Question
i need your help i am so scared,and i want to know as much as i can about my problem.heres what happen to me. friday night i woked as a watress, i got 2 hour of sleep worked about 14 hours as a food runner saturday in a very busy resturant(which means i carried nothing but plates and plate of food out to people with hardly no break)anyway i get to bed about 2 am woke up about 8 am with my arm laid out on the nightstand.it was real numb and in some pain in my arm and wrist but it was a little numb and my wrist hurt the night before.but not like this. i thought my arm was alsleep just like everyone has  had before but it never went away about 5pm i went to the hosptil,the er dr kept asking did i fall alsleep on the couch and i said no and told him what happen.he told me about what he usually sees with this saturday night palsey drunks,but he said he could tell i wasn't a drunk,and i never do drink.he did a mri and blood test.he told me i had cervial stensois pretty bad and many hern and bulging disc,i already knew that i had  some of that(didn't know it had gotten alot worse) ,i go to a pain mgmt dr  and had for some time,he said that it had gotten alot worse.so he told me i just slept on it wrong he didn't know if it would ever go away.i can't move my fingers up or my wrist up i have a slint on that helps me do some things but still can't really write or eat, bath,i look like i have cebrly palsy(its in my right hand)my whole arm is numb. i am going to see a neurlogist on tuesday for a nerve test.i go took off work for 2 weeks i just started this job 2 weeks ago i am scared i amgoing to lose it.please tell all you can ,also could this be because of my neck? or my job? please help me thanks t

Answer
Terissa,

The symptoms you describe are common with disc bulging and nerve compression in the neck.  Stenosis, or a narrowing of the nerve canals, clearly causes these symptoms.   If you have stenosis of the central canal of your neck, the canal that contains your spinal cord, then your symptoms can easily be preciptated in either arm by doing anything or nothing.  Lateral canals, where the nerves exit your spine and go to the arm also can be affected by bulging discs and bone spurs, and a compromised position from sleep posture or overhead arm use also will cause arm symptoms of numbness and pain.  The visit to the neurologist is a good idea to see just how compromised your nerves are and whether or not you are a candidate for surgery.

'Good luck with this.  

Dr. G