HELP
Posted , 5 users are following.
hello, im desperate here, i had open release surgery on January 20th and i still have a lot of swelling in my fingers and cannot bend them even half way, and when i try and use my hand it feels like a railroad spike is being driven through the palm of my hand and have almost no rane of motion in my wrist, i have got to get back to work (i am a herdsperson on a hog farm) and i have to use my hands A LOT and do heavy lifting of baby pigs. im woried that something has gone wrong and SOOOOOO regret having the urgery, can someone PLEASE HELP ME?!?!?
0 likes, 9 replies
jeremydpbland anglea34514
Posted
What does your surgeon say? What were the symptoms like before surgery? How have they changed now? Those are first questions in trying to figure out what the problem is. It should not be that painful 6 weeks or so after surgery really. You might find the facebook group 'I survived carpal tunnel surgery' useful and there is more information on analysing problems after surgery on my own website (there's a link under <Related information> below right.) Dr J Bland
anglea34514 jeremydpbland
Posted
My surgeon doesn't seem to think there is a problem just told me it could take a year.. All of the symptoms I had before the surgery are gone thank god but these new issues are most of the time unbearably painful and the incision is kinda hard and I have been massaging it regularly and trying to force my fingers to bend and forcing my wrist to bend but it doesn't seem to be doing any good.. I ice it regularly to try and relieve the swelling in my fingers but it doesn't help.. Should I get another doctor's opinion?
doreen44684 anglea34514
Posted
i read that bio oil helps the scar and it did with me though I started using it a few weeks after surgery - it kept the scar from going hard and i didn't get the hard lump my surgeon said would happen - hope you feel things starting to get better soon
doreen44684 anglea34514
Posted
Hi Angela not sure if this will help as everyone is different but i had the same problems as you but took me 5 months before hand got back to normal - i had to replace pans / kettle which were too heavy with smaller lighter items and couldn't grip anything properly - however it did right itself and i got my hand back to normal so don't think anything gone wrong just takes some people longer to recover
anglea34514 doreen44684
Posted
Thank you for replying... It gives me a little hope that I'm not alone.. I am so worried about getting back to work and I can't with the issues I'm having.. There is really no such thing as light duty at my job... I'm a farrower so I have to lift pigs from 3-30 pounds.. Give injections to sows and pigs carry buckets of feed abs so on this is so hard and I am so depressed about all of it
ron30683 anglea34514
Posted
left hand still no grip and they say time heals all has been slo going and painful
ken yah hep me is the question and damage iz dun
anglea34514 ron30683
Posted
My doctor hasn't even said anything about physical therapy at all!?!?
doreen44684 anglea34514
Posted
Hi Angela - I didn't get any help from my surgeon just had to look online - found a squeeze ball was helpful when pain in my palm started to ease
jeremydpbland anglea34514
Posted
Well at least that suggests that the operation has probably been done correctly which is a good start, and if your surgeon is happy that there is not a local complication like a wound infection then that is another plus. That leaves us with the unfortunate situation that not everyone's hand takes kindly to the surgical assault of cutting the ligament which forms the roof of the carpal tunnel. Pain around the wrist, tendernes of the scar, lumpiness in the surrounding area and stiffness of the wrist and fingers and general swelling can all result from the insult of surgery. The majority will eventually improve. Massage, ice/heat, the varius manipulations of the hand therapists seem to help some patients but are unpredictable in effect and there is little or no good trial evidence to tell us what to do in this situation. It is sometimes worth checking the nerve conduction studies to make sure that nerve function really has improved but if your original symptoms have cleared it is highly likely that your NCS will have improved too so I wouldn't push it in this case I think. Try to persuade them to refer you for hand therapy would be the obvious move. Dr J Bland