Carpal Tunnel or RA?
Is there a simple way to tell if my hand pain is carpal tunnel or RA? I’ve suspected I had carpal tunnel since I was 18 but was always able to deal with the pain (and never formally diagnosed), but the last 3 or so months I’ve been waking up with extreme hand/finger pain and it’s now affecting my sleep on a daily basis. My RA lab results are negative but doctor hasn’t ruled it out yet. I’m thinking it may still be carpal tunnel, but not sure? Pain is in all fingers other than my thumb, extreme stiffness when waking up. Mildly sore throughout the day.
I type a lot for my job (like that’s my entire job), and being sleep deprived is driving me insane, so hoping to figure out ways to alleviate this sooner than later 😭 i actively see my doctor but appointments are often weeks inbetween without clear answers…