Pins and Needles??

[KnottedYet]

You can also get pins and needles in the distal ends of extremities when your blood becomes alkaline from blowing off too much carbon dioxide. (lactic acid produced from exertion acts to help balance out the acidity/alkalinity of the blood, but when you stop the exertion there may be a lag before your breathing rate readjusts)

Heavy breathing could be the culprit (it often is for me) but certainly bringing it up to your doc is a very good idea.

[Rumblefish]

Had that dr's appointment today and brought up the pins and needles sensation. It was my first appointment with this guy because I'm switching dr's, turns out this new one is a cyclist as well. Bicycle bonding! He said he didn't have a reasonable explanation for the sensation, but he's not overly concerned about it especially since the sensation didn't occur until after I got off the bike. Suggested that it was most likely from over exertion and I should just be aware of when/if it happens again and if it recurs we'll worry about it then.

I do need to be more conscious of changing my hand position around on the bars while riding and hopefully that will help.

I do plan on being on the watch for those evil pins and needles from now on though. Perhaps I should take it a little easy with that hill and not push myself so hard. We'll see!

THanks for all your input, Ladies! I love this place...you guys are so helpful!

[RC @ HSP]

"Handlebar palsy" is usually attributed to nerve compression through the Tunnel of Guyan. This can be attributed to poor posture on the bike, riding technique (which can be faulty with fatigue), bike fitting, clothing/gloves, bar tape, anatomical variables such as adverse neural tension, etc. One thing about your symptoms is that you weren't specific on location. Palsy from a compression on a carpal bone will only lead to numbness in the hands, not up toward the elbow. So perhaps, neurologically, a compression at the elbow or cervical spine is worth evaluating. Or, it could be a vascular issue due to flow. It's hard to say with limited information or a physical evaluation. See a health care professional, preferably one familiar with cycling. Best of luck!

RC @ Herriott Sports Performance

[KnottedYet]

Dude, she got the "pins and needles" after she got OFF the bike and was supine.

Doesn't involve the Tunnel of Guyon. Doesn't involve compression.

And like she just said, she just saw her new doc and he's a cyclist!

And please, for those of us sensitive to spelling errors within technical terms (and we ladies call ourselves the Grammar Grinches) get friendly with your copy of Hoppenfeld.

[Dianyla]

You can also get pins and needles in the distal ends of extremities when your blood becomes alkaline from blowing off too much carbon dioxide. (lactic acid produced from exertion acts to help balance out the acidity/alkalinity of the blood, but when you stop the exertion there may be a lag before your breathing rate readjusts)

Heavy breathing could be the culprit (it often is for me) but certainly bringing it up to your doc is a very good idea.

This is really interesting. As soon as I saw this thread title my first thought was of diamox (acetazolamide) which I took for a few weeks in Peru while trekking at high (15K+) altitude. This drug causes major tingling and pins-n-needles at the extremities (hands, feet, face) which can be very annoying as you are constantly pawing at your face to get the spiderwebs off. Eesh.

Most of the discomfort of mild altitude sickness (nausea, headaches, etc) are due to the blood becoming more alkaline as people tend to hyperventilate due to hypoxia in the thin air. This drug inhibits carbonic anhydrase and acidifies the blood, which relieves these symptoms. So... is the tingling caused by acidity or alkalinity? Or, maybe going too far in either direction on the pH scale can cause this? Hmmm...

[KnottedYet]

Y'know, I wonder if it could go both ways, depending on how your body reacts.

I had one neurologist tell me I wasn't breathing deeply enough, so when I got the pins and needles to breathe MORE. (too acid)

Oooh, that backfired *badly*.

Neurologist #2 told me it was the other way around, that I was breathing too much and when I got pins and needles to breathe LESS. (too alkaline) He pieced it together from clues about how this didn't happen when running or biking or racing, but when I was resting. (lactic acid when I'm active makes me able to blow off all the CO2 I want, my blood doesn't get too alkaline cuz the lactic acid is my friend.)

That one worked.

Maybe it just depends on what symptoms you get when your blood gasses are out of whack? Some folks go one way, some folks the other?