You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em…

Starting sometime in the early 90’s, I remember asking people, “What do you do with your hands at night while you sleep?” Mostly I received blank stares from people who obviously had never thought about their hands at night. I guess, like most body parts, we don’t think about what happens to them when we are slumbering. Well, my hands were hurting at night even way back then, decades before from my fibromyalgia diagnosis.

My hands hurt at night, and many times I cannot find a comfortable place to put them while sleeping. From the 90s up until a few years ago, doctors would say that it must be carpal tunnel syndrome. They would hand me a brace to sleep in and send me on my way. I thought I looked like a Borg from Star Trek when I strapped on my brace. Who knew that many years later I would end up wearing assorted medical devices at night just to limit the daily pain?

Fast forward many years, and I still do not know what to do with my hands while I sleep. I start the night with them folded (ever conscious of not bending them at the wrist) on one another somewhere near my face as I try to fall asleep on my side. As they start to hurt I straighten my arms and lay them at my side. Sometimes, the hand pain seems to migrate up the arm, and I have to spread out like I am being crucified to get relief. Hanging them off the bed makes them fall asleep. Bending at the wrist has a pins and needles effect. If I start to worry about them, I clinch them, which causes more pain. No matter where they go, they feel heavy and throb. Many nights they feel swollen. Occasionally I get a sharp, stabbing pain like the ones I get in my knees when I sleep. I have to move them immediately – they feel like they will break if I don’t.

Last week, when my hands had a particularly bad night, I decided to try the compression gloves I had heard about for arthritis. I perused my local Walgreen’s and found the beige ones that make me think of Halloween or really old people. They were a tad too creepy for me to purchase, so I started looking online. I found a site called TommieCopper.com that sells compression items (gloves, shirts, knee sleeves, etc.) that don’t look creepy. It may be an old home remedy that copper helps pain, but I was sold once I read that the cute, black gloves were infused with copper yarn. I ordered a pair of fingerless compression gloves that claim to ‘reduce swelling and increase range of motion in hands and fingers for a great night’s sleep.’

My gloves, pictured at the beginning of the post, arrived Saturday. I have slept in them for two nights, and am wearing them as I key this post into my computer. It is too early to tell if they increase my range of motion, but I believe they helped my hands while I slept. I will continue to wear them and post my results soon.  Do your hands hurt at night? If so, what works for you?