Carpal tunnel, anyone?

I not only have carpal tunnel in my wrists... I have it in my elbows.... oh yes... it's so fun!!!! weeee! I don't need surgery yet... I'm to the point where I need prednisone probably once a quarter to relieve some of the inflamation and pain... there are some days that I can't lift the gallon of milk out of the refrigerator... my wrist just collapses and I drop it. I can't sleep on my right side sometimes because of the discomfort I have in my right arm... oh well, I deal with it... I'm sure I'll need surgery eventually.

I can't add anything constructive, but do wish you folks who suffer some piece of mind. I hope your surgery goes well and you have the freedom from pain.

Best wishes

I hope it goes well for you. Best of luck, and no matter what, keep writing.

I have to face the menace of carpal tunnel daily because my work is literally all computer-based. So far, I’ve kept it in check and under control.

First and best thing to do is throw away your keyboard and immediately buy one of those big heavy ergonomic ones by Microsoft. The one that’s wavy and angled and where the QWERT is on the left, then a gap, and the YUIOP is on the right. Don’t use your laptop keyboard, don’t use a straight-across keyboard. Use this one ONLY. It’ll be a little weird at first getting used to typing on it, but you’ll love the result. I noticed an immediate reduction in pain and strain on my wrists. Every single keyboard used by anyone doing heavy computer work should be one such as this. All other keyboards will eventually damage your wrists, and possibly elbows.

Use whatever, such as beanbag wrist supports or special gloves or whatever works to keep the wrists angled down and forward. And not just for the keyboard – the mouse too.

Smoking can exacerbate carpal tunnel because it constricts surface capillaries in the hands and feet. I noticed an improvement – a reduction of numbness – when I quit smoking.

Of course there is always voice recognition software, might help.

And you can always do the writing the old-fashioned way – dictate it, have someone else type it up.

Best of health and take good care,

Do I remember you having a babykins not long ago, Shwebb? I ask because pregnancy can also exacerbate carpal tunnel.

I worked in a software engineering environment for many years and have known many folks who have had the surgery. All that I knew personally considered it successfull -- they could type and do other fine motor type things again without pain. I'm sure there are cases where a person has difficulties after the surgery, but I think a good outcome is most common.

Best of luck to you!

A lady I worked with just had the surgery done, and she's doing fine. She had the surgery on a Friday, and by Monday, she was able to be typing again. She said she had very little pain at all.

I haven't been to the doctor about mine yet, but I need to. It's awful.

Schwebb, contact Old Hack, I know she has that or somthing similar.

Here is Old Hack's thread:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=293879#poststop

Oh, Shelly, I've got nothing for you except lots of

Of course I agree completely with kpmcneil22 - you need to think about your posture from the neck down to the fingers. I had surgery in the right elbow on March 17th of this year, and I'm still working on recovery. The doctor told me to expect recovery to take 1 full year.

I can type, but my stamina is still way low (and I started Nano, of all things) and my hand will still swell up after a round of keyboarding. So do EVERYTHING they tell you, follow the instructions to the letter, and DO NOT PUSH IT trying to get back to usefullness !

And from me, too!

One more thing to keep in mind - when you're trying to get back up to speed after surgery, it's not just keying that will strain your hands, arms and shoulders, but using the mouse.

See if you can teach yourself to alternate hands when mousing. It's surprising how much time you can spend just sitting there with your hand on that mouse, and your arm a bit stretched, scrolling around AW !

Do me a favor. Go to the drugstore, and buy a Vitamin B-complex supplement. Max out your vitamin B6 for two weeks before you decide on the surgery.

I have personally watched 2 people go from having to not-having carpal tunnel problems using this cure alone.

Schwebb, I do wish you the best of luck with the surgery. I can see myself heading that way if I don't start taking better care of myself. I've had wrist pains too, luckily only minor and temporary. And as others have said, I just know it's my posture that's the problem area. I have a terrible office chair; I need one that supports my back. Often when I get up from the computer I have lower back pains. I do know how to deal with them through Yoga and stretches and that helps, but I really need a good new expensive chair. OUt of the question right now, of course.

I have RSI in my hands and arms, not CTS, but in the UK the surgery is rarely performed anyway (so I'm told). I have a couple of other things too (Reynaud's disease, and fibromyalgia) which are concentrated in my hands, and so add to my troubles.

The best thing is to REST COMPLETELY until symptoms cease: so no typing, browsing, knitting, anything which exacerbates symptoms MUST be stopped. Then consider ergonomics: some keyboards work for some. I find the mouse the most important thing, and use a Hoverstop mouse which vibrates if you hold it for too long, so I let it go and improve posture without having to remember to do it all the time. Or a mouse which lets you use a "handshake" position might be better--I like these too but left-handed ones are difficult to come by. Sort out desk height, chair height, monitor height, taking breaks, and it should all help. And if all else fails use voice recognition software: I use DragonDictate Preferred v8 and it's pretty good once you're used to it. You need an excellent headset and sound pod for it--mine cost me about $200, and was well worth it.

After all that, hope you get better. It's horrible, and I sympathise.

As a writer, knitter and mother, I've had my share: CTS, tendonitis in both thumbs, tennis elbow.

Everyone I know who has had the CTS surgery has been very happy afterwards.

You've already gotten great advice here.
* Change your Keyboard (which changes your posture), watch your posture, listen to your doctor and therapists.
* I find that supporting my mouse hand (resting the whole arm to the elbow on the desk) makes a huge difference to me.
* I also found that when my children were small carrying them was one of the causes of the problem - use a backpack, frontpack or stroller while they're small.
* Another piece of advice from a therapist - make sure you don't sleep on your hands, cutting off the circulation. This can be a very difficult habit to break, but it's worth trying.
* Exercise - when I do upper body strenghthening exercises, I have no problems with CTS. When I stop exercising, they come back. This can be a simple as a few half-pushups (from the knees rather than the feet) every morning. And I mean a few. Start with 2 for a week, then add one more each week. Or, do whatever your PT recommends.

Go ahead with the surgery - it's definitely worth it, by all reports.

dclary said:

Do me a favor. Go to the drugstore, and buy a Vitamin B-complex supplement. Max out your vitamin B6 for two weeks before you decide on the surgery.

I have personally watched 2 people go from having to not-having carpal tunnel problems using this cure alone.

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I second this advice. I was just reading about that very thing - and if I can find the article I will post it for you. Although I don't have carpal tunnel, I had surgery on the inside of my mouth, cut for about an inch and a half along the jaw to the interior of the bone. This severed the nerves on one side of my mouth down to my chin and my oral surgeon said that it might get slightly better, but I will most likely have to live with the numbness (from the corner of my mouth to the jaw to the middle of the bottom of my chin). I took B vitamins almost every day for a year and now I have almost all the feeling come back. B vitamins help your nerves regenerate.

If you are on other meds, check with your pharmacist to make sure they are compatible.

Good luck to you.

Surgery was suggested as an option for me (mine was mild)so get a 2nd opinion. (from a doc yo, not us!)

But! I joined the gym and started working out. Evidently building the surrounding muscle helped support the affected area and increase blood flow. Feels fine now. (losing 13 lbs and buying smaller pants was fun too)

Theres already lots of Carpal advice and surgery advice up there, so I'll confine myself to this:
DOn't worry about not being able to write. These days all you need to use a wordprocessor is a torso and a straw.

You'll Be Fine! (no, really)

kikazaru said:

I took B vitamins almost every day for a year and now I have almost all the feeling come back. B vitamins help your nerves regenerate.

If you are on other meds, check with your pharmacist to make sure they are compatible.

Good luck to you.

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What a really great idea. I haven't had proper use of my right hand since I was about fourteen (it got sliced up pretty badly, severed most of a major tendon). I wonder if that would regenerate it. It'd be nice to type with ten fingers again.

Good luck with the surgery. Just before they put you under, ask if you can use their keyboard to say good night to your AW friends.

PeeDee said:

What a really great idea. I haven't had proper use of my right hand since I was about fourteen (it got sliced up pretty badly, severed most of a major tendon). I wonder if that would regenerate it. It'd be nice to type with ten fingers again.

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Thankyou PeeDee, I try not to be nutty about it, but imo vitamins are really the key to keeping healthy. I don't think it would hurt to try it for your hand and it may end up helping - talk with your pharmacist or holistic practitioner as to the right dosage for you. Another thought, sometimes the build up of scar tissue can be the impediment to your recovery as well. It probably wouldn't hurt to ask a specialist about it and you may regain even more mobility.

Hey Schwebby, my friend. I've suffered with RSI in my right wrist, elbow and shoulder since a gov't data entry job ruined my arm. It doesn't help that I work on a computer at my job. It's mouse work that kills me.
I haven't had the diagnosis of CTS as yet. I'm scheduled for a physical in the new year and it's one of the things I'll be bringing up with my GP at that time. We'll see where it leads.

For me, the pain is constant. It used to ease up with rest, on the weekends and during vacations, but not anymore. I feel for you. Really.

Please let me know how things go, and I wish you all the best with the surgery and a speedy recovery.

Good luck and best wishes for a speedy recovery!