Lack of Sleep

My mother experienced this same pain when she was pregnant with me... SEVERAL years ago. She said the doctors diagnosed it as me pinching one of her nerves. Does your child tend to sleep on one side as opposed to the other? My mother said the doctors did nothing for it, as there is really nothing they can do. A massage may help, but if it is in fact your baby pinching a nerve, try moving them away from their prefered spot. You may get kicked several times for this, but I am sure that is better than the pain. I am currently pregnant and I know my baby prefers to sleep on my right side.

It sounds like you may need to go to a chiropractor to get them to look at your spine... you may have some nerves pinched.... Find one that uses gentle moves and understands the proper way to adjust you when you are pregnate....

Good luck...

Oh and you may want to try that wax you soak your hands in too...

L. G.

D.,

I had that problem too when I was pregnant. My Dr told me it was similar to carpal tunnel but caused by normal pregnancy swelling around the nerves of the wrist. He reccomended a wrist splint which I bought at Walgreens and used till the end of my pregnancy when I was sleeping. Some nights I would switch it back and forth but most of my trouble was on the right side.

I would try the splint, its cheap and easy to find at drug stores, if you do experience pain on both hands make sure you buy a splint that is reversible...

I still had some tingling postpartum, but it eventually went away and all that keeps me from sleeping now is a teething 6 month old...:)

Good luck!

M.

If I were you I would get a second opinion. If you really think it is carpal tunnel, it may be. A friend of mine got that REALLY bad with her pregnancy. Don't give up - you deserve to enjoy your pregnancy, as pain-free as possible! Good luck.

It absolutely sounds like a pinched nerve. My advice is to go to your OB/GYN or your regular doctor, and tell them about the pain. Do not underemphasize the pain - be honest about how BAD it really hurts. If you make light of the pain, they will not take you seriously.

If it were me, I'd ask for a prescription for physical therapy. At physical therapy, they can do massages, heat packs and exercises to help release the pinched nerve. If you have health insurance, it should all be covered.

I would definitely not just wait and not do anything. If a nerve stays pinched long enough -- especially as badly as yours is pinched -- it can cause permanent nerve damage. :-( So go to the doctor right away and get a prescription for physical therapy!

I would suggest you see a chiropractor and try some yoga. It sounds like a pinched nerve. Look for a prenatal yoga class. Are you doing any type of exercise? It is very important to stay active while pregnant - just walking each day is great.

Good Luck.

Hi D.,

I'm so sorry to hear about the pain you're experiencing. I started to experience pain and numbness at 25 weeks. By the time I delivered both my hands were numb and I could only feel parts of my thumbs. My arms were also slightly numb. The pain was the precursor to the numbness. I wish I could say it got better, but it wasn't until after my son was born that I got the feeling back and the pain stopped.

Some suggestions: you can take tylenol which is safe during pregnancy. Also, I wore carpal tunnel wrist and arm braces while I worked or drove my manual car. They helped keep my wrist straight and blood flowing to the hand.

A word of caution: I had the numbness due to swelling and water retention. I ended up having to be on strict bed rest due to preclamsia for a month prior to delivery. Make sure . your doctor is watching your blood pressure. Also, play close attention to other swelling in your body. There are some classic signs of preclamsia that you may want to research and watch for.

I hope this helps and that the pain goes away fast.

S.

Mommy to 4 month old boy

I had this same problem when I was pregnant with my daughter who is now 21 months. However it didn't really bother me until the 3rd trimester. My ObGyn told me that the baby was probably pressing on a nerve and that it would probably go away which it did a few months after she was born. If I was you you may want to look into getting a massage - it may really help. Good luck and take care.

Hello D.,

I feel for you. I did experience the same thing and it was agonizing to me! First let me say that you probably should seek a second opinion. My GP was able to diagnose me immediately with carpel tunnel. It seemed to have run from my shoulder down my arms. At first it would be numbness but as the night went on and I continued to lay in bed it would acually start feeling as if my arms were on fire. The good news it that after the baby came, 90% of the symptoms went away within a few weeks, unfortunely I had it for the whole pregnancy and it did get worse the further along I was. The doctor did tell me that they can prescribe a a suport glove for my hands however I don't know if that would also alleviate the syptoms in the arms. They also gave my physical therapy exercises that seemed to also help a bit. Also, I did sleep elevated to a reclined sitting position, that delayed the worst of symptoms. Good luck....and keep in mind that it will pass!