something else that causes changing hand colors is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud%27s_phenomenon

i have subclinical hypothyroidsm

My TSH had gotten to 9.75, my endo raised my meds, but in 15 yrs since diagnosis, it's never been above 3, we try to keep at1.


I don't have pain when it turns blue--and it never lasts long. Could it be related to the carpal tunnel?

[I don't have pain when it turns blue--and it never lasts long.]

I wonder if it is something position related?
Maybe make a note of when it happens and see if there is a certain hand or arm position that brings in on or relives it?

I've heard of cold hand w/carpal tunnel , but not much about blueness relating to it.
My dh had both carpal released in mid 80'sbut his was traumatic overuse - jack hammering concrete. but his only tingled, hurt, cold, went numb/asleep.

the 2 most recent times--today, when i put my CPT arm brace on, maybe the compression on my ulnar area was too much--I usually wear it at night fine.
Other time was a week ago, I was standing and arm was at side, it got bluish until I moved it around a bit. I have had it with feet at times too--before any TOS started--if I sat for a while

lucky duck! at least you have that under control

@khakis:

I learned over time that burning in the chest or shoulder blade meant a nerve was irritated or compressed. It was my chiro, who would pop a rib in and adjust my spine, that would make the burning go away. Unfortunately, I never found a way to treat it myself although it could resolve on its own after hours or days.

Re: PT, it works much better with diazepam which softens the muscle tone and reduces reactions to any manual adjustments whether PT or chiro. It is seriously worth consideration. I use 2mg 2 X per day.

I tried cutting back one week and the PT did not work as well. My body resisted too much. I believe that diazepam enhances PT and chiro treatments for TOS sufferers.

For me, a dark red hand meant my rib was elevated. I learned to shove it down myself and this helped correct it.

You can also experiment with propping the arm on a stack of pillows to take weight off the shoulder girdle. That has helped some people, including myself.

On a related note, some of us cannot leave the affected arm hanging on the side without having the symptoms increase. So it has to go in a pocket, on an arm rest, propped on top of the pocket opening, etc.

I don't know what the blue means. My colors are white with flat veins or dark reddish with bulging veins.

HTH

Hi Chroma, who is your chiro and what does diazepam do?

Mainly a relaxant, I think.

[Diazepam is used to relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures and to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal. Diazepam comes as a tablet, extended-release (long-acting) capsule, and concentrate (liquid) to take by mouth.]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000556/

Valium is the brand name for Diazepam.
Ativan (Lorazepam) is a similar medication (Valium is longer acting).

These drugs seem to be effective for many of us with TOS when muscle relaxers become ineffective. The main benefit of Valium for me is that it helps me sleep through the night and prevents increased tension in the morning. I only got 3-4 hours of sleep on Zanaflex and Flexeril stopped helping me sleep altogether (Soma didn't work for me either). When I didn't sleep well, my tension would be worse in the morning.

this is all really helpful thank you. I had the chest burn again yesterday--and did find several journals actually relating TOS with chest wall pain. I go back to p/t on thursday, they are switching me to a dif person--despite the $, I'm going to work on getting in 2x/wk, all of you seem to agree on that & it makes sense.
My blue hand hasn't happened again--and it did seem positional as Jo*mar suggested.
Thanks everyone!