Carpal tunnel or CIDP ?

When the doc received the report from that horrible test with the probes it showed I had carpal tunnel so if he tests the right hand that will tell you. I did have numbness in both hands in the fingers only and a major strength loss in my hands before I started the IVig.

Stacey there are three nerves supplying the hand, only the median nerve passes through the carpal tunnel it feeds the thumb and first two fingers so that is where symptoms occur. You say the side of your hand by which I assume you mean the area below the fourth and fifth fingers. This area is supplied by the Ulnar nerve which run round the ‘funny bone’ and is not carpal tunnel. In combination with a general neuropathy such as GBS/CIDP I should be most cautious how to interpret electrical studies into a diagnosis of carpal tunnel and rely more on clinical findings. DocDavid

I, too, have numbness in my hands which “shakes” off. My neuro said it’s carpal tunnel but I never followed up with the “specialist” she wanted me to go to. I do have osteo and rheumatoid arthritis in my finger joints for which I take Daypro. My new symptom is cramping in my fingers — this hurts and takes a while to go away. Don’t know if this is part of the arthritis or cidp??? Anyone else with this problem???:confused:

My disease presented itself as neurogenic weakness plus other autoimmune symptoms such as swollen wrists, numbness in hands, Raynauds in hands and feet, and others. The “carpal tunnel-like” symptoms, in the opinion of my doctors, are the result of the same autoimmune attack that is destroying my peripheral motor nerves. The difference is that the symptoms (other than the motor nerve problem) have been successfully treated with lose dose oral prednisone and cellcept. I have been largely free of those symptoms for two years, while the motor nerve degeneration continues. I think we all experience different manifestations of the autoimmune attack, and we all respond differently to the various treatment options, but your doctor may try something different in light of these new symptoms.

Grant

Cathy My neurologist told me all my nerves in my wrist are affected and there were no changes.Carpel Tunnel doesn’t affect every nerves. She suggested that I have sign of arthritis and Raynaud’s.
She want my family DR to take care of it.
I have the same symptoms as you and it’s hard at times on the production line.

Sue

i too get those symptoms in both hands. it is part of my cidp according to my nuero. I have found that I have lost lots of feeling in my hands and wrists. I spilled some HOT water from my spaghetti and checked my feet right away because it hit the floor and i did not have shoes or socks on. but low and behold the steam burned my wrist and left a nasty blister. and I could not feel it. now I am even more careful as to what I do….

Things that are not Cidp come and go quickly. I mean like numbness that goes away in a time from minutes to hours. CIDP won’t fluctuate that fast. I had a numbness/hurting situation in my hands that was caused by a damaged disc at c6-c7. I needed surgery. It went away. I now have other numbness that reaches from the shoulder down, quite irritating.

CIDP can demeyelinate these nerves, and they can become damaged. It will usually be both hands at the same time, and the symptoms will be more constant. CIDP recovery time after a relapse will also not be measured in hours or minutes, but days or weeks, in some cases months or years.

Now, things like muscle weakness, tiredness, etc. These are CIDP, and don’t fluctuate much either. If you get better here it is also days, weeks. etc, not hours, or overnight.

Getting a CIDP diagnosis is a battle, and after a long period, a diagnosis is comforting somehow. At least you have something to call it. But we all have to be careful not to blame everything on CIDP. I was bad to want to blame everything from headaches to muscle pains, from ED to tinnitus. CIDP is bad enough by itself, try not to make it bigger than it is.

Good luck
Take care,

Dick S.

Thanks for all your responses…

My handwriting has disintegrated to almost illegible some days. Luckily my typing is just fine. I type as well as ever which is a good thing because I work in an office.:)

The soft tissue between my thumb and forefinger has been very sore lately – didn’t know if it’s something I did or something new and different:rolleyes:

Cathy

Interesting thread… I have just been to a new neuro mainly because of tingling and numbness down my right arm (from right below shoulder) and into thumb and first couple of fingers. I also talked to the neuro about how horrible I feel all the time and at the time of my visit both my feet were tingling. He did comment that this was not symmetrical and thought maybe carpel tunnel. He squeezed around my elbow and I didn’t have any shooting pains, but I felt his squeeze pretty good right at the elbow spot. Hmmmm…

I have an emg/ncv scheduled for this Monday. I have wondered for a long time if it is [I]just[/I] GBS residuals or if I have developed CIDP? I guess I am close to finding the answer. They also took lots of blood for 7 tests.

I’ll keep checking this thread to see what else develops with others.

Sue —

I do have arthritis in my finger and wrist joints — osteo and mild rheumatoid. I take Daypro which keeps the pain at bay but not gone. My joints swell during the humidity in the summer here in northern Virginia and the pain is worse. My grandmother had arthritis really bad so I assumed I would get arthritis and didn’t think it had anything to do with CIDP. My neuro doesn’t think they’re connected and I tend to agree!:D

CathyB

Thanks Cathy for your information. Will go do blood work tomorrow and my family Dr referred me to a Rheumatologist.

Sue