Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

You know how people always say “I won’t wish that upon my worst enemy”? Well if I had any enemies, which I don’t because life is short and grudges causes ill health, I’d definitely wish Carpal Tunnel Syndrome upon them. I seriously would guys. Don’t judge me.

About two years ago I experienced a tingling sensation in my fingers. This was followed my numbness and then sharp pain in my left hand and wrist. I didn’t pay too much attention to it at first but as the pain increased and the otc pain killers lost its efficacy, I made the trip to my gp. My pain threshold is high but not CPS high.

He gave me some painkillers and I went on my merry way. But that wasn’t the last I saw of him for that problem. Over the course of the few months following that initial visit, I quickly became a regular. My left arm went numb and I lost feeling in my fingers which resulted in me not being able to do something as simple as holding a pen with my left hand. It was as if my hand was just an accessory. Nighttime was the worst. I’d have to hold my arm in an upright position to bring some sort of relief. Honestly I can’t say whether or not it did bring relief because the pain was unbearable.

My gp changed my meds and gave me anti depressants. The aim was to relieve the nerves in my wrist which would leave me painfree. Problem with anti depressants was that it left me in a zone. I was neither here nor there. But it did take me on a trips though. On an emotional rollercoaster. The pain, though it was taken down quite a few notches, was still there. Bearable but there.

Now, I’m not one for just sticking a plaster where it hurts. If something is broken then fix it, if it can be. Off I went for a second opinion and was immediately referred to an orthopedic surgeon. After my consultation with the surgeon he scheduled me Carpal Tunnel Release.

I’m a total “HOUSE” fan, and after watching all eight seasons a few times you can imagine what went through my mind. I hate hospitals and never had an operation in my life. I remember the nervous tension and the hurling. All my own fault I might add. Silly me watched a YouTube Video the night before the procedure. Seriously those videos need to be banned. Or maybe I just have to keep my curiosity at bay. Nonetheless I wanted the pain to just disappear and sucked it up.

Before pic

When I woke from my medically induced slumber I felt like a brand new person. Gone was the excruciating pain I’ve come to know so well. It was replaced by post surgery pain, but that was something I could deal with. The itchy wound was much more annoying than the pain. In fact, my smelly hand was worse than the pain too. It had to stay bandaged for fifteen long days. No changing the dressing or anything until the stitches were removed. I’ll spare you all the gory details on what it was like after the stitches were removed but what I will say is that it took a long time to heal. Turns out my body doesn’t take kindly to cuts. I couldn’t start rehabilitation before the wound healed completely.

After what seemed like an eternity, my hand healed quite nicely. When I couldn’t find a stress ball anywhere I went for the next best thing and squeezed a squash ball for dear life to strengthen my hand. I even got myself a soft tennis ball too to alternate. Hand massages were also an integral part of the healing process and helped soothe the scar tissue. You can hardly see the scar on the picture. I can hardly see the scar when I look at my hand.

After

Not everyone’s story about Carpal Tunnel Release is a success story and some people do experience pain afterwards. I remember people telling me not to waste my time because it won’t help. I remember thinking that it will be my problem and not theirs. Who wants to live in pain anyways? Admittedly I do experience a bit of discomfort in my hand from time to time. Sometimes I wonder if it’s real or if it’s just my mind’s way of recalling that experience. All in all mine was a success story and I don’t regret having the procedure done. Both my hands are functional and I treasure it dearly.

Advertisement