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CTS surgery

Posted , 6 users are following.

townko
townko

I have CTS in both hands my right hand is worse nerve conduction studies came back with moderate to severe,I said I did not want injections, but I am beginning to think I should put off the operation as I do not want to be off my work .I work with children who have special needs and there is a lot of manual handling involved.I have just thought of the consequence of my dominant hand being operated on and maybe it actually feeling worse than it is for weeks or months,as many of the people on here seem to be having lots of problems and a poor recovery period.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • kathleen99563
    kathleen99563 townko

    Posted

    please have your thyroid levels checked. I was getting ready to have surgery then discovered by simple thyroid blood test that I had low thyroid which was the cause of my carpal tunnel. Now on thyroid medication and carpal tunnel has gone away. I had severe carpal tunnel which was debilitating. Symptoms of carpal tunnel have disappeared with thyroid medication

    • hank1953
      hank1953 kathleen99563

      Posted

      Thanks for sharing. What was your TSH level before your treatment, and what was it the last time you checked ? My last TSH was 2.5. Hank

  • jeremydpbland
    jeremydpbland townko

    Posted

    There is usually little to lose by trying injection provided you can find someone competent to do it. You can always operate on it if it doesn't work, or recurs very quickly, and some people get very good responses to steroids, enabling them to effectively not miss any time off work at all. It would help somewhat in decision making if we knew exactly how bad your NCS results were - 'moderate to severe' unfortunately doesn't really mean anything as there are no agreed definitions of these terms and people use them inconsistently. Dr J Bland

    • townko
      townko jeremydpbland

      Posted

      I have had symptoms such as hand going numb especially when in bed ,also if I drive for a distance my fingers start to tingle and go numb in my rt hand but I feel that my hand functions well ,sometimes i get a bit of a stabbing pain around the wrist at times,and general aching.It was me who said no to injections as I did not like the thought of it (ex nurse!)but now my appointment has come through I have had second thoughts about operation as i need my hands to do my job and dont really want to take weeks of to recover.Is there any risks to delaying treatment for a year or two?thankyou for replying.

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland townko

      Posted

      There can be problems if treatment is delayed too long. You will find a detailed explanation on my website along with much more background information (and no advertising!). Unfortunately the only reliable objective measure of nerve damage is the NCS results and we would need to see those to advise whether it is really safe to delay treatment. Dr J Bland

  • jannybibby
    jannybibby townko

    Posted

    My right hand was so bad it was affecting my job and I was unable to drive very far. The pins and needles were so bad and I was fed up of wearing the uncomfortable splints.

    I would highly recommend surgery. I could tell within hours of my surgery that it had worked.

    Don't suffer, have the surgery. At least have your worse hand done. I had a good surgeon, went private and recovery went well.

    Regards

    Jan

    • townko
      townko jannybibby

      Posted

      Thankyou for reply.I am not disabled by my CTS as it does not bother me constantly , it is mainly in bed at night or driving a distance that causes numbness.I am thinking of delaying treatment until it is more to me as I do not really want to take a long period off work as a lot of people seem to take a long time to recover.i am glad to here that you have recovered well how long did you have off work ?my work involves lots of manual handling.

    • kathleen99563
      kathleen99563 townko

      Posted

      please get your thyroid levels checked. I think many women go through unnecessary surgery. Carpal tunnel IS associated with low thyroid

  • roy_8309
    roy_8309 townko

    Posted

    Hello Townko,

    After my 4th injection for my right hand, October 2014, I've been free of complaint for 4 years now.

    With first to third injections relief lasted for between 13 - 18 months.

    Considering your work circumstance, think you should at least give injection a try?

    Like another CTS reply here, I also had low thyroid levels, corrected with tablets. Perhaps this also aided my recovery of last 4 years?

    Good luck.

    Regards

    Roy

    • townko
      townko roy_8309

      Posted

      Thanks for that, yes i am going to go back to my GP to discuss it.Glad to hear you are feeling better.

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