Numbness in fourth, fifth fingers

[chunkyfrog]

Now I have some idea what to do if it comes back.
Thanks, guys.

[Matty332]

Here's my crackpot theory on what this might be from. One of the symptoms of sleep apnea is hypertension. My blood pressure was consistently above 150/100 for 2 years. Upon using CPAP, my blood pressure has now dropped to 120/80 - it is always that now and it changed overnight on my first night of CPAP (although my body is still adjusting to the CPAP). I have the minor tingling and sometimes numbness in my forth and fifth fingers when sleeping on my back when I use my CPAP (I never had this symptom even before treatment began when sleeping on my back and even before sleep apnea when sleeping on my back all night). Perhaps around the Ulnar nerve the blood vessels are susceptible to high blood pressure and it changes them to be larger or more used to the hypertension. When your hypertension drops with the machine on the blood vessels around the ulnar nerve aren't as inflated and a bit more fragile so simply the weight of the elbows on the mattress causes your ulnar nerve to cause the numbness!

Perhaps the ulnar nerve/blood vessels return to their former resilience when experiencing normal blood pressure for a while because every night for me the numbness & tingling gets less and less and normal feeling improves for me.

How's that for pseudo-science! It actually makes a lot of sense to me. What do you guys/gals reckon?

[Kaylis]

I've had the same problems with my hands (and my feet actually) and it started when I was in labor with my first son. The neurologist said I was leaning on my elbows too much, and avoiding that has helped some. Actually, though, I think that I was leaning on the rails of the bed and on my elbows so hard while in labor that I injured the nerves then. I've found that taking B-complex vitamins seems to help, though the improvement is slow. Good luck!

[JointPain]

I have similar symptoms too in my left hand. For me they were happening when I slept on my favorite left side , because I would fold my arm up in that position.

.My doctor said Ulnar nerve and suggested a nerve conduction test. I haven't followed up on that because I had/have more serious issues.

I have been trying to avoid keeping my left arm bent while asleep, and not resting my elbow on the edge of the desk when using the computer. It's improved a lot since then.