Carpal Tunnel or Not

Hi Margaret

You need to ask for nerve conduction tests.This will confirm carpal tunnel syndrome and rule out neck or shoulder issues.

The main symptoms are numbness and tingling,especially at night and dropping things.

I don't think putting ibuprofen on your wrist will help as much as if you take it orally.

You need the nerve conduction tests. I tried everything for years. Slept in wrist splints for years. They did help me sleep all night tho. Even had the injection in both my wrists. All this is only temporary. 19 years I had this. Finally they operated on both wrists. Yeas its helped ... A lot. But not completely. Surgeon told me the longer its left , the harder it is to put right...... insist to your doctor that you want the nerve test

I have had the carpal tunnel syndrome operation done on both wrists.

With carpal tunnel syndrome, you get pins and needles from your shoulder right down to your wrist; your whole arm from shoulder to wrist can become dead or numb in feeling; you feel you are unable to use your arm at all. When the feeling returns, your whole arm hurts very badly. your wrist feels weak and it may be difficult to use it and pick things up .

Since my operation, I still get a little pain at the base of my wrists but only very occasionally and it is very worthwhile to have the operation done

You can get a fairly reliable estimate of how likely it is that your problem is CTS by visiting my website (Google CTS and Dr J Bland to find it) and completing the questionnaire there - something you can do without having any tests or even making a doctors appointment. The website algorithms are more accurate than any GP in diagnosing this condition (they are more accurate than me too) though they do give you a probabilistic answer rather than a bald yes or no. Once you have an estimate of how probable CTS is you can then decide whether it's worth having nerve conduction studies done. If the probability of CTS is very high they are probably not needed for diagnosis but they are still worth doing as a measure of severity. If the probability of CTS is very low then it's probably best to try other approaches such as MRI of the neck looking for nerve root entrapment. If the probability is in-between then that is when the tests may help diagnostically. They are not infallible - false positive and false negative results occur so you have to interpret them in the context of the patient's overall presentation. Dr J Bland - Consultant Neurophysiologist, East Kent Hospitals

Please please please have your thyroid levels checked. I was scheduled for surgery then discovered I had low thyroid levels (simple blood test). After I started medication for my low thyroid levels, my Carpal Tunnels symptoms went away. I never had to have the surgery and my symptoms are nearly gone. Some tingling once and awhile but nothing compared to the issues I was having before low thyroid medication.

CHECK your thyroid levels!

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Symptoms of hypothyroidism may be vague and can often mimic other conditions. They may include:

Changes in the menstrual cycle

Constipation

Depression

Dry hair and hair loss

Dry skin

Fatigue

Greater sensitivity to cold

Slow heart rate

Swelling of the thyroid gland (goiter)

Unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing weight

Carpal tunnel syndrome