Chicago Hand Surgery For Carpal Tunnel

Image from WebMD

So over the holiday weekend, I started really delving into the pain in my hands and wrists. What I’ve been experiencing makes it feel like my wrist is going to break when I’m applying pressure of any sort. This has also been accompanied by a general lack of strength in the same hand. I can’t seem to open screw top lids, either small ones or large ones.

So I decided to start research what kind of hand surgery it looked like I may end up receiving. Yup, I’m the impatient sort who can’t wait for a doctor to tell me what is wrong with me. Some call this a touch of hypochondria, but I just call it being informed.

So my first stop was I hear the most about, carpal tunnel. I have known many people who have had carpal tunnel hand surgery, and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

So what is carpal tunnel after all, and what are the symptoms?

According to the WebMD, carpal tunnel syndrome is a narrowing of the carpal tunnel, a small space in your wrist where the median nerve passes. When this happens, it essentially pinches the nerve. This pinch then causes the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel, which are primarily tingling, numbness, weakness, or pain in the fingers or hand.

Boy, that sounds a lot like what I’m having, but will I end up having carpal tunnel hand surgery? I don’t know.

According to the May Clinic, tests for carpal tunnel syndrome include not only a physical exam, but also an x-ray, electromyogram, and a nerve conduction study. So far, I have only had a physical exam and just had some x-rays. Hopefully the hand surgeon I’m seeing will order some of these other tests as well.

Have any of you experienced carpal tunnel, or had hand surgery as a result? I am curious about what the outcome was like. I have heard a few people talk about how the surgery immediately relieved their symptoms, but others who have talked about having the hand surgery more than once in order to achieve relief on the nerve.

I’ll be honest, I am not a fan of having hand surgery, but I will if it’s needed. That said, I would really like to make sure the first hand surgery I have is the last one needed for the same problem. Too bad it’s not like building something, where you know if it’s done right the first time then it’s a done deal. It’s more like fixing a car, where the hand surgery is attacking a problem, with an educated “guess” as to what’s wrong, but it may turn out to be something completely different.

Let me know your thoughts. I’d love to hear your experiences with Carpal Tunnel or the Chicago hand surgery to correct it.

Hand Surgery In My Future

Image from reachpatients on Flickr.

While my mind is young and still very sharp, my body, unfortunately is beginning to wane. There are many other things going on in the 60-year old body (shh…it’ll be our secret), but what I want to focus on for this blog are the problems with my hands.

Until recently I had no idea I would ever need a hand surgeon. I thought I could self-manage the aging process through massage, perhaps some chiropractic care, and herbal supplements. While I am still a strong believer in all those things, they did not end up working for me long term, and I had to begin looking at other things.

What led to my need to seek out a hand surgeon, and ultimately what likely turn into hand surgery? Well, it started simply enough. A few years ago I noticed my hands were not as strong as they once hand been; I had problems gripping things, holding any amount of weight, those kinds of symptoms. I thought my problem may have been carpal tunnel, so I investigated all the homeopathic options.

While I do feel better having tried several variations of supplements that are supposed to help with carpal tunnel, my hands just did not get any better. Then it started impacting my family life. I was fearful of holding my grandkids because I couldn’t trust my hands to hold them firmly.

So, for the sake of my family, I am not investigating how to get treatment. Several of my friends have suggested hand surgery is likely in my future. Personally, I would love to forego the hand surgery, and maybe just have extensive physical therapy or some treatment plan like that. I guess we’ll just have to see what the doctors have to say.

Speaking of doctors, did you know there are so many of them out there? I don’t just mean how many doctors there are, but how many different kinds of docs? I was told to go see an orthopedic surgeon, though I was told he may or may not recommend surgery. No problem I thought; until I found out that not all orthopedists are hand surgeons. Nope, there are some who focus on hands, others who focus on ankles, hips, knees, and so on. Yikes, so much to consider.

Any great recommendations on a Chicago hand surgeon? There’s a couple I’ve been recommended to see, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on who works well and who doesn’t.