I have carpal tunnel :(

[christvs]

Hi guys. I have been an RN for 8 months now & lately my hands & fingers have been tingling & feel numb, then painful at times. Of course I was assessing myself thinking of the worst possible case scenario...I thought I had a blood clot, then a silent MI, stroke, etc. So when my doc said carpal tunnel, I was thinking, oh. Duh! Anyhow, wish me luck cuz it feels weird & painful at times. i'm taking motrin for now but that's not really helping. I'm worried about when I go back to work (i'm on vacation right now) next week & I have to chart a lot. I hope it doesn't get worse. Any of you ever had this & still had no issues charting, etc? This will probably be my last post for a while so my hands will rest, but I'll still read what you guys post! :)

[RANCH GIRL]

I have the wrist braces now, my doc gave them to me & I wore it last night for the first time. Ranch Girl-were those procedures you had done painful? Thanks!

Christine

Personally, I didn't think the procedures were painful at all. But I know that a local block was placed in the incisions (lidocaine/Marcaine) prior to closure, and of course I took the postop pain meds on a regular schedule.

[LandDRN]

Had the release procedure on my left hand ( the severe side, the other is managed with anti-inflammatories). What relief!

[flasandy42]

Had the release procedure on my left hand ( the severe side, the other is managed with anti-inflammatories). What relief!

I wouldn't even bother with splints. The surgery was painless and gives instant relief. I got tired of hanging my hands down over the edge of the bed all the time.

[ItalianRN, BSN, RN]

I was just recently diagnosed with CTS. The pain has been increasing. My Doctor told me to get the splints. I'll try them first.

Just in case the splints don't work, how long were you out of work after the surgery?

Thanks

[ertravelrn]

I wear the rigid splints at night and when I drive. However, I wear a softer, smaller splint during the day when I am at work. It took a little getting used to, but doesn't interfere in my job. I work er and icu.

[chuck1234]

Someone told me if someone had the carpal tunnel, the risk of having DM is also higher than the people without the carpal tunnel.

Is that truth?

Please let me know...

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Someone told me if someone had the carpal tunnel, the risk of having DM is also higher than the people without the carpal tunnel.

Is that truth?

Please let me know...

dont know about DM, but you should have your thyroid checked......

a friend of mine recently had surgery, found out after the surgery (work related issue) that it is considered a permanent dis. after....very small, i think about 5 %....please make sure that you ONLY have carpal tunnell, and not what is called "double or triple crush syndrome". a few years ago, the efficacy of the surgery was ?able, outcomes werent what was expected, so #s went down....the nerve can be impinged at the elbow and thoracic outlet as well as the wrst......good luck

[tvccrn, ASN, RN]

I have had surgery on both of mine with immediate relief. It's been 10 years for the right and 8 years for the left. No problems since.

The surgeries were only bee-sting painful for me and I never took ANY pain meds afterward at all. I had splints on with ACE wraps for a couple of weeks after and was able to go back to work in less than a month (keep in mind this was 8-10 years ago). The worst part was my right one as I'm right handed. The not being able to use that hand while in the splint was very difficult for me.

I will urge you to keep in touch with you physician about this. I let mine go WAY too long and have permantent damage in my left hand because of that. It's not a problem, but my kids get a kick out of the fact that I can't hold up three fingers without making a claw.

tvccrn

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

My Carpal Tunnel on both wrists were treated successfully with magnets