm for a number of weeks already. I attributed it to the BFS but decided to check it out on here to confirm that. I haven't found anything that helps yet but am going to try a couple of the suggestions I've seen here an on other posts about muscle pain.

How long has it lasted typically for everyone? It seems, for me anyway, that when the twitching slows down (never completely stops) something else is there to take it's place. I can honestly say that I'd much rather have the twitching than the pain/cramps/soreness.

[jorge]

when the twitching slows down (never completely stops) something else is there to take it's place. I can honestly say that I'd much rather have the twitching than the pain/cramps/soreness.

I completely agree with you on that.

[Scandinavian girl]

yes, fasciculations are a much better to have than all the other symptoms..the worst for me is the CONSTANT paresthesias and migrating pain, even though I have fasciculations almost every minute..Now I have extreme tingeling/crawling sensations in my scalp and I feel dizzy and have vision problems (see blinking stripes, dots moving +++).
Always one symptom that dominates - if the fasciculations are not so bad, then the pain is..if the pain is less, then I'm very dizzy, if I'm not dizzy then ...and so on....

Btw: I used to loose completely the feeling in ring and little fingers at night EVERY NIGHT FOR 9 MOUNTHS, and sometimes all fingers, one hand, one foot, toes...It went away for 2 mounths and I actually thought I was over it, but tonight it happend again..

[BFSBurger]

When my BFS was flaring up, the night time numb hands/forearms thing flared up bad too. Definitely correlated to when I was at my worst overall. As I got control over the situation and things calmed down, the first thing to go was the tendency to go numb in the arms while sleeping. I had to keep my arms straight. Cant even do "L shape. Now i am okay tho

[seventhcandle]

I get this every night, along with Scandinavian Girl's symptoms of visual flashes too. In the beginning, it would come and go, but now I get this cubital irritation every night, multiple times a night in my left hand.