Carpal Tunnel?

My hand has been killing me today! I swear it feels like I broke it or something it was really badly swollen this morning, i looked like a had the hamburger helper hand last night scooping litter boxes was total torture too its my right hand acting up and of course I'm right handed not to bad typing, but writing is a pain and I can't get a good enough grip on anything to carry it in that hand. I'm too young to have it this bad!! Anybody else have this? any tips?

I had Carpel Tunnel Surgary about 12 or 13 yrs ago, best thing I have ever done for myself, I had it for a long time and it finally got so bad in both that they would be so numb from the tips of my fingers to my shoulders and it was the worst pain I ever had, every night it would wake me up and I would sit on the floor in the master bath and cry half the night, so I finally had them fixed and have never had any kind of problem again

I tried the braces, some therapy and nothing helped I just couldn't deal with the terrible pain, mine were very bad they had to shred the tendons in the wrist also. I worked for years with Horses lifting, grooming, rakeing, carrying feed tubs water buckets, all that heavy work did mine in. We had 22 Horses at home for about 10 yeras or so. Alot of people won't get surgary but I think if it hurt as bad as mine did they would It was terrible pain, I guess if you don't go for years before trying to correct it, maybe it won't get bad. I had a great Dr and the recovery was nothing I had 1 done at a time about 30 days apart..

I see lots of people with Carple Tunnel. My co-worker had surgery for it. She also had tendonitis. She worked in a bakery for a long time. She also wore braces and sleeping with her arms certain ways helped. I actually bought myself a brace simliar to what laureen posted because on occasion my hand/wrist has hurt. I try to be very diligent about using my supports and things at work so I won't have to go through all that.

Most people I know who have it go through some kind of therapy and things.

I've had CTS for quite some time before I finally had the surgery on my left hand, my dominant hand. Although it still kinda hurts when I write, as I squeeze the pen like I'm trying to kill it, it is such a relief to have had it done. The only thing that sucks is you can't really use the hand for about 3 weeks afterward. My right hand is really bad, but I've lived with it for so long, I'm almost used to the pain. Once I get insurance again, I'll have my right hand done.

I might have to get those braces, I can't deal with this all the time I'm getting the tingling thing now.... Hey I wouldn't mind 3 weeks of disability

Originally Posted by halfpint

I I had it for a long time and it finally got so bad in both that they would be so numb from the tips of my fingers to my shoulders and it was the worst pain I ever had, every night it would wake me up and I would sit on the floor in the master bath and cry half the night

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I've known 3 people who've had this. All of them needed to have physio and ocupational therapy to deal with it.
My sister had it bad a few years ago - when she was only about 27, so it's not just something older people get. I remember her telling me that it got so bad that she would just lie in bed crying.
My friend had it and ME. She took a couple of years to recover. she needed to totally change her diet and introduce exercises and stretching into her daily life.
I try to incorperate some exercises and things I learned from my sis to aviod ever getting it. Simple things like using your other hand for the mouse, learning keyboard comands instead of always using the mouse, microbreaks to stretch, etc.
It's really painfull and makes everything so difficult! to you KatieMae and I hope yours isn't bad and you can do something about it soon.

Its very painful or at least mine was, I never had to do anything after I had it done they were great, I don't have the same strength in them or the same grip, but it is a million times better then suffering and I think it needs to be a good Dr Mine was an Ortho Dr, I was probably about 44 when I had it done. I litterly would sew my fingers together drop stuff and not know it, and it was alway's worse at night the pain that is.

I had CTS and it was horrible for me. I'd wake up in such pain and end up crying and wanting to cut my hand off, other days I'd wake up because it'd be so numb and tingly that it annoyed me and be uncomfortable to sleep. So I finally gave in and went to the doctors and he did the surgery, and well it didn't go very well for me. I ended up having therapy for it after. It hurt to move it and I was out of work for only 3 weeks but couldn't move my hand for 6 if I remember correctly. I celebrated my first wedding anniversary in a brace and sling. It was great. Happy anniversary to me. Oh well now that it's done, I still have pain, but not enough to wake me up at night and it only hurts really badly if I do something continually, like using tongs over and over to dish food. But I learned to take breaks instead of using my hand continutally.

my hands hurt, at times makes the right worthless. I wont even carry coffee or pop, in it

i have braces that i wear sometimes, i just dont want the opertion.

I have CTS; it started sometime last year, when I was doing a lot of data entry at work and computer gaming at home. It started out with this weird, annoying tingle in my fingertips, then eventually spread until I had pain in my left wrist, elbow and shoulder (I'm left-handed). My right hand tingles and aches if I've done a lot of typing, but it's nowhere near as bad as my left. I spoke to my doctor about it and she had some blood tests done; apparently, certain illnesses and diseases mimic the symptoms of CTS, and she wanted to rule those out. (That's how I found out I was vitamin B12 deficient and couldn't process it properly -- while B12 deficiency can mimic some of the symptoms of CTS, it turns out that I have both problems. Lucky me. )

I also saw a neurologist about it, and after running some painful tests, he concluded that I had a mild case of CTS (he pretty much said it in such a way as to imply that I was wasting his precious time -- at that point I knew my symptoms were mild, I wanted it dealt with before it got to the point where I needed surgery). Anyway, I purchased a wrist brace that I wear to bed (I'm thinking of getting another one for my right wrist), and I do my best to take care of myself. I take frequent breaks at work where I stretch and relax my wrists, and my employers know about my CTS, so if anyone complains that I'm slacking I can have them talk to the HR supervisor. I put a microwaved Magic Bag (you know, the covered bags filled with oatmeal or rice or something, that give off a nice moist heat when microwaved) on my wrist or shoulder when the pain is really bad; it's possible that a cold compress would be better, but the cold causes me to tense up, which just makes it hurt more. I also get my fiance to massage my shoulder for me.

I think it's likely that there will be surgery in my future. My current job is pretty much entirely data entry, so I spend my days banging keys on the keyboard, and when I get home at night I'm playing on the computer or writing; I know if I avoid these activities my CTS wouldn't get worse, but if I avoid them I won't get paid and writing and computer games are things I enjoy and would miss if I stopped doing them -- I think the pain is worth it. Some days it's so bad I can't lift up my empty water bottle or open a door for myself, and it's at the point now where I have a hard time with certain exercises (any yoga pose that involves getting down on your hands and knees, for example, or doing push-ups). I should probably just have the surgery, but I can't afford to take time off for rehabilitation (I just became a full-time permanent employee in September) and, quite frankly, the thought of surgery scares me a little.

Katie, I'm sorry to hear this..............ouch!

I've had trouble with CTS for the past 31 years, have had surgery three times (a waste of time, IMO), and currently have a splint on my left hand/lower arm, which has to stay on for another three weeks (my wrist is also sprained following an encounter with a swinging door). It's so painful that it's often hard to sleep. Get yourself a good brace, and wear it whenever you have a flare-up. Use a scanner whenever possible, instead of typing, and depend on your computer mouse, rather than typed commands.

I haven't reached there yet (thank god my Type per minute is like 40!!) But when my wrists do hurt this is what I do:

I turn the pained arm up and gently bent (so palm up), then I take my opposite thumb and place it just below the curve of the elbow.
Then rub.

If I remember right, you're still targeting the muscles in your wrist but you're not "crushing" them...just simply massagin them.

ok, well that settles it, I'm definitely getting a brace It feels much much better today, only slight pain and its mainly in the wrist rather than my whole hand, thanks for all the suggestions and stories!

A few things I do:
I dropped my keyboards little rest on top so it lays more flat. Do not stretch you fingers-esp the thumbs and pinkie fingers-move your hands around the keyboard more. I have a gel wrist wrist for my keyboard and my mousepad.
Ice your wrists-take anti inflamatories. Wiggle your fingers and shake your wrists and bend hands up and down-press with other hand to feel stretch.
And be religious on wearing the brace at night.
If you garden-I have some additional tips.

Originally Posted by jcat

depend on your computer mouse, rather than typed commands.

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That's interesting - that's the opposite of my sis was told by her OT. Typing is supposed to be better because when you're using the mouse, it's one repetitive action on one tendon, whereas with typing you're moving so much more.
You should use a gel wrist pad to elevate your wrists too.