Is there a doctor in the house?

[xXBUDXx]

For the last few days, I have been experiencing numbness and tingling in my left pinky and ring finger. As the day has gone on, I have no feeling at all in my pinky. I tried to scratch my ear and could tell when it was in.

Does this sound serious? My wife is telling me to get to the doctor, but I don't have time for that crap.

Is this part of getting old or am I dying?

[Uri]

All the above...........

[Hoog]

Do you have your affairs in order?

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by xXBUDXx

For the last few days, I have been experiencing numbness and tingling in my left pinky and ring finger. As the day has gone on, I have no feeling at all in my pinky. I tried to scratch my ear and could tell when it was in.

Does this sound serious? My wife is telling me to get to the doctor, but I don't have time for that crap.

Is this part of getting old or am I dying?

No, you're not dying. But a legal cramp is giving you a sample of what dying is like. Sirus, what you're experiencing sounds like nerve damage. I have the same problem, and my Doc said that on my last visit to the emergecy room ( where they used a defibrillaor on me) I likely had nerve damage in my back near my neck. The thrasing about probably put me in unusual position.

Surgery to correct it: Doc didn't recommend surgey.

[xXBUDXx]

Originally Posted by Hoog

Do you have your affairs in order?

No, I'm a faithful husband, so no affairs for me.

[Hoog]

Originally Posted by xXBUDXx

No, I'm a faithful husband, so no affairs for me.

Then yes, you're dying....a little bit each day.

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by xXBUDXx

No, I'm a faithful husband, so no affairs for me.

You are confused what marriage is about. Remember: You're not married... but your wife is.

[Ol Timer]

Clearly you are suffering from a lack of The Vette Barn Off Topic exposure.

Good to hear from you - now go see a doctor.

[xXBUDXx]

Originally Posted by Ol' Timer

Clearly you are suffering from a lack of The Vette Barn Off Topic exposure.

Good to hear from you - now go see a doctor.

I finally had a few minutes to check up on everyone!!

Nerve damage doesn't sound like any fun. I'll have to simply find a better way to scratch my ear.

[StaticCling]

Your getting older my friend, I too experience those things. My doc said don't worry about it.

[Datawiz]

Change how you sit at your desk. Might be carpal tunnel.

[RonC5]

Had the same symptom, Ulnar nerve damage. The Ulnar nerve is the commonly known as the "funny bone". The only nerve in the human body not protected by skeleton or muscle. My choice was surgery to relocate the nerve or eventually lose the use of my hand. I had the surgery, out patient, in a sling for 10 days and that was it. Tingling and numbness is 90% gone and the spasms I had have all but stopped. Listen to your wife.

[xXBUDXx]

Originally Posted by datawiz

Change how you sit at your desk. Might be carpal tunnel.

I've thought about that and modified my habits with no results. Whats really odd to me is that some days it's worse than others. I can find no pattern to it.

Originally Posted by RonC5

Had the same symptom, Ulnar nerve damage. The Ulnar nerve is the commonly known as the "funny bone". The only nerve in the human body not protected by skeleton or muscle. My choice was surgery to relocate the nerve or eventually lose the use of my hand. I had the surgery, out patient, in a sling for 10 days and that was it. Tingling and numbness is 90% gone and the spasms I had have all but stopped. Listen to your wife.

This is what I'm afraid of. What kind of specialist did you see and how did they test you?

[Stevedore]

My wife had similar symptoms when she had carpal tunnel syndrome. However, other nerve problems can have the same symptoms, and the doc sent her for some nerve testing before he would do the surgery for CTS.

So it sounds like you may have CTS, or some type of nerve problem, as others have suggested. Your choices are simple: If you want it properly diagnosed, and potentially fixed, go to a doctor. If you truly "have no time for that crap", do nothing, and live with the problem.

There is, of course, the 3rd choice of posting on a car forum about it, but you already have that covered.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Hoog

Then yes, you're dying....a little bit each day.

[RonC5]

Originally Posted by xXBUDXx

I've thought about that and modified my habits with no results. Whats really odd to me is that some days it's worse than others. I can find no pattern to it.



This is what I'm afraid of. What kind of specialist did you see and how did they test you?

Orthopedic that specialized in hand/arm. They hooked electrodes on my upper arm and then grounded my finger tips and tested the conductivity of the nerves. Pinky and ring failed miserably.

[wwomanC6]

Happy Belated Birthday Bart!

You need to see a doc before the nerve damage is not fixable and becomes permanent.

[johnnyvettes]

cut your arm off problem solved !

[carlton_fritz]

Use your other arm for a while or get the wife to do it for you.

[Meh]

Not carpal tunnel syndrome because those fingers are not innervated by the median nerve (which passes through the carpal tunnel). Certainly could be ulnar neuropathy, which can be entrapped at the elbow or the wrist. Entrapment at the shoulder (thoracic outlet) or neck are also possibilities. Definitely get it checked out by an orthopedic hand surgeon, because you can end up with permanent nerve damage in some circumstances if you let it go for too long.