Tingling in both arms

by NGabrielle
(Australia)

Hello Dr. B,

I have been experiencing tingling on both arms. It would start on one, and I would stretch it out, make a fist and shake out my hands to try to relieve it, but unfortunately it doesn't always work. It feels as though i have slept on it all night, and although it would start in the evening while i sleep (it would wake me up and I would have to move my dead arm around to get life back into it thinking i slept on it), it would continue on through the day.

Throughout the day the tingling would transfer from one arm to the other. Sometimes it is while I am having dinner, sometimes it is while I am doing my embroidery, other times, it is just while I am talking to someone either with my arms on my side, or crossed in front of my chest. No matter what I do, it feels as though there is no circulation in my arms.

I have had my complete health exam about a month ago, and although my blood pressure is averaging about 150/120, my blood tests, blood count, ECG, all show up "within normal limits". I am not taking any high blood pressure meds. I have not had any heart problems or chest problems.

Should I be concerned about this, Doctor? It just makes me wonder what this is.

Thank you in advance.

Good evening NGabrielle,
Yes, you should certainly be concerned about this. A diastolic blood pressure of 120 is very worrying. You need to talk to your doctor about it, and I'm not crazy about pills, but that 120 is very high.

But it's probably got nothing to do with the tingling in your arms.

The trick is to work out which fingers tingle. If it's all fingers, then we need to check the first rib and the scalene muscles. If it's in the thumb, index and middle finger, then the Pronator teres muscle in the foreearm. If the thumb and forefinger, then the neck....

See your GP about that BP. And let me know which fingers.

Dr B