A new pregnancy "symptom"

Let me preface this post by saying that I feel incredibly grateful to have had an easy twin pregnancy. No bleeding, no pre-term labor, I'm still working full-time, and everyone (myself included) is healthy. My blood pressure is a little wacky (high at the OB's office and low at the hospital) and I have a lot of swelling in my feet but in the big picture this is pretty minor.


That said, sleep has become a precious commodity. I can't get comfortable and I wake up every 2-3 hours to go to the bathroom, and then I have to try and go back to sleep. I've also developed a new pregnancy symptom/complication: carpal tunnel syndrome.

I had minor carpal tunnel when I was pregnant with Noah. My hands would "fall asleep" at night and I was advised to wear wrist braces, which really didn't do much to help. But in the last week I've started having problems again and it seems to be a lot worse than last time. My hands "fall asleep," are stiff, achy, and my fingers will get numb (they did this morning). They're also swollen. It's not bad, but bad enough that I notice and can feel the difference. So I did what every savvy pregnant woman does when a new symptom arises: I looked it up on the Internet.

According to www.Babycenter.com: "The carpal tunnel is a bony canal formed by the wrist bones on three sides and a ligament that runs across the wrist on the other. The swelling and fluid retention that's so common during pregnancy can increase the pressure in this relatively narrow and inflexible space, compressing the median nerve that runs through it.The median nerve gives sensation to the thumb and the index, middle, and half of the ring finger and is responsible for movement of a muscle at the base of the thumb. Pressure on this nerve is what causes the symptoms. Symptoms may include numbness, tingling, burning, pain, or a dull ache in the fingers, hand, wrist, and even up the arm to the shoulder. In severe chronic cases, your hand may feel clumsy or weak."


I HAVE to think this pregnancy is starting to wind down.