Carpal Tunnel & how do you deal with it? Wrist brace, surgery, therapy?
#111
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 2,440
I had surgery on both hand for Carpel Tunnel. It got to the point where hand sewing was almost impossible. My hands would get so numb, I would have to stop sewing. I wore hand braces at night for sometime. It took awhile after surgery for my hands to feel normal again, but now they are just fine. My daughter also had surgery on one hand and she is o.k. now.
#112
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: York, South Carolina
Posts: 263
I had the condition in both wrists and tried it all...braces, medication, etc. The tingling and aching kept me from sleeping at night. So, I had the surgery (one wrist at a time). It's the best decision I ever made! It was done in an outpatient surgery center (no hospital stay), and recovery time was short. You can't even see the scars now.
#114
Originally Posted by dublb
Last week the Dr. said that the strange & painful feeling In my right hand & arm was caused by a lack of blood flow to the fingers. Probably carpal tunnel. The wrist brace is helping a great deal. (I do not intend to quite doing anything, like quilting! Maybe change the way I do it but not quit.) I see the Dr again on the 7th of Oct.
Do any of ya'll have it & what did ya do about it.
Do any of ya'll have it & what did ya do about it.
I thought I had it - hard to sleep with the pain, hard to hold the steering wheel when I drove ..... lots of the typical Carpal Tunnel symptoms - I told my doctor, she told me to go off the perscription osteoporosis meds she had me on and see if it went away .... YES! It did! Now on the nasel spray - minor side effects, but able to deal with them vs. what was going on :?
Good luck, I hope you can get some relief soon.
#115
I have bilateral cts. I wore the braces for years before they did the surgery. My left hand still goes numb, and the fingers on both hands tingle, and some times my joints lock in place, but I don't have the terrible pain that I used to have. I don't have much strength anymore, but can quilt until it hurts. I have 50% nerve damage, in each arm. some of my problem is caused from resting my elbows on the chair arms because I tend to lean on them. they want to redo the surgery on the right hand. I don't want them too.
#116
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Posts: 9,475
I had out patient surgery for my carpal tunnel and felt great the next day. In fact, I was doing crafts a few hours after I got home. I was so glad to have the terrible discomfort gone. Surgery was the best decision for me. Good luck in whatever you decide.
#117
It has been my experience in having carpel tunnel in both hands, is if it is bad enough and you had absolutely no relief from numbness and pain from the braces, then do the surgery. I had it done in my right hand and I got positive results. I think it depends on the surgeon. You have posts from all of us who have had the surgery and it is a 50/50 chance of success. No I only did one hand. I still have it in my left. I found a doctor/chiropractor that does a special technique called ART, active release technique. It is a deep tissue massage/physical therapy that has helped my left hand IMMENSELY, without going thru surgery. It has been a life saver. He taught me how to do it to help inbetween treatments which I go once a year. I quilt lots of hours so it does act up. There is also the option of accupuncture. I know, the needles. As the doctor told you, it is a blood flow restriction on the muscles that are in your wrist which constrict movement on the nerves which makes it go numb. Well, accupuncture focuses on muscles and nerves. Finding the right accupuncturist is not always easy, but here in Spokane, I have found one who I go to periodically, when the back and limbs become unbearable, and she fixes me up and I wonder why I waited. I personally, from experience, would put it to the last possible thing to do surgery. There are antiinflammatories as one quilter said that helps as well. Been thru surgery on one hand, it is worth checking out all the options. Also, something else to consider, I did not read all the posts, is that you loose some muscle dexterity when you have the surgery. Your fine tune muscles can be affected with the surgery. It took me a few years to get most of it back in my thumb and forefinger so be sure you are willing to give that up.
#118
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Marengo, Iowa
Posts: 802
Originally Posted by dublb
Last week the Dr. said that the strange & painful feeling In my right hand & arm was caused by a lack of blood flow to the fingers. Probably carpal tunnel. The wrist brace is helping a great deal. (I do not intend to quite doing anything, like quilting! Maybe change the way I do it but not quit.) I see the Dr again on the 7th of Oct.
Do any of ya'll have it & what did ya do about it.
Do any of ya'll have it & what did ya do about it.
I suggest you have surgery. I did, on both hands, and don't regret it one bit. It's quite a relief.Marge L.
#119
I had surgery (both hands) and now I just take lots of breaks. As soon as it starts to hurt...stop whatever you're doing. In other words, listen to your carpal tunnel.
About the surgery...the neurologist told me the longer I wait the less successful the surgery would be. My mother waited too long and the
surgery didn't do much for her.
About the surgery...the neurologist told me the longer I wait the less successful the surgery would be. My mother waited too long and the
surgery didn't do much for her.
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