carpal tunnel syndrome?

Question

I'm convinced i have CTS, i have a few of the symthomns, such as i wake up and left hand is numb, i get shooting pains in my left wrist up to my thumb and index finger, my hand constantly falls asleep, its hard to grip things in my left hand just because of the pain...

since i'm right handed and its in my left wrist/hand, it only affects me sometimes during the day. Is this really worth going to the doctors and getting it checked out? and if i just wrap it in an ACE bandage [just to keep it a bit supported] will this help with some of the pain?

thanks princess.. =) your answer really helped. It was nice hearing from someone who's gone through the surgery and experience! Thankfully, its only in one wrist, and thankfully i don't write with my left hand [although, i tend to do everything else left handed...]

i was just wondering, if i had the surgery, would i be able to attend school right away, or would i have to be stuck at home for 4 months, or however long it takes to fully recover?

Answer 1

Hi Lizzy,

I've had surgery on both wrists, and I'd love to share my experiences...

First, a simple test the surgeon had me do: hold your hands in front of you with fingers pointed down and the wrist backs and knuckles together. Your elbows will go out if you're doing this correctly. Hold for about 30-60 seconds.

If you feel numbness, this is a good indication of CTS.

Second, your symptoms are almost the same as mine. In addition, I had something called "lateral epichondylitis" which for me was pain from about the middle of my forearm up to the elbows. The surgeon recognized immediately that I was sitting with one shoulder lower than the other. I was compensating for the pain in my wrists without even knowing it.

What I did:
My internist gave me hand splints to wear for 30 days, during which I also made an appt with the hospital for some outpatient tests where they insert needles and then run a current to see how your nerves react. Truthfully, it sounds worse than it is. The pain I was having from the wrists was worse.

I also had my first visit with the hand surgeon and his physical therapist. When the therapist in his office saw the splints I was using, she said they weren't going to do me any good. She got something called "co.ck-up splints" which gave me some relief immediately though not enough.

After a more thorough evaluation and reading the results of the tests, the doctor suggested some therapy and iontophoresis, which is an electrical stimulation of the tissue around the nerves. It's designed to help reduce some of the swelling. The doctor wanted to try this as a pre-step to surgery. I'll be honest, this hurt more than I cared for but I knew it was doing some good.

After about 4 weeks of visits, I scheduled the first surgery. You can't have both hands done at once (think about going to the bathroom, lol). It was outpatient surgery, and I was off work for 4 weeks. I could use the hand somewhat but needed to give it as much rest as possible. After four weeks I went back to work. The doctor said give it at least two more weeks before we schedule the next surgery but I actually waited 2 months. The second hand was the more severely impaired (I had more lateral pain from the left hand and so chose to do that one first).

After the surgeries I recovered less than I had hoped. It turns out that I had the symptoms of CTS long before I really recognized them. I was getting numbness when I'd sit in the car or at my home computer but not when I was sleeping, and not at my work computer... until all of a sudden those happened too, and I began dropping things. That's when it occurred to me that it might be CTS. So I have permanent damage because I waited too long before getting treatment. I probably had the symptoms for about 18 months and didn't realize it. It's now been 2 years since I had them operated on, and the numbness at night is gone. I still drop things, and I can't grip things for very long. I've lost a lot of my fine motor coordination because of the permanent nerve damage.

So my advice is to at least get the tests and surgical evaluation done. Then see whether they offer any non-surgical options first.

Good luck!!

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Hi... I'm glad I was able to offer something useful. I suspect your surgeon will tell you to stay home for at least a week or two. A lot will depend on the evaluation/work up they do. I've had several different kinds of surgeries in my life but the CTS was the most thorough pre-op preparation of all the others put together. I wouldn't plan on going back to school right away unless your doctor puts some sort of cast on, but that's not typically what happens. You can't get it wet at all til they remove the stitches, which for me was 8 days after surgery, I think.

Answer 2

I have a job really rough on hands- aspirin! Not only is it anti-inflammatory(so the swollen tendons shrink) its a pain reliever. More about the tendons - the reason it goes numb is from a tendon band swelling until it shuts off the nerve. That's reason enough to take a couple aspirins a day.

Answer 3

Yes go see a doctor and there are braces out there for your wrist but it won't stop the pain no matter what you do it all leads into arthritis

Answer 4

two way to deal effectively with cts. acupuncture and a stretchy program. serious stretches. from the base of the back outward. surgery will only worsen the problem.

Answer 5

You are right. If docor says incurable, bind it with duck tape.