1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Carpal Tunnel

carpal tunnel surgery post op

Posted , 116 users are following.

976pamela
976pamela

I had my surgery  carpal tunnel syndrome 7 weeks ago on my dominant right hand.  My job requires alot of manual handling with adults with learning difficulties and pushing of heavy wheelchairs therefore I am still off work.  I am in constant pain and scar area is solid and tender feels lumpy.  I started physio exercises 2 weeks ago and hadnt really done much before that except wiggle fingers as I had not been given any advice at all post op.  2 weeks ago I couldnt even make a fist or reach my thumb to each finger, now I can make a fist and touch all finders and am using it normally but with alot of pain, more so at night and shooting pains, my grip is extremley poor which worries me after this length of time.  I am scheduled to have my left one done in around 6-8 weeks but I am now considering cancelling as I worry constantly that this will not resume to 100% mobility. Has anyone had this problem after this length of time? and did it improve up to 12 weeks post op?  any reply would be appreciated.

8 likes, 191 replies

191 Replies

Prev Next
  • sheila41382
    sheila41382 976pamela

    Posted

    Hello Pamela,

    I have been reading all the posts on CP surgery and I am 6 weeks post op. Surgery is on my dominate hand. I have been having burning pain in the incision area ever since the day of the surgery and hard lumps around the area as well. My surgeon only told me not to baby my hand, just be careful with lifting. I have been getting what feels like electric shocks shooting in my wrist and up to the middle finger. My wrist and palm area is so sensitive, I can't bear to touch around there or let anything touch against it. I have a hard time in the morning straightening out my fingers. The pain is so awful. I was supposed to return to work tomorrow on top of this.

     The surgeon did not discuss physio and said to see him in 3 months. Like seriously? I called his office last week and explained to the receptionist, what was going on and she said this does not sound right. She made an appt for me to go in and see him at the clinic in the hospital a few days ago, he was trying to brush off what is going on with me and that pees me off. I am cash/customer service manager where I work and there is alot of heavy lfting,  scanning, computer, cash  etc that is required of me. He said I should be going back to work and sweep floors if my employer needs to accomodate me. How rude!  I broke down and told him the only reason I had this surgery, was because he said it would stop the pain and other CT issues I was having. After my emotional state, he refererred me to a pain specialist the same day ( luckily the pain specialist happened to be there at the same time). He came in and saw me and the diagnosis is CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). I had this 4 years ago when I broke my left wrist. It took many months to heal. This pain specialist did a nerve block straight away which was very unpleasant to say the least and it did not help at all. I now start physio thanks to this doctor though and I have to return to see him every few days. I think it is so unfair to go through something like this and be treated this way by the surgeon. Just do not baby it. After the pain specialist left, the surgeon came back in and try to be apologetic and saying that his biggest fear with me was that this was going to happen, utter b/s. I only seen him once before the surgery. He did not do any tests or follow us with me after my initial visit with him, just straight away said surgery and you will be fine.

    I wish I never had this surgery done. My biggest fear has always been what if the pain i was experiencing before the surgery had nothing to do with the carpal tunnel. What if it was caused by something else. I mean I had the nerve test done, but it was only a mild case that I had. 

    • elaine02726
      elaine02726 sheila41382

      Posted

      Sometimes the symptons are caused by a problem with the nerves in your neck. My consultant sent me for an MRI scan as well as the nerve tests to be sure he had the right diagnosis.

      i'm sure this is no consolation and I do hope your pain is soon managed properly

      best wishes Elaine

    • doreen44684
      doreen44684 sheila41382

      Posted

      hi sheila - how is your hand now ? i had op 10 weks ago - i also have nerve pain from wrist to middel finger and lot of pain in palm of hand and can't straighten my fingers - been told this is due to arthritis but didn't have such a problem before op - fingers very curled in mornings but straighten slightly during the day
    • mariel83874
      mariel83874 sheila41382

      Posted

      Hello,

      Im new to this discussion and wanted to know how you were doing?

      God Bless

    • Rikkie
      Rikkie doreen44684

      Posted

      Hello Doreen, I have been looking through this site regarding CTS surgeries. Would love to know if your hand has settled now? I had surgery nine weeks ago and am still having a lot of discomfort in hand and wrist area. Also some numbness and tingling and sometimes into my arm. Not sure what is going on or how long this goes on for. I did fracture my wrist a year ago, which caused the carpal tunnel problem. And I am over 60! Thank you and hope things are better for you now.

       

  • cheryl_57571
    cheryl_57571 976pamela

    Posted

    Hi ,I'm Cheryl I just had my surgery march 10 2015 on my left hand with twigger finger , and will be getting my right hand done for carpal tunnel ,I'm right handed should I get it done when the doctor wants me to.
    • rob77783
      rob77783 cheryl_57571

      Posted

      I had my right hand done 14 months ago left hand 6 months ago. Wish I never got them done.hands still swell up after 45 minutes of use.pain everyday. 60 %strength in right 30% in left. I'm electrician n can go back to my job.I traded night pain which is gone to day time pain swelling night pain I'm worse off then before

  • nittyp
    nittyp 976pamela

    Posted

    I was off work for 6 weeks in total i had physio best thing she told me was get a stress ball and keep squeezing it and also get a wooden clothes peg or a plastic one with a spring and keep practising trying to open and close it on all ur fingers one at a time i couldnt do it at 1st but after a while strength came bk also i used bio oil to massage the scar and now i cant see it at all good luck nita
    • betty96013
      betty96013 nittyp

      Posted

      i just had my left  hand done yesterday, all i was told was to start moving fingers around after i came home which i am doing, when did you start practicing on opening and closing  a close pin? as i just went to my kitchen and got one?
    • elaine02726
      elaine02726 betty96013

      Posted

      I waited until I took the big bandage off at 48hours then started doing the finger thumb touch. The best advice is listen to your body, do what you can but don't do too much, pain is not required! Remember your body has been traumatised and should be allowed to recover at its own speed.

      good  luck Elaine 

       

    • betty96013
      betty96013 elaine02726

      Posted

      My bandage doesnt come off for total 10 days . i am now 4 days post-op doing very good as moving fingers lifting a bit, using fingers to get dress, texting, kinda hard though with fingernails, but im still having tingly in a cpl fingers. Is it still to early for me to worry about that? as i was told that could possibly be a side effect to surgery.
  • andychamb
    andychamb 976pamela

    Posted

    Hi I ended up reading this thread because I Googled the thread title. Why? Because I am nearly 5 weeks post op and until last night I thought I was 100% cured in my right hand (dominant). The only discomfort I have suffered since the op was tightness across this op site, this has persisted but it is easing with time. I have had no numbness, no (unecpected) pain, no pins and needles since the op. Sleep has been wonderful. I am so glad I had it done after 9 months of misery. My hand is almost back to normal, I would say 90-95%.

    The reason I Googled the "CT Post Op" was yesterday for the first time I got some pins and needles while driving and was woken at 0600 this morning with pulsing pins and needles in my fingers. I hope this isn't a bad sign! But based on reading the posts here, so far I have done incredibly well and I thought I would post my experience, not to boast about it, just to level it off a little for others who may end up here looking for answers.

    • nancy71417
      nancy71417 andychamb

      Posted

      It's been a few months and I wonder how you're doing now, since you did so well at first. I had surgery a week ago, no problem except part of my thumb is now numb. No tingling. I'm trying not to panic. 
    • andychamb
      andychamb nancy71417

      Posted

      Hi Nancy, I'm pretty good thank you for asking. I have no pain or numbness, but I do get very occassional light tingling sensations but no pins and needles to speak off. This is despite wrenching my wrist on a hand rail a few weeks back! It brought tears to my eyes and had me very worried but I suffered no ill effects. When I had the surgery, they did say there was a chance of some loss of sensation in the hand, particularly if that loss of sensation was already there. As you are only a week post op you need to wait a while before having to accept that what you have will be permanent. There's a lot of internal healing going on right now, the nerve will be bruised and so will the tissue around it. It may be a while before that sensation returns (but it may never do so). If the pain is gone and you are sleeping again at night, that's still a win in my book!!!
  • betty96013
    betty96013 976pamela

    Posted

    I am 4 days post-op on my non-dominate hand. was told to move fingers right after surgery which i have done. my only concern is the tingly is still in a cpl of fingers, which scares me as i signed a paper 2x of possible side effects, numbness, tingly of fingers etc.  my comment was thats why im having surgery was to eliminate numbness, tingly etc. Am i worrying to fast you think? Another thing is ive noticed Horrible outcomes on some ppl posts, so i had to quit reading them. lol  PS Glad to hear your outcome was awesome.
Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.