Hey, I have been experiencing intermittent pins and needles feelings in both hands and feet for around 7 to 8 days. It changes from foot to hand to other hand, and so on. I can shake it out quite quickly, but it returns every so often throughout each day. It’s worse when I wake up (once or twice my hand has been completely dead, which has never happened before) and also worse when I’m lying using my phone (possibly carpal tunnel?).
I went to the primary physician and he just said to return in a week if the symptoms continue, but it seems they’ve stopped (fingers crossed) after a recent gym session.
I will also add that several years ago (maybe 3+) I had a notable tremor in my hands that lasted for around the same time, but then didn’t return.
Should I push my physician for an MRI? I am worried that this could well be MS. I am 33 and male, with no history of the disease in my family. I also read that the pins and needles is usually on one side of the body, and that usually you can’t shake it out when it’s bothering you.
Any advice on this would be most appreciated, before I go back to my physician.
Hi
From my experience they (doctors) like to rule out everything else before considering ms.
Have they run blood tests or checked your vitamin b12 levels because that can cause pins and needles in your hands and feet. X
Pins and needles in the hands and arms are rather common with lying down due to the position that the hands and arms are in when people sleep, often because we curl our arms up when we sleep and rest them by our heads. You may be ok for years lying in your normal position and then suddenly it seems to become an issue. Take a look at where you arms are when you get the sensation.
It interests me that the symptoms calmed down after a gym session. In my own case (and I think this is common) the raised body temperature that goes with a gym session or similar exertion will tend to make things transiently a good deal worse rather than better - it’s something to do with raised core temperature making more obvious any disruptin to neural traffic caused by a CNS problem. As far as that goes - which is basically no-where: I have no expertise whatsoever - I would be reassured by the fact that you felt better after exercise rather than worse.
As for things happening on both wings, well, again from my own experience, that doesn’t say much for or against MS: many of my MS troubles have happened at the same time in the same way in both hands/legs/eyes. Not everyone finds this, and I don’t find it always, but more often than not I have. It’s fair to say that most regular relapses have a trajectory that builds, peaks and ebbs over week if no months rahter than coming and going, but vaguer things can can happen, particularly in the early days of MS, as I recall them.
In your shoes, and particularly given that this isn’t the first odd thing that has happened, I think I would incline towards wanting to get to the bottom of it. If MS is eliminated as a possibility, then hurrah, and there’s no harm done beyond, perhaps, having to put up with a mild case of ‘I told you so’ from the GP, but never mind: you can deal with that. If it does turn out to be MS (and I very much hope it doesn’t), then you can look to getting on one of the very effective drugs that help keep you well - if you have MS then you want to do that as soon as you can.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback. To update, I went back to my gym routine (I’ve been going 5-6 times a week) - did 2 days after I thought it had died down, and it has come back. Again, it’s not consistently there all day, just every now and then. Definitely more so when I lie on my side (especially my right side), but I can shake it out after a few seconds. My friend was told that if you’re able to shake out the pins & needles it isn’t too serious. Have you heard that at all before? I think I will definitely still get an MRI as I need to get answers at the very least. Thanks again for everyone’s thoughts, is appreciated.