Carpel Tunnel

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WeepingAngel81
WeepingAngel81 Posts: 2,232 Member
in Motivation and Support
Anyone else suffer from carpel tunnel?
It started in my left arm. I didn't realize what it was at first because I dislocated my elbow years back and don't have a full range of motion. I sometimes have nerve pain becuase of this, but nothing horrible. Then the pain started in my right wrist and that's when I knew. I spoke to my doctor who said that it's not severe enough at this point to need surgery. I am a single mom with closest family being 1,200 miles away, and he mentioned that when it comes to that point I will need help with the kids for a little while.
Has anyone else been through the surgery that can let me know what to expect? Also, does anyone know of anything I can do in the meantime to stop it from getting worse? I wear a brace on both wrists when I lift weights on good days. On bad days it hurts to even grip my steering wheel, though those days are few and far between. RIght now it's mostly just a pain in one or both wrists once a week. I will wear the brace at work and by the end of the day the pain is gone.

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  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I had it, and I completely got rid of it with frequent massage to the area. Often, certain movements/posture can trigger it. Mine came almost completely from how I held my wrists when typing (I've also broken both wrists, so like you, I don't know if that contributed to developing it). Retraining that + massage = better.
  • WeepingAngel81
    WeepingAngel81 Posts: 2,232 Member
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    I have a feeling that mine has developed from typing as well. I have an ergo key board but I still get pain. Did you massage the area yourself or did you have a LMT do it?
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I have a feeling that mine has developed from typing as well. I have an ergo key board but I still get pain. Did you massage the area yourself or did you have a LMT do it?

    LMT. It took about a year for all the symptoms to go away.
  • dkgoetz
    dkgoetz Posts: 65 Member
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    I have it, and I need the surgery but I keep putting it off (for various reasons, starting with I'm a big chicken when it comes to hospitals).

    My doctor told me to wear my braces when I sleep and to do wrist stretches and exercises throughout the day. I use an ergonomic keyboard at work, and remain conscious when doing repetitive motion tasks (like knitting! It's so easy for me to get lost in knitting, so I make myself take breaks). These things have helped me so far.

    I've also tried cortisone shots, but that only helped me for a few days. I've heard they vary from person to person, so I'd recommend at least trying that, if shots are an option.

    Now, did you see a doctor about it, or did you have the nerve test? I first saw a doctor who said it was not carpal tunnel syndrome, but she sent me to get the nerve test anyway. The nerve test came back saying I had it, so then I saw a specialist, who gave me the above advice.
  • WeepingAngel81
    WeepingAngel81 Posts: 2,232 Member
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    I saw my doctor about it and I had a nerve test done, but I was not referred to a specialist. I'm not sure if my doc was just trying to save me money at this point or what. He's been my doc for 10 years now and I trust his judgement, but at the same time, I am a little worried. I am also a big chicken! I need to talk to him again becuase what I need to know is at what point is it enough to have surgery? I don't want to be driving my kids around and have that pain hit while on the interstate or in heavy traffic.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
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    I had the surgery when I lost the ability to move my thumb. As a musician, this was no bueno. But I was pretty freaked at the idea of hand surgery (hands are pretty important to musicians). Best decision ever. Not one problem since. At all. And I had the surgery in time that my thumb didn't atrophy and I can now move it again.

    I "needed" help for a day or so after surgery. If you had bilateral surgery, you'd need a whole lot more help than I did. But I'm also kinda stubborn. I had symptoms for about 12 years before I ended up having surgery though.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    I had carpel tunnel and a co-worker told me to take B6 and once I started taking that my pain went away so give it a try. 50 miligrams of B6 a day is all I take :]
  • C1C2C3
    C1C2C3 Posts: 119 Member
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    Although, I do not have carpal tunnel, I do have a very very small idea of what you are going through. I have tendonitis, the doctor basically told me to use a splint and take pain meds. This was not cutting it for me plus with my job at the time I did alot of typing so I needed to be able to use my hands without hurting to the point of tears. I did some google searching and found the tendonitis expert's page (he also has advice on carpel tunnel if you want to look him up). He had a page on ice dipping. I decided to give it a try and it helped tremendously!!

    Ice Dipping is basically dipping your arms and hands in ice cold water for several small intervals of time.
    Here is a site that explans more about it and gives directions specific to carpal tunnel.: http://www.simplecarpaltunnelexercises.com/secure/the-one-thing-you-can-do-about-carpal-tunnel-syndrome/

    I readjusted the height of my keyboard with an ergo adjustible keyboard "holder" so that my hands rested on the keys in a more ergonomic and comfortable position. This also was a huge key for me.

    Hope you are able to figure out what works for you! :-)
  • WeepingAngel81
    WeepingAngel81 Posts: 2,232 Member
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    Thanks for all of the suggestions! I will look into them and find what works best for me.

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