United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi everybody........my name is Wendy. Last Wednesday night, I fell asleep while using the computer. I was told by the person who discovered me that i was sitting away from the desk with my head slumped over somehow almost resting on my shoulder. When I woke, my hand was asleep. I now can close my fist, but cannot raise it up or raise my fingers even to straighten out my hand. I am right handed and cannot write, type, or carry anything that weighs anything or I will drop it. Getting dressed is a challenge as well. I went to the hospital on Friday and she said brachial plexus palsy and narcolepsy. I will fall asleep whever I am if there is nothing going on. I almost broke my nose a few weeks ago when I fell asleep standing in front of the entertainment center. I fell into it and had a tremendous blow to my nose. It was scary!! Blood was everywhere and I wound up with two black eyes. I always have chatty kids with me when driving, so I don't have a chance to fall asleep......thankfully.
The doc said it could take several days to three weeks to wake up............does this sound right? What if it doesn't??????????
Thanks for listening guys and sorry for the long post.
Wendy

Hi Wendy...it sounds like you have got yourself a pretty bad case of something similar to 'Saturday night palsy.' I found this quote from a medical book; This neuropathy (saturday night palsy)is produced by compression of the radial nerve as it spirals around the humerus. Most commonly it occurs when a person falls asleep, intoxicated, held up by his arm thrown over the back of a chair.

Although it sounds like your arm wasn't in the same sort of position, it does sound like a similar result. Keep an eye on the arm..if it gets stiffer, definitely go back to the Dr. Meanwhile, it would probably be a good idea to keep excercising the arm as much as possible...hope this helps a bit. The narcolepsy sounds like a huge problem!

Best wishes
Liz