# Goodbye To The Carpal Tunnel Blues



## Richard Melloh (Nov 14, 2016)

I can only imagine that there are many more career thing makers out there on this site who have battled with carpal tunnel syndrome long and hard.

The condition has been bilateral in me since my early 20's. I am currently 63 years of age. I have always worked through the sleepless nights, morning tingling and burning and often downright excruciating pain, finally managing the symptoms much better when I began working for myself, instead of working nonstop, like-it-or-not, on the clock, for someone else. I have run my one man shop since 1991, still having carpal tunnel symptoms every day of the year since then, oft times limiting a lot of my after work activity because I always "save myself" for the work.

I recently worked very hard to get myself into a place where I could take the time off for the surgery to my right hand. I had always put the surgery off. I was evaluated for surgery two decades ago. My biggest concern was to get to a place where I could still meet my customers' needs during my down time. So far, so good.

I just got my stitches out this morning on day 10 following the surgery, two whole stitches, itching like crazy, begging to come out. Snip, snip, done and I took myself out to breakfast on a Monday morning to celebrate.

The results? Outstanding, so far. From day one, post surgery, I can hold on to a phone with my right hand for 20 minutes without consequence, something I could never, ever do. Three minutes would be painful before surgery. I loath phones. They look like pain to me, always have, and all because of my carpal tunnel syndrome. 

From day one, post surgery, I can sleep without my nightly arm brace and giant prop-up pillow. I can hold silverware indefinitely. I can grip my steering wheel without consequence. No more burning and tingling.

Can't wait to get back to work and see how a random orbital sander feels in my hand, or a trim router or the Z axis feed handle of my mill and drill press, where I spend hours without a break.

I am thinking light duty in the shop at 15 days from surgery, the coming weekend. No slapping the Kurt vise with the short, speed handle. I'll put the long handle on and gently push and pull. I'll be slower, but I'll be working. I'll back off when things begin to ache too much, because I can do that. I am betting I'll be able to grip small plastic parts in sizable multiples and repetitions for sanding and polishing. Perhaps I'll be able to do some plastic machine housing assemblies using the solvent bonding process next week. I feel fairly confident.

I mention all of this as encouragement to anyone else out there that has been putting this surgery off for far too long. The procedure took minutes. It was done outpatient. The numbing of the arm was the the most painful and time consuming part. Numbing took 20 minutes, the actual surgery took 5 minutes. They were able to do it endoscopically, so the incision was a little less the 3/4" long, centered on the inside of the wrist, just up the arm from the butt of the palm. I looked the other way. Some would watch, not me. It was all a narcotic free process. I'd put max pain level at about a 4.

I'm already thinking about doing the left hand, which I really notice now that the right one has no symptoms. I used to call my left hand my good hand. What a piece of junk!

I may be cutting it a little close up here in New Hampshire, but I'll know I'm truly 100% when I can put those 80 lb tire chains on the tractor and get that 60" snow blower mounted. It better be soon.


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## JimDawson (Nov 14, 2016)

Happy to hear it all worked out well!


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## Tony Wells (Nov 14, 2016)

Glad to hear of your success, and the relief you got from the procedure. I can barely imagine having suffered for so long how it must feel to get that relief. I always worry, and still do, that arthritis will be my downfall in the hands. There are already signs of it, so I may be right. I only recently learned about a condition similar to CTS, and with the same acronym. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. Similar problem, just a different nerve. This one is the Ulnar nerve which we call the "funny bone" nerve we get the tingling sensation from when we strike our elbow just wrong. I have damaged both arms or hands (doc can't tell exactly where yet) from using a walker shortly after breaking my leg last April. Odd thing about the Ulnar nerve is that it gives that pain/numbness/tingling only in the little finger and the lateral half of the ring finger. Have no real feeling in those two fingers other than the discomfort. I am told the damage actually may be over, but the effects will present until the nerve heals. Which will be several months yet. 

Go ahead with the other hand as soon as the doc will do it....sounds like he knows what he is doing!


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## Richard Melloh (Nov 14, 2016)

Tony, the doctor is a she (credit where due), but I agree. She was very confident she could help me.

My worry was that the surgery would not solve all my problems. I have had shoulder (thoracic) clearance problems for both nerve and circulation, but there was always a suspicion that the nerve trunk swelling and clearance problems began all the way down at the wrist, inflaming the entire nerve trunk all the way up to the shoulder porting, as well as impacting clearances in the elbow, which you describe for yourself. That's just how irritated it would forever get. Sleeping on my right shoulder is not causing problems now (so far). We'll see how things go after I get back to two or three thousand reps a day on the drill press or mill, or hang onto a random orbital sander for four hours, pushing down hard, or decide to resume cutting all the soft pine out of my hardwood forest, just me, a chainsaw, a tractor and a chain, a great workout, but so hard on the body.

I see you and Jim Dawson (first two responders) are both staff. FYI, I decided to write the above post after receiving a prompt from your site just yesterday. I enjoy writing and thought this might expand the discussion in another pertinent area for the site. I don't know any "maker" who does not have work related physical challenges, at any age. Some of my greatest feats have been overcoming some of my own. I know a lot of tricks. I also need to keep myself busy right now, while waiting to heal. 

My machining experience is fairly low tech/old school/self taught, but fairly precise and always demanding. My niche is one I believe few work in anywhere, specifically building short runs of complex equipment housings out of PVC/ABS blend plastic sheets and making many of the working specialty plastic (PEEK, Delrin, etc) and non-ferrous metal parts for said machines that cannot be purchased by the customer from off the shelf. I have been at it for a long time, a maker of things since before I got out of college with an MFA in 3 dimensional arts in 1975. I love the making process.

Liking your Louis Nizer quotation.

Regards to you and Jim. Your site has been of help to me in the past.


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## rwm (Nov 14, 2016)

It will be interesting someday soon when all of these operations will be performed by CNC robots. I don't think it will be too far away. Certainly within 25 years.
R


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## jocat54 (Nov 14, 2016)

Richard, I am glad it has worked out for you. I had my left hand done about 5 years ago and wish I had done it sooner--instead of the painful shots in the wrist for so many years. It has truly changed my life for the better---had all the same symptoms as you had, all gone now.
I do have some permanent damage (no strength in left hand--but no pain)  
Now if I could do something for the arthritis


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## derf (Nov 14, 2016)

I had the same problem, only I had BOTH hands done at the same time. Most doctors won't consider this, because they don't want you feeling helpless with both hands out of commission. My surgeon asked me why  I wanted both done at the same time, and I told him that I wanted to minimize the down time.....and no doubt it would be less expensive, seeing how it's coming out of my pocket. He said your are correct on both points, but who is going to wipe your butt?
I know some people heal faster or make different rates of progress, but long story short, I lost a lot of upper body strength after the surgery, even though I still done everyday things. It took almost a year to fully recuperate. My hands didn't tingle or go numb after surgery, but I didn't have much grip. At one point it was a task to hold a coffee mug. I had to use both hands to lift a gallon of milk. Before surgery I could do 20 push ups at the drop of a hat. It took almost a year to get back to that.
 Maybe that's the reason they only want to do one at a time, or they just want to peel ya twice....anyway I found out the hard way. Hope everything goes well.


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## Richard Melloh (Nov 15, 2016)

Derf, that butt wipe thing was what made my mind up. One hand at a time. It was still very difficult trying to get by using my left hand (such a subject). It had never been tried, not ever! It was pathetic. At 63, I don't bend that way. I ended up back to using my beat up right hand on day two, regardless of the pain. Such a simple thing to take for granted. Sobering. Makes the empathy a bit more fierce when one sees a person with rheumatoid arthritis in both hands. My father and his brother and sisters all had RA. It's pretty much in the cards for me. I keep hoping that treatments and prevention strategies for RA get better and better. Use it or lose it seems to be the rule.

Had the meet and greet with the physical therapist yesterday, day ten. Told her I'd be back at light duty work in no time. She said wait three weeks and gave me some "silly putty" in a jar to work my hand strength back. I worked that putty on the whole half hour drive back home and was more sore than I have been in a week, so there is a lot of work to be done. I noticed I two handed the full coffee pot this morning. Can't set the parking brake yet. This is getting very boring, but I can cook and clean and be useful. Taking some long daily walks to stay in shape, throwing the ball for the neighbors' dog. I can pull my socks on and tie my shoes, so I can't complain.

My customers have not called to say they are running out of anything just yet. I staged a lot of work before I went off line, just in case. I should hit the ground running in December.


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## derf (Nov 17, 2016)

I spent a lot of time squeezing rubber balls and working with 1 lb dumbells. I can't remember where I found them, but there were 3- 2" balls in a set that ranged from extra squishy to fairly hard. I'd keep one in every pocket in my bib overalls and give them a squeeze off and on all day. The ole lady thought I was doing something else......


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## mikey (Nov 17, 2016)

I had a pulley release (CTS surgery) about 3 years ago on my dominant hand because I couldn't squeeze the front brake on my sportbike anymore and it was getting dangerous. I laughed when you guys referred to the butt-wiping issue because it is a reality we take for granted until we can't do it. The work-arounds are not pretty.

The thing to keep in mind where nerve compression is concerned is that the damage incurred is cumulative over time. Numbness almost always comes first because the sensory nerves run on the outside of the nerve. Motor dysfunction follows with continued compression and is usually temporary if compression is relieved; if left untreated, however, it becomes permanent. If you have an entrapment syndrome with numbness and weakness it is better to have a decompression procedure sooner rather than later. Delays lead to prolonged recovery times and people often find that recovery is not complete - they get some function back but not all, and that is usually due to delays in treatment. It can take up to a year before you can say that what you have is all you'll have. Nerves are like anything else; if we don't use it, we lose it. A recovering nerve will re-establish connections and function more readily when we send impulses down that nerve so while doing the PT can be painful, it is worth doing.

I had my procedure done within a few months of detecting weakness and my recovery was fast and full. I have no impairment of any kind and I was back in full swing in 6 weeks. Not bragging - just wanted to warn folks not to sit on this nerve stuff because there are consequences. I am a retired Internist with an interest in Orthopedics and ergonomics so I know to jump quickly - now you do, too.


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## Richard Melloh (Nov 17, 2016)

Good to know, mikey. 

I used to say (brag), "I work with my hands every day. Whatever I grab hold of, it's coming off." 

I don't say that so much any more. Thankfully, the old grippers still seem to have a little potential left, enough to get the work done, but I'm not taking on all challengers in arm wrestling these days.

I think I'll be getting my thera-putty back out right now......

All kidding aside, I have experienced multiple complications of the spine, both lumbar and cervical. I am a walking Franken-man with zippers, bone grafts and boreholes everywhere. Like mikey says, when a leg or arm starts withering, it is time to act fast and there are people who can help.

Don't delay getting on record with one's doctor(s) for a nerve related problem, because the inertia built into the medical insurance system, combined with the busy schedules and diagnostic protocols of doctors and surgeons can take more time than one would hope for, before addressing a truly serious problem. Life is short and there is little time to waste.

I waited decades to address my carpal tunnel syndrome, mainly because I had many bigger surgical fish to fry. It seemed such a minor thing. Just call me lucky that way. I seem to be aging in reverse, getting more and more pain free with every passing year.


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## mikey (Nov 17, 2016)

Richard Melloh said:


> I think I'll be getting my thera-putty back out right now......



Stick that Thera-Putty in your pocket like Derf did and walk around in front of the wife. If nothing else, it makes PT entertaining!


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