WTF...Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Thought it was a joke condition only people who type alot get, turns out I have/had it bad in both wrists. Had surgery on RH on 5/2. What a PITA but seems to have helped some things, to soon to tell. Anyone else dealt with this? My hands have been going numb while working, driving, talking on phone for a good 10 years. I just ignored and dealt with the numbness. I do beat the shit out of my hands and have for the past 20 years. 6 months ago pain started and got ridiculous at times, hence a trip to the doctor. Just thought I'd start a thread to share info, etc. if anyones interested.

 

friend at work who is 23 has it too. He said it was run in his family. He has the surgery on one hand and wont go do the other because he said it did fuck all

 

mom and dad have both had it. one had(yeah i don’t remember if it was mom or dad) had it in both hands.

 

i probably do have it, but most of the people I have talked to (all fellow sailors) ended up coming out of the surgery worse off than when they went in. out of all the other people in the navy I know with it, only one or two had successful surgeries (could just be our doc's, who knows)

 

so far the extreme pain I was having is gone and the numbness I was getting while working with my right hand is gone, which is amazing. Hand is a little sore/stiff/weak from the surgery still. Only other issue at this time is numbness in my middle and ring fingers at the tips only and a sunburned feeling on the back of them. And my wrist makes a clicking noise sometimes when i bend it. All in all, I'm glad to have it done so far. Will wait until this ones completely healed and then consider whther to do the other. The doc said if i had continued to ignore it, the muscle around the thumb in my right hand would have atrophied into nothing eventually. The pre surgery strenthg test, to my surprise, showed my doominant hand (right) was already 20% weaker than my left, and i had no idea.

 

I went wheeling for a couple of hours the other night and was doing copious amounts of shifting; both of the Trans and Transfer
Ever since I've been getting carpal tunnel symptoms... I can't think of what else it'd be
This ever happen to anyone else?

Makes me mad as hornets... this better not mean I have to go buy an Auto. haha

 

Get it tested and see, its pretty easy for them to tell you. They put probes on the end of my fingers then jammed needles into my biceps and sent electricity through my arm nerve. The measure the time and strength of the signals and can some how determine whats going on.

I don't really recommend the Surgery but i had no choice according to the doc. Recovery sucked and hand doesn't feel exactly the same, but pain and numbness is gone and no lost functionality. Going to have to get the left one done next when i get motivated. really dont want to end up with weak hands that cant be fixed, which is what would happen, and I work with my hands every day.

 

My sister had it really bad and ended up wearing braces on both wrists every night, that has helped her a ton.

 

Steroid Injections can offer some relief as well as brace immobilization prior to surgery. If symptoms have been present for long time, nerve damage can make prognosis more difficult to predict. If pain and numbness is gone with no loss of function, that's a very positive outcome. Some go through with only partial decrease in symptoms. Furthermore, some scar down at incision area after surgery. I wouldn't be afraid of surgery though. If symptoms and quality of life are bad enough, it will likely help.

 

please take your time to read this.
http://acutakehealth.com/everyone-and-no-one-has-carpal-tunnel

 

Interesting read. Unfortunately for me, the nerve conduction tests confirmed the nerve to be compressed significantly, without question. Once my family doctor thought I may have CT, he sent me for the tests. The pain that developed was unreal. So bad that I couldn't sleep at night. The pain wasn't in my wrist at all, it was the whole length of my arm to the elbow. It was deep pain. It's gone now thanks to the surgery. But the left hand continues to go numb, so I'm starting to think about getting it done before pain develops.

 

I had a coworker that had to have the surgery due to the excessive compression of his nerves. It was getting to the point that he could work for about 3 hours of so at the most. After that he was unable to hold his tools because he had zero feeling. Once the surgery was done, and he had a good 6 weeks of recovery, he said it was like a whole new world.

I have some loss of feeling in my right hand every once in a while. Mild case I wouldn't doubt. It is a strange feeling to say the least. Good luck on your recovery.