Pregnant 25 Yr Old with Severe Arm/hand Pains

It sounds like she might have pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome. Symptoms are pain in hands and arms and hands falling asleep often. If that is what she has she needs to keep her wrists upright as much as possible to let the blood circulate. It goes away after the baby is born.

It sounds like the baby is sitting in a place that is pushing on nerves. Just like when the baby sits in a funky position and it presses on the sciatic nerve. I had this through my pregnancy with my 3rd and 4th and a visit to the "back cracking" dr. (as my 5 yr old calls it) help relieve the pain and numbness. It was worse at night because I was tired and the baby had a certain position he liked at night. Good luck!

I got really bad carpal tunnel when I was pregnant. The swelling tends to put pressure on the median nerve in the arm. Look for ways to relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel and pregnancy swelling without taking something. Mine went away after I delivered, but it was torture until then. I was dropping cups of coffee and just flat lost use of my arms. I couldn't even use a stapler.

She can look into wearing a brace. Don't take ibuprophen during pregnancy, though. It can cause heart problems for the baby. I would certainly get anything and everything approved by her physician before taking it, natural supplement or not. I would never have thought ibuprophen would cause such problems, but the doc would have rather me take Lortab than ibuprophen. You wouldn't think a narcotic would be safer for baby, but it was.

Been there I was told that mine was carpel tunnel the Dr. got me a brace to wear on my hand, and told me to stay away from salt, drink lots of water. Your friend may have the same thing, mine came about while I was pregnant.

Try a chiropractor! They are awesome with pregnancy, and great non invasive, and NO meds, which is important during pregnancy. I couldn't have lived without my adjustments this last pregnancy as I had alot of pain/discomfort. Our chiropractor is Dr. Mahan at Discover Chiropractic in NW Houston. Good luck

I had this same issue during all 3 of my pregnancies. It sounds as if it is some carpal tunnel caused by increased fluid retention. I believe her dr can give her braces to wear for some relief and she can control her fluid by eating high water fruits and veggies and reducing sodium intake. And of course drinking plenty of water throughout the day.

I had really bad carpel tunnel as well when I was pregnant. The braces helped or I think there was a way to wrap an ace bandage around your elbow which make it uncomfortable to bend your arm and if you keep your arms straighter it helps...

I had the same symptoms with my 3rd and 4th child. I was diagnosed with carpel tunnel. The pregnancy aggravates it because of water weight gain. My dr gave me a RX for fuerosimide, which is a diuretic. It really helped. Also, it helped to sleep with my arms and hands proped up on pillows. The main thing is to keep the wrists strait. They sell wrist braces in wal-mart that help as well. (I just couldn't get used to having something on my hands like that when I was sleeping). Hope this helps. Good Luck!

My daughter recently experienced this with her third pregnancy. Her OB/GYN said that with multiple pregnancies, a woman can get carpal/tunnel syndrome. It has something to do with certain muscles not getting enough circulation. My daughter had to wear wrist braces at night--not comfortable, but they did help. Have your friend discuss this with her doctor.

Just a thought, but it could be that with her pregnancy she has changed her sleeping position and this is putting pressure on her arm during the night causing her injury.

I had the same thing when i was pregnant and it was due to carpal tunnel syndrome which can develop and/or worsen during pregnancy due to the increase in fluid which puts pressure on the carpal nerves in the wrists. My doctor had me buy wrist splints for both hands and told me to wear them at night. This really helped out alot. I would also wear them during the day as needed. They can be cumbersome but they do work. Have your friend try this and see if it helps. You can find the splints at any drug store.

-Cecele

I could be her breasts may be putting pressure on nerves. Is it a numb feeling? Swelling also becomes an issue. Eating foods like watermelon and cucumbers sometimes help with water retention.

I agree w/ many others that it sounds like carpal tunnel. I had it with both of my pregnancies. One pregnancy I treated it w/ massage therapy (deep tissue) and the other w/ chiropractic. Both worked very well. Chiropractic was not painful, but the deep tissue massage was pretty painful at times. A combination of both would probably be wonderful! I've heard that acupuncture is very successful for it, also, and acupuncture is not painful at all.

What does her doctor say?

What it sounds like is that she has something going on with her neck. You might suggest that she go see her physician and have a MRI done on her neck to rule out a disc protrusion. That is pretty common with someone who is pregnant because their ligaments become lax during pregnancy.

Edema (fluid retention) during pregnancy is very common, especially in the extremities (arms/hands/legs/feet) and especially at the end of the pregnancy. Edema can cause numbness, tingling, and pain in the effected areas because the swelling can put pressure on the nerves in those areas. Limiting salt intake, drinking plenty of water, elevating limbs, more supported sleeping positions, daily walks, prenatal yoga, eating foods that are natural diuretics (watermelon, cucumbers, others), drinking dandelion tea, acupuncture, and lymph drainage massage can all be helpful for edema.

Every thing suggested sounds like things to consider.. Also I had trouble with numbness in my arms while pregnant, because I was sleeping on that side of my body for the entire night. I guessed my body was not use to all of the weight. I had to start using pillows for propping them and when I would get up to potty in the middle of the night, I would force myself to sleep on my other side.

I am not a doctor, but a few months ago, I was having the same problem. I went to the doctor he couldn't find any thing. Sent me for n MRI of my neck and upper back.
I had strained my neck and a dick was pinching a nerve.
7 days of steriods and I feel great. She might try a heating pad at night, it helped for me.

I had carpal tunnel flare ups during mid to late pregnancy then terrible pain for a few days after delivery and it subsided slowly over a period of months with only the painful tingling occurring when I grip something for too long. I don't know if some sort of carpal tunnel treatment might help or if her issue is something completely different.
Best of luck!
H.

My kids are now 16 and 14, but when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter back in 1992, I got the worst pain in my hands and it got to a point I couldn't even cut my food up at times, my hands hurt so bad and especially at night. Someone suggested that I had carpel tunnel. So I went to the drug store and got hand braces to wear at night, that focused on the nerve for carpel tunnel and it helped so much. Hope this is helpful.

B.

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~ Ann

your friend may have the symptoms of carpal tunnel. This is very common among pregnant moms. Sometimes the ortho drs. put moms in removable braces becuase I do not think there is much they can do while she is pregnant. She may talk with her dr. and get some good advice.

Yep, completely normal I had this pain in both hands and it went all the way to my neck. They call it carpel tunnel, It happens in a lot of pregnant women. I couldn't even lift things toward the end of the day cause my hands/arms were so swollen and achy.
Shortly after I had my son the aches and pains went away.
I wore wrist bands and braces helped at night but not always. Wish your friend the best of luck for me.

I have a close friend who just recently had a baby (6 months ago) and she developed carpul tunnel in her wrists from pregnancy. Her doctor says it happens more than everyone knows about..

I hope this isn't the case for your friend because it's painful and she may have to undergo therapy..Not to mention she won't be able to cradle her beautiful baby as often as she'd like to.. :(

I wish you, and her, luck.

I had the same thing. It is probably carpal tunnel that is pregnancy related. You may be able to look it up specifically online. I wore a hand and wrist brace at night and it gave me a little bit of relief. I feel for her because it was very painful and kept me up at night. The only good thing is that very shortly after delivering my son, it went away for good.

I am a mom of three children and am very familiar with that. Many pregnant women get it. I would suggest you see a massage therapist and/or chiropractor to get some relief. I am a massage therapist/doula for a birth center if you would like to come see me. If not I suggest you find someone that has experience working with pregnant women.

HI,

I have been there myself! It sounds like corporal tunnel syndrome. I had two children 18 months apart and it was very painful for my wrists and hands. Corporal tunnel is not just for secretaries! It is very prominant in pregnant women. It is also repetition work...whatever that may be, lifting, carring, typing, etc. When you are pregnanct, as your body grows it sometimes triggers the arm and hand pain, especially at night. I felt like I had broken my arm. Night hand braces can help keep your hands straight while you sleep and can bring some relief. Ice and tylenol. I would definately have her check with her OBGYN to confirm that is what it is. I ended up having to have the nerves tested in both hands and had surgery after the babies were born. Corporal release is a relatively easy day surgery. It was harder not being able to lift with two small babies, so if that is the case and surgery is recommended try to wait until you have help or your lifting is minimal. Sometimes it gets better after the preganancies and sometimes it does not. Surgery did help. I have shorter, fatter hands and that also contributes to the situation. I would make sure her doctor knows what is going on! If it is CT, it is painful, but fixable! Good Luck!