It seems I have carpal tunnel problems in my right wrist and I'm looking for ways to deal with it that don't involve surgery.

My Dr. gave me a 5 day prescription for prednisone and all my symptoms vanished confirming my median nerve was inflamed. So now I'd like to find something to help reduce inflammation. Have any of you had any luck with CBD? I tried a turmeric supplement for a few months but didn't notice any change.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance!

JP

Try a brace. Even if it's just at night while you sleep. I'm about 6 weeks out from my conductivity testing where I was diagnosed in the moderate-severe in conductivity loss. The therapist had recommended a brace. For the first week I didn't know if it was helping or aggravating the nerve. I'm going through the day without issue and not waking up at night anymore.

I'm glad the surgeons team never called me back to discuss my options. I can continue like this indefinitely. Should it come back again I will be seeking a doctor within my network who offers the GUO surgical technique as an option. I've talked with several people who went that route who were very happy with their results and short recovery time.

Had that in both wrists. First doctor prescribed lots of ibuprofen and a cheap brace to wear during the day. That made things worse.

Next doctor did a proper exam, recommended no drugs, and ordered prescription braces that completely immobilized most of my arm and wrist to wear only at night. Across six months it all healed, so no surgery needed. Fixed some bad ergonomics at work and it never returned. The good doctor and diagnosis was key in my case.

Surgery provided my only relief. But I was nearing 70 and had spent too many years working my body pretty hard.

Had surgery for carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel (elbow) at the same time, about 3 years ago. Results were excellent. Recovery time was minimal. Outpatient surgery, just needed someone to drive me home afterward because of the anesthesia. No significant pain. Almost impossible to find the tiny scars left by the arthroscopic procedures.

I've had worse dental procedures.

Wish I could help. I’ve been trying to just deal with it for about 10 years and it’s just gotten worse although it seems to get worse in spurts. I tried the braces and it helped some at night but not overall. It happens quite often everyday that my hands and involved fingers go numb. Painfully numb. Happens when I’m driving, holding my wife’s hand, holding my toddler. Just had my testing and it’s moderate loss. Surgery lined up one hand at a time. I hope you find relief. I’m just glad VA has the choice now of local or VA doctors. Now it’s just pray for the best outcome. It wasn’t getting better by itself.

I must agree with Lobo.I tried the creams and braces and steroids, nothing worked, it was a ten minute surgery, and I was full speed at about six weeks. That would definitely be my recommendation. Good luck!

Had it in my left wrist about 10 years ago. Had the electric shock test done. Told me I had a moderate to heavy case of carpal tunnel. Said they would shoot me up with cortisone for as long as it worked but I would eventually need surgery. I said skip the cortisone and schedule the surgery. It’s been good ever since.

Best way to heal.... Cold hard steel. Surgery is very successful.

Andrew

I went thru all of the options, brace, drugs, therapy, etc.
Finally had the surgery and it was instant relief.
That was about 25 years ago.

Had it done on a Thursday and was back to work on Monday.
Made me wonder why they didn't want to operate sooner.

Just do it, it's worth it, for sure.

Bob

I pursued all options over nearly 2 years for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. The best relief I got was from 'electo-acupuncture'. Went from marked complaint/3x week for a few weeks, to twice a month with decent comfort most of the time in normal activities.

Ins. company informed they were no longer willing to pay for twice a month tx. Final solution for me was surgery, which did result in
complete relief, going now on to nearly 15 years ago.

Simple effective surgery via experience competent specialist. I considered the other choices and settled on what proved to be solution to my problem. Good luck.

Get it surgically corrected. The longer you wait the more nerve damage you do and the less successful the fix is. My mom has very severe issues with her hands (and doing daily necessary activities) from waiting years too long to take care of it.

This is one of those cases where going to surgery fairly soon is better. Night splints and injections can be helpful but almost everyone ends up with surgery. Make sure to have surgery performed by a hand surgeon.
There are pluses and minuses to both the traditional open technique and arthroscopic approaches.
The scope literally takes less than 5 minutes and can often be done with only local anesthesia.

Thanks for the replies. I had no idea the recovery time is so short for the surgery. That's probably going to be the route I go.

JP

Vitamin B6 has really helped me, been taking for several years. 2-250mg tabs every morning with a big glass of OJ. Also lately been really active working with hand tools and got a pair of copper-fit fingerless gloves to sleep in, also helps!

I waited to long before having it done and now still can't manually turn a screwdriver without serious pain instantly. Sanding and using a hammer cause some pain also as well as other shock inducing activities.
Day to day is better but I wish I had it done as soon as it was found!

This thread reminded me of why I switched to an ergonomic mouse at work. I had symptoms of carpal tunnel pretty bad. I never asked a doctor but I switched to an upright mouse. Symptoms disappeared completely over time. I actually forgot all about I’ve been using the mouse for so long.

A Navy surgeon operated on and did a great job. Can’t hardly see the incision.

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
Had surgery for carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel (elbow) at the same time, about 3 years ago. Results were excellent. Recovery time was minimal. Outpatient surgery, just needed someone to drive me home afterward because of the anesthesia. No significant pain. Almost impossible to find the tiny scars left by the arthroscopic procedures..

My best friend had both carpel & cubital done as well at the end of June. He was very funny on the phone when be called me from recovery. He's got a few weeks left until he goes back to work but is in much better shape prior to surgery.

I got cubital tunnel in my left arm after about 6 weeks of working at home at my dining room table with less then optimal ergonomics. My two small fingers started tingling a bit and feel a little numb. Like a funny bone hit but not as bad. Maybe a 4 on a 1-10 scale. I rearranged my work at home setup for proper ergonomics and eventually got a company provided laptop riser and a proper office chair.

Could't actually see the doctor due in May 2020 due to the China Virus scare, so they said to take Aleve twice a day. In September I managed to get a Dr. appointment for various accumulated stuff and they ordered an EMG test for my left elbow. Test happened in November and the results showed degraded nerve function, so then I reported it to my employer as work related. Company doc had me do PT for a little while, but it didn't make much difference.

Then they sent me to an orthopedist and we decided to do the surgery, including translocation of the ulnar nerve because mine sublexes a lot as I bend - meaning it pops in and out of the groove in the elbow it's supposed to stay in. Surgery recovery isn't too bad, but takes a bit longer than I expected because they peel the muscle open and tuck the nerve inside. Hopefully the tingling and numbness go back to normal, but they've done all they can. My concern was letting the workman's comp claim get closed then having to reopen it if things didn't improve. But having to wait a year between the onset of symptoms and surgery may have resulted in permanent nerve damage, but it can take a year for it to go back to normal so it's uncertain.

Apples and oranges. Carpal tunel is nowhere near that involved.

Bob