Numb Hands

[PhilaGuy]

Hey Everyone:  I've been recently diagnosed, type 2b, high viral load, probably had for 20 years.  I became symptomatic late last year which led me to see my physician.  I've recently seen a hepatologist and will probably start treatment shortly (after the battery of tests, eye exams, stress test, etc!).

Anyway, for the most part I'm feeling fine, except for one thing that developed sporadically late last year and now occurs every night.  I wake up several times a night and my hands range from being tingly to being completely numb.  My hepatologist doesn't think this is due to cryoglobulinemia, but is doing a blood test to make sure.  

My question is, do any of you have experience with this symptom?  Can you have it with HepC in the absence of cryoglobulinemia?  It's the one symptom that really freaks me out, and it seems to be getting worse.  What have your doctors said about it?  Can I be sure it's from the HepC and not, say, MS or something else?  My doctor's great overall, but I was a little put off when he suggested I was probably sleeping on my hands!  I've talked to twotells about it, and have seen posts on the subject from tallblonde and ringading, but wanted to get some other's experiences as well.  Thanks so much!

[cindee]

PhilaGuy, HI! Funny you should post this. I went to my GP a wk ago Tues. I was so concerned....my palms were blood red, and I too am having tingling and numbness in hands. My hands look like I've been in chemicals....NOT!!!!! So his only thought was the meds leaving my body?????? So I still don't know, I called my liver doc 1st and the mean nurse said to go to see my GP. The numbness sometimes goes up both of my arms as well. I thought I had relaped. I finished 48wks tx. Nov 6th, was SVR the whole time, geno 1a, 48yr old female. So go figure. I didn't go to ask jeeves for red palms....some say it is hep c related. I am sooooo confussed, I'm just dealing w/ it!!!!! If ya hear anything let us know. Best Wishes on tx. We're here for ya! Cindee

Markley, Welcome aboard! You fight that nasty 'ole dragon with all you have in ya!!!! We've slayed so many dragons in here!!!! Take care and drink LOTS of WATER!!!!!!! Prayers to all, Cindee

[fsplink]

I was soooo glad to hear that I'm not the only one with this problem. My hands and arms even go numb when I'm on the phone too long! I haven't started treatment yet so I blame it on the disease.

[PhilaGuy]

One more on this topic...when does the numbness occur for most of you?  When I told my doctor about it, he asked me this question and it ONLY happens to me at night (many times last night, as a matter of fact).  He said that the majority of his patients with HepC/Cryoglobulinemia-related numbness, it occurs throughout the waking hours.

[Tallblonde]

My hands are tingling right now and it's only 10 a.m. My pinkies on both hands are nearly constantly numb.  But all this is definitely worse at night.  And, of course, that's when we all tend to feel more vulerable anyway, so it's much scarier.

Susan

[PhilaGuy]

Yeah, that is so weird.  I know I'm more freaked out by it at night than I would be in the daytime.  I know numb hands at night is a classic Carpal-Tunnel symptom, but I know it's related to HepC, as well.  This also happens to a lesser degree to my mom and brother, who do not have HepC, so maybe I'm placing the casue where it doesn't belong.  I guess I'll wait to hear from my doc with results of my Cryo tests and go from there...

[DownThisRoad]

Oh, the numb hands.  I noticed that just a few week after starting treatment meds my hands would go numb at all times of the day and especially at night when I was sleeping.  I brought this to my GI's attention.  He said that he really didn't know a cause for this from the HepC meds, and we even suspected that it could be from my AD, Amitriptyline.

I had this problem for about 4 months, off and on.  I don't experience the numbness like I use to, just very seldom now.

I wrote on this board several times about numbness and got response from others that were experiencing this.

Is it the hepC itself, the hepC treatment drugs or something else that causes this?