Having Frequent Numbness In Hands And Feet Even During Night. How To Treat This?

Posted on Tue, 12 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 Answered on

Thu, 5 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Numbness in hands and feet has become very frequent and is also existing while in sleep and when i wake up in the morning both my hands and feet are numb. while sitting with the legs held high, even then the feet become numb in just about 10 mins. would like to understand the cause / reason for the same and any diagnostics to be conducted and the treatment for the ailment

Answered by Dr. Praveen K Nath (43 hours later)

Brief answer: Need evaluation Detailed answer: Respected ma,am I have gone through your medical history in detail. You have developed numbness in hands & feet, which continues even during night. May I suggest you to 1. Check your blood sugar levels (fasting/postprandial) as these symptoms may be due to early neuropathic changes . 2. If blood sugars are normal, take pregabalin/gabapentin/ methylcobalamin supplements for symptomatic relief . 3 if it still persists , check your spine with MRI cervical spine with whole spine screening , to rule out any prolapsed disc etc. 4 Also, do physiotherapy & massage for symptomatic relief . 5 you can take anxiolytics also if symptoms persist. Check with a neurologist for complete neurological check up. Hope this answers your query Feel free to contact again for any further explanations Thanx Dr XXXXXXX k XXXXXXX Director Deptt. Of neurosurgery

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E

Follow up: Dr. Praveen K Nath (3 hours later)

Dear Dr. XXXXXXX Thank you for your reply. I am not diabetic at this stage,my sugar levels are within the range , though have a family history of diabeties with both parents having diebeties for past 15 - 20 yrs. I have started taking seacod capsules 3- 3 morning - evening and i wanted to check if this would help. also does any vitamin deficiency causes numbness , should i get the vitamin levels tested . I am over due for an annual comprehensive check up. Kindly suggest . Also suggest if pregabalin needs to be taken life long or is it only a short course. my mother is taking pregabalin for the past year or so as she has similar issues of numbeness and the doctor mentioned that its lifelong. rgds XXXXX 0000

Answered by Dr. Praveen K Nath (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: NUMBNESS Detailed Answer: Respected ma,am Hello My best wishes always. It's good to know that you are nondiabetic. But keep checking FASTING/PP BLOOD SUGAR every 6 months if your parents are diabetic. Continue taking gabapentin. No need to take it lifelong. Mostly short course viz 5/6 months therapy is needed. Vitamin deficiencies can cause these symptoms, especially in vegetarians. You can check your VITAMIN B12 LEVELS. But I would suggest you to take multivitamins with METHYLCOBALAMIN . Thanx Dr XXXXXXX k XXXXXXX

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj