blech. carpal tunnel

[mopinko]

not the worst thing in the world, but shit.
saw my rheumie today for an overdue recheck. have fibro, asthma, gerd, autoimmune thyroiditis, central apnea. have had persistent trouble with a couple fingers since i had 2 cervical discs herniate. (several years ago) got them fused, but the fingers are still hypersensitive.
the neck still bothers me fairly regularly, and the wrists get sore when they are fatigued. lately waking up with tingling, pain and stiffness.
so, doc wrote an order for splints to sleep with. i suppose they are going to torture me with several ineffective treatments before they do surgery. like always.

sigh. not that big a deal after years of trouble with the fingers. but shit. if i thought for sure he was right, i might not be quite as depressed. but i have as much trouble in my neck as my wrists.
more questions, more tests, more appointments. just when i thought i could live with feeling like shit if i could just stay away from the docs. but they don't give you any pills if you don't see the doc.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Wearing wrist braces at night helped me a lot with my carpal tunnel.

It was worse years ago, so bad that I couldn't pick up a large cup of coffee, but never had the surgery and eventually it got better.

Hope you find the right and most effective relief!

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. you should try the two herbs I've been using for 10 years...

a boswellia and a turmeric capsule each morning (heard about it in the NPR show People's Pharmacy) - both are natural (Ayurvedic, actually) anti inflammatories. I shouldn't even be able to walk, never mind garden, with the knees I have. vitacost has the best prices by far.

hang in there, friend!

[siligut]

3. Boswellia and curcumin both really help with colitis too

They keep flares down so I don't have to take Asacol or Canasa, both of which cause me mental havoc. I also notice reduced inflammation elsewhere.

Mopinko, along with the splints anti-inflammatories, try taking more B Vitamins, especially B6 and B12.

[mopinko]

4. and, to top it off

a second one of my sisters has been dx'd with breast cancer. my mom had 2 separate mastectomies.
my doctor is never gonna let me hear the end of this.

[ballardgirl]

5. anti-inflammatory diet

my carpal tunnel issues almost disappear when I stick to an anti-inflammatory diet. When I have a flare-up, the night splints do help. I hope you have looked at your diet - cutting out things like nightshades (potato, tomato, peppers, etc), wheat and dairy. The difference in my health when I made the diet adjustments was huge. Finding the thing(s) that work best for us can be challenging. I also take turmeric and several other supplements which help and quit others that make my inflammation worse. Good luck on your journey.

[mopinko]

6. ok, the treatment is officially worse the the disease.

doing some physical therapy for the wrists. (surprise!!! not)
my right is pretty bad, but the left rarely bothers me. but since all the exercises use both hands, of course, the sore muscles that are being stirred up are in both wrists.
oh yeah.

tech says they don't splint much these days, tho i am the one type- cramping in your sleep- that they do sometimes do. so i get to do all this, and THEN get the splints.

wont mind all this if it works. and stays working. if i fart around with this all summer and end up with surgery anyway, i wont be too happy. but at least i will be able to pick my time.

[mopinko]

7. omg. this is going to kill me.

ya know, it isn't really painful at the time, except for an occasional poke. but a hour later? 1st visit i spent the rest of the day in bed.
today it was only a few hours. tried to ice it, felt like i put my finger in a light socket.
i could only go to bed. i was going to pass out.

the real problem is permanent nerve damage in my neck. it just has caused everything downstream to live in a permanent state of cramp. some of this stuff lights up my whole arm.

imma give it the old college try, i swear i am. because i know it is my only hope to do something besides just circle the drain faster and faster.
shoulda been done 5 years ago when the discs were fused, tho. been fucked up all along.

sheesh

[KC]

9. You're really

going through some bad times! I really
hope the therapy and the night splints work
for you. I'm sure it won't happen overnight
but try to hang in there. I had it years ago from using the computer all day when I was a pharmacy technician. Then every job from then on required using computers. I finally had to stop 'cause I just couldn't
do it anymore. Since then it's slowly gotten better but if I stay on computer too long I can feel it starting up again. Ugh!

[mopinko]

12. i just want to get through the growing season.

if i don't get anywhere, i will have the surgery. i really can't afford to let them get much worse. i do a lot of physical things.
getting old and falling apart fast enough!!

[KC]

15. Yeah

Last edited Thu Jul 18, 2013, 11:54 PM - Edit history (1)

whoever came up with calling it 'The Golden Years' never went through them!

[otohara]

8. Vitamin B6 P5P Formula - Will Cure it.

I am not shitting you -

It may take a few months or even longer, but it will go away.

It took 3 months for mine to go away, one year for my hubby.
I recently stopped taking and my thumbs started up - a few days of B6 and they are back to normal

http://www.terrytalksnutrition.com/weekly-articles/2012/04-27/the-life-saving-value-of-pyridoxal-5-phosphate-p5p-and-magnesium/

Take 100 mg 3X per day until it goes away, then 100 mgs per day for the rest of your life.

As for your neck, I would suggest you start Transdermal Magnesium Therapy - cheap, easy - make your own from mag. chloride flakes and water, or lotion - I prefer unscented lotion.

[Warpy]

10. Are you NUTS???

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-signs-of-a-vitamin-b6-overdose.htm

50 mg. a DAY and up will cause problems.

[otohara]

11. Not Nuts & Very Much Alive

without the debilitating pain of CTS.

People with CTS have very low levels of B6 (vegetarians especially) - once it goes away, no need to take that much per day.
A few months of 100 mgs of B6 P5P formula a few times per day won't kill you.
Sheesh - people do chemotherapy to get well - now that's dangerous.

Another route is to do like a doctor told me years ago when I had my first case CTS.... take 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen 3x per day and get cortisone shots in the hands. My stomach was a mess from the Ibuprofen and those shots hurt like a motherfucker. It took a long time and a whole lot of Ibuprofen.

B6 P5P is my drug of choice for carpal tunnel.

[mopinko]

13. yeah, no.

before i fight this to the point of ruining my stomach, i'll just get the surgery and move on. i have enough other stuff to fight.

[otohara]

14. B6 Won't Ruin Your Tummy

neither me or my hubby suffered any side effects during the time when taking large dose of B6 for a few months.

Ibuprofen will however.

Sounds like surgery was always the option you were going to choose.
Hope it works and recovery is smooth.

Best of luck.

[mopinko]

16. i just have to say that your advice and attitude will not help anyone in this group.

nobody as sick as most of the people here think of their digestive system as their tummy. and no one needs your condescending attitude.
i probably will have surgery, because the root cause, permanent, meaning irreparable, nerve injury in my neck, is not going away. if i don't i will end up with similar injury in my hands, which i will be needing for a few more years, at least.

most people in here would be happy to have that option. most people in here would be glad to have any effective option like that for their problems. pretty much all of them want to talk to people who have real medical problems, and are too seriously ill for anything but evidence based medicine.

there are other forums here where you can talk to people about your theories.

[otohara]

17. I Think My Attitude Is Damn Good

considering I've been disabled since I was a baby. That's what I've been told my entire life - oh you handle so well...even with constant chronic pain from my neck to my feet that started in my 30's. I've had my share of surgeries since I was 10 and a dozens of leg braces though the years, including my new one which will prevent my ankle from collapsing.

I don't want any more surgeries... I'm old and my muscles are far too weak now to recover properly. So I look for alternative options....I and others have had amazing success with B6 for CTS. Magnesium Oil via Transdermal application got rid of the debilitating throw-up migraines when nothing else helped. It has also helped with my overall well being. So much so, I stopped taking a couple of RX's I took for years. I will use these two products for the rest of my days along with my pain med. You see the pain is so bad, a narcotic is also needed.

BTW... govt. took me seriously when I applied for SSDI - I was approved in 3 weeks. That doesn't happen unless you have "real medical problems"

You really shouldn't assume who and who doesn't have real medical problems and who is qualified to post in the chronic health conditions forum.

[mopinko]

18. yeesh. 2 more weeks in the splints full time.

god, the heat is killing me with these damn things. like walking around in wool evening gloves.
fibro is making my physical therapy an f'ing nightmare.
aaarrrrghghghghghgh

i just want to get to the fall, and get this shit fixed if it isn't better by then.

[mopinko]

19. ha fall and

carpal tunnel has taken a back seat to widespread degenerative disc disease. aka arthritis of the spine, i guess.

going to see dr steroid injection later this month on the advice of the neurologist. but just got bubbles and bobbles all over.

OOOOOOOOHHH!!!!! THAT'S WHY I HURT SO MUCH I CAN'T SLEEP!!!!

wrists are usable, tho.

[Herself]

20. Read up on DMSO. You can get it at Tractor Supply

They make roll on too.

Read before you use it.
I suffered for months and months. Started every day with ice on my wrists, couldn't drive without pain.

DMSO, pain lessened in a few days. Gone within two weeks. Have not had to take it for 1 . 5 years.