#differentialdiagnosispls

Sooo reoccurring numbness in the middle finger on my right hand. Sometimes on the fingertip only, sometimes if it lasts long enough, it extends to cover the entirety of the digit.
It seems to only come on when I'm cold and/or flexing my wrists/elbow. I still haven't quite worked out if flexing my wrists actually brings on the numbness. I have noticed that when I'm cold, my fingertip starts to go numb, which makes me think that it's more a vascular problem rather neurological. That being said, the regions supplied by my ulnar nerve are feeling funny. Which is retarded because the median nerve supplies my middle finger. Yay, I love getting relevant problems just when we've started studying the nervous system. First, a migraine and now, this -ihopeyouhearthesarcasm-

So differential diagnosis:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: which works sort of because the median nerve supplies my middle finger. But then I'd notice numbness over my index and thumb too. Also, Phalen's test doesn't bring on an episode
- Raynaud's: it comes on when I'm cold. But I don't notice my finger going particularly pale or blue. It does seem to lose some colour, but not to the extent that I'd expect it to. Also, I've never had an issue with cold intolerance before - although that being said, my toes do go numb on the occasion. But verrrrrry verrrry occasionally. And running my hand under hot water seems to reverse the numbness
- Cubital Tunnel Compression: doesn't explain the middle finger because the ulnar nerve is affected. Except my ring finger and little finger do feel slightly funny. And I've been doing side prone holds, which I've noticed brings on numbness to my whole hand in general. Must pay attention to which digits in particular the next time I do it
- spinal root problem: the dermatome supplying the middle finger is supplied by C7... I don't think anything's wrong with C7...

Funnily enough, the very first differential diagnosis that sprang to mind was vitamin B12 deficiency in the light of the fact that uh, I don't seem to be consuming meat often. Except I eat tuna almost every day... so that doesn't make sense, and recently I started eating eggs. AND I EAT MARMITE EVERY DAY. But anyway, I had to have a look at my tongue in the mirror. I don't think I see atrophic glossitis... aaaarghmedstudentsyndome.