Carpal tunnel brought on suddenly at time of extreme stress. How to reverse this?

[Sophiedw]

So this isn’t strictly about ME/CFS but as people here are learned and have various opinions about how stress and the immune system interact (possibly contributing to etiology of ME?) I thought I may as well ask.

My mother is going through a period of extreme stress with her mother’s extreme old age. My gran is in and out of hospital, and the doctor rang my mum at 4 in the morning around 6 months ago to say she may die, because she was in such a deep coma (back at home again now woo), and poof my mum immediately developed carpal tunnel in both hands at that exact moment. It has not abated since and is getting worse.
This is quite phenomenal, don’t you think? How the immune system must be breaking under the strain of the stress and then something tips it over the edge and it starts a focal attack on the body, specifically both of her lower arms and hands.

How does one understand this? And how might one approach treatment? Anti-inflammatories? Things to lower cortisol ashwaganda(sic) phosphatidylserine? General destressing (meditation?). I just don’t know where or how to begin to help her. Is the general opinion that these aberrations of the immune system can be reversed or they are with one for ever more?

I hope you don’t mind the tag but @Hip I see your extensive learning on immunity. And anyone else that may have an opinion or experience in treating similar autoimmunity. Thanks

 

[Hip]

I actually had a similar thing happen to me. About 25 years ago I went through a period of very high stress and tension at work, not because the work was a problem (nothing had changed with my job), but because at that time I suddenly I developed generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which was linked to the IBS that I was suddenly hit with.

Everything in my life then became tense and stressful. My job was the same, but once my brain had developed GAD, even normal daily things became stressful.

What's more, the skeletal muscles in my entire body became constantly tense and stiff (muscle hypertonia).

Tensed up muscles are often found in GAD. They are not directly caused by the anxiety; but somehow the brain goes out of whack in GAD, and causes the muscles to become constantly stiffer.


It was under these conditions that I started to notice not carpal tunnel, but a pain in my knuckles, which was a similar sort of pain the way people describe carpal tunnel. I work with computers, and think this knuckle issue was caused by me trying to type on a keyboard while my entire musculature was tense. It seemed like a mechanical wear and tear of the knuckles, while my muscles were tense, and perhaps the blood supply was consequently poor.

I took about 10 years for the painful twinges in my knuckles that I had developed at that time to slowly heal.


I've never looked into carpel tunnel syndrome and its mechanism, so cannot offer any suggestions.

But if you feel the stress your mother is going through might not just be related to external events with your grandmother, but also due to some GAD, then this may help:

Completely eliminated my severe anxiety symptoms with three supplements!


Stress is a hard thing to gauge, as it depends not only on the stressors that life throws at you, but also on your brain's basal level of anxiety. If due to some underlying physical condition, your brain is more anxious, then the stressors will hit you much harder.

 

[Cipher]

Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin specifically) might help. Taking a B-vitamin complex might be prudent to cover all the bases (for example Jarrow formula's B-right). Wearing a splint during the night might also help.

 

[Boba]

I actually had a similar thing happen to me. About 25 years ago I went through a period of very high stress and tension at work, not because the work was a problem (nothing had changed with my job), but because at that time I suddenly I developed generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which was linked to the IBS that I was suddenly hit with.

Everything in my life then became tense and stressful. My job was the same, but once my brain had developed GAD, even normal daily things became stressful.

What's more, the skeletal muscles in my entire body became constantly tense and stiff (muscle hypertonia).

Tensed up muscles are often found in GAD. They are not directly caused by the anxiety; but somehow the brain goes out of whack in GAD, and causes the muscles to become constantly stiffer.


It was under these conditions that I started to notice not carpal tunnel, but a pain in my knuckles, which was a similar sort of pain the way people describe carpal tunnel. I work with computers, and think this knuckle issue was caused by me trying to type on a keyboard while my entire musculature was tense. It seemed like a mechanical wear and tear of the knuckles, while my muscles were tense, and perhaps the blood supply was consequently poor.

I took about 10 years for the painful twinges in my knuckles that I had developed at that time to slowly heal.


I've never looked into carpel tunnel syndrome and its mechanism, so cannot offer any suggestions.

But if you feel the stress your mother is going through might not just be related to external events with your grandmother, but also due to some GAD, then this may help:

Completely eliminated my severe anxiety symptoms with three supplements!


Stress is a hard thing to gauge, as it depends not only on the stressors that life throws at you, but also on your brain's basal level of anxiety. If due to some underlying physical condition, your brain is more anxious, then the stressors will hit you much harder.

First of all I’m sorry for you experiencing this.
I read about GAD and realized that I‘ve been having it since my twenties. I never knew it was anxiety. I thought I was just a sensitive person.

I could never relax on my own. I was always in alarm mode. Thought everybody was talking about me. Fear of failure was hu

2 years ago I realized that my muscles became stiff. I was always very tensed. Shoulders up and feet cramped… Man I never realized that this was anxiety. At the same time my GI problems started. Crazy bloating etc.

For sure there’s a connection between all of theses symptoms and my Long Covid. All this stress impacts the immunste system for sure.

It was an epiphany realizing this. It’s a pity that I‘m not getting a 2nd chance anytime soon.

 

[Hip]

Man I never realized that this was anxiety. At the same time my GI problems started. Crazy bloating etc.

Your doctor can prescribe drugs like SSRIs for generalized anxiety disorder. However, these are not without side effects (eg, often cause sexual dysfunction).

If you want to try safer supplement treatments for anxiety, you may be interested in my thread:

Completely eliminated my severe anxiety symptoms with three supplements!


The anxiety I had when I developed the knuckle pain was bad, but then many years later when I caught my ME/CFS triggering virus, the anxiety shot off the scale. It was totally crippling. GAD comes in mild, moderate and severe levels. My levels ranged between moderate and severe, depending on the say.

Yet the supplements I detail on that thread, especially N-acetyl glucosamine, more or less eliminated this anxiety.

 

[Boba]

The anxiety I had when I developed the knuckle pain was bad, but then many years later when I caught my ME/CFS triggering virus, the anxiety shot off the scale. It was totally crippling. GAD comes in mild, moderate and severe levels. My levels ranged between moderate and severe, depending on the say

I can relate to that. I think it was mild until 2 years before Covid then became moderate. After contracting Covid the severe anxiety and panic attacks came delayed, like 4 weeks later. It was horribly crippling, I was so anxious that I couldn’t sit still but needed move quickly. It felt like pure hell.

Thanks for the link to the supplement list! I started to take Mirtazapin, it helps me to cope with the situation.