I have to second what GreatStarter said...PLEASE don't wait too long. I kept thinking of all the reasons I couldn't have surgery - I needed my hands, couldn't be off work six weeks, couldn't afford it, yada yada. Turns out, there have been so many advances in CTS surgery that it is amazingly simple and painfree.
First I went to my family doctor. He ordered a nerve conduction test with a neurosurgeon. btw..THAT HURT! Diagnosis was severe carpal tunnel with permanent nerve damage and muscle atrophy. My sweet orthopedic surgeon (who looks about 14 years old) just shook his head and said he wished I had come earlier, and that he couldn't make any promises. As in my post above, 2 years later and MOST of the feeling is back in my middle and ring finger.
So...please, please, please...don't be a tough gal and wait too long like I did. If the splints and analgesics are not doing the trick.. Have the surgery!