If you have been reading my blog for long at all you know that I am a proponent for natural remedies and often prescribe to times gone by ways of doing things. The tingling, numbness and pain of carpal tunnel is no exception to this rule. In my life before becoming the incidental farmgirl I was an investigative social worker with Child Protective Services. I held this position for 15 years and with investigations comes a litany of paperwork. That, in addition to my penchant for writing has caused me to have all the classic symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. This was exacerbated by the hormones during pregnancy/post partum nursing to the point of it becoming a huge problem. (hard to carry water buckets and work in the garden when one cannot feel your fingers!)
I have no desire for surgery and therefore sought out natural remedies. As you know I prescribe to the use of essential oils but even the recommendations of lemongrass and wintergreen as well as a muscle rub did only so much to help with the pain but did nothing for the underlying nervous system issues of tingling sensation and numbness. Talking of this problem to family and friends yielded some hope as even my grandmother has suggested the use of vitamin supplements to help, and I don’t think it will hurt. So after also doing some online research I used a combination of Vitamin B6 (50mg) and Vitamin B12 (1000mcg). Some medical studies suggest that Vitamin B6 needs to be taken in excess of 200mg for weeks before one sees relief, and then they caution that if taken between 200mg and 500mg the vitamin can cause neurapathy (kind ofsimilar to what I am already trying to fix). However, since Vitamin B6 is generally recognized as safe in the range under 200mg I decided to start low.
After using the lemongrass/wintergreen combination of essential oils and a muscle rub for pain I also took the vitamins daily. After about a week the episodes of tingling were lessening (I wasn’t waking multiple times in the night with numb hands) and somewhere between two and three weeks I noticed the problem had pretty much ceased. I have noticed however that if I stop taking my vitamins (ie. I get too busy and forget a day) the symptoms slowly creep back). I may have to be on these vitamins long term but for me, I would rather take daily vitamins then steroids or surgery. Let me know if you have also used this natural remedy and seen relief with a comment below.
I have no desire for surgery and therefore sought out natural remedies. As you know I prescribe to the use of essential oils but even the recommendations of lemongrass and wintergreen as well as a muscle rub did only so much to help with the pain but did nothing for the underlying nervous system issues of tingling sensation and numbness. Talking of this problem to family and friends yielded some hope as even my grandmother has suggested the use of vitamin supplements to help, and I don’t think it will hurt. So after also doing some online research I used a combination of Vitamin B6 (50mg) and Vitamin B12 (1000mcg). Some medical studies suggest that Vitamin B6 needs to be taken in excess of 200mg for weeks before one sees relief, and then they caution that if taken between 200mg and 500mg the vitamin can cause neurapathy (kind ofsimilar to what I am already trying to fix). However, since Vitamin B6 is generally recognized as safe in the range under 200mg I decided to start low.
After using the lemongrass/wintergreen combination of essential oils and a muscle rub for pain I also took the vitamins daily. After about a week the episodes of tingling were lessening (I wasn’t waking multiple times in the night with numb hands) and somewhere between two and three weeks I noticed the problem had pretty much ceased. I have noticed however that if I stop taking my vitamins (ie. I get too busy and forget a day) the symptoms slowly creep back). I may have to be on these vitamins long term but for me, I would rather take daily vitamins then steroids or surgery. Let me know if you have also used this natural remedy and seen relief with a comment below.
