total loss of feeling and movement in my left hand

Hi Slipebabe,

Do you have any back or neck injuries?  That is the first thing that goes through my mind.  A slipped disc or any miriad of pathologies in those areas causing pressure on the nerves that are leaving (or tying to) the spinal cord, and out to all their specific areas with thier specific design of making everything move in our body.  These are the most important set of nerves we have.  If thery are impinged in any way, a feeling of; or a temporary paralysis can occur. 

I know as a nurse, but my knowlege comes most from  experiece, the best kind of knowlege.  Live through it; know it forever.  (Wish my life would let me live through Lifespan Development class!!!)

Last year, my 2nd year into an un (or mis-) diagnosed skin condition, I began to have Neurological Symptoms.  The hand that went from working fine at bedtime, to me waking up the next morning, and finding my right hand (and I'm right-handed), refusing to move.  I had wrist drop, 'a condition in which the hand is flexed at wrist and cannot be extended; due to injury of radial nerve or paralysis of extensor muscled of wrist and hand.' (Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary-- Edition 16).  I would close my eyes, as I did for my doctor, and think I was raising it up to meet the working hand, only to open and see my hand down as down can be. 
I was terrified.  As life went on that day, I realized just how much I relied on my dominant hand in daliy living.  Since I keep track of my meds in a daily log, I can look back and see my writing, it was terrible.  I had to use my left hand to pick up my right to write, or just lift it up to a counter or something. 

My pain doc wanted to do an EMG, this was not painful for me, but it was needed for the first step to rule out nerve damage as a cause.  Everything checked out ok there, which meant that the next step would be an MRI of the Cervical Spine, (the only area I have yet to have an MRI on who knows what's happening up there), but I waited and the paralysis slowly went away after almost 2 months.  It happened again, spontaneously, just like the first time.  Same exact thing.  This time I had full hand curl also, I had to pry my fingers away from a fist position.  This spotaneously recovered also, about 6 weeks that time.

I do not know what the cause was, there was a diagnosis of radial injury, even though I had not inured it that I could remember.  Or done something to my arm or neck.  I know we can sleep wrong and wake up with numb extremities, but what you and I are talking about is much different.  I spent a lot of time researching this, and it came down to two main reasons: damaged or injured radial nerve, rendering the person unable to pull the hand up with the muscles on the arm, or some kind of serious nerve damage from the Cervical area. 

Have you had this happen more than once?  And what are your diagnoses? 

glad to meet you and I wish you the best of luck, let me know how you are doing!!

Shauna  :-)

I have had the same problem a few years ago so i had to make a trip to the doctor because i was loosing sleep at night because of it. He told me it was carpal tunnel syndrome. They can do surgery on this but there is only a 50/50 chance that it will work but i have found that taking aleve works great for this. Tylonol arthiritis is also grat for it. good luck!!!