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Originally Posted by chrissy
Did they mention anything about the feeling in your fingers? If it was a normal thing and would come back?
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When I go to the doctor on the 14th of this month, I'll have to ask him about that.
I can tell that it has gotten better. My fingers don't feel quite as numb today (so maybe the nerves will repair themselves over time I hope...) I can still feel just a little numbness but it isn't anywhere near as bad as it was a month ago.
I even played a little Unreal Tournament 3 last night (since I can rest my wrist on the desk and just use my left hand fingers to control the keyboard movements. I did ok... hopefully it will get much better as it heals.
Today I am back at work, and I can at least type normally, which is a plus. My palm still hurts a bit, but not so much to keep me from typing. I can't lift anything heavier than 3 to 5 pounds in my left hand though (and opening bottles/cans with twist tops is a problem...)
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Originally Posted by Cubsfan
Did you ever try to get a cortisone shot? I've heard that works for some people, but a lot of them end up still needing surgery anyway.
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Prior to having surgery, I had an EMG test performed to tell the severity of my problem. Based on this test, I had moderate to severe carpal tunnel. On top of that, when I told the doctor that I had been suffering from symptoms for the better part of the past 10 years he recommended the surgery versus going with a cortisone shot or other non surgical procedures.
Pretty much, if your CTS is light, the cortisone might work to reduce some of the swelling in the wrist so that you can open up some space for the nerves not to get bound and cause pain. In my case, he noticed that my transverse ligament was pretty tight and that the passageway for the nerve was very small, thus causing my pain.
Another test that they do is for you to hold your hands together, palms facing outward (so that the back of your hands are touching) with your wrists touching each other. If your hands start tingling within 30 seconds to a minute, then that is also a good indicator of the severity of the nerve pinch in your wrist.
The surgery is an "end all" solution to the problem as it forcibly makes space in the wrist for the nerve. Pretty much if you are willing to deal with the inconvenience and expense of it, then it is the preferred method of treatment (from what I've been told and have read...). That's why I went that route. I was just tired of foolin' around with my ganked up wrist/hand.