Hello everybody new to the board I have had the carpal release surgery done on my right hand back in early june the tingling sensation seems a little better i have had nothing but severe pain ever since. I went back to work 2weeks after surgery and have been on and off since i'm on 4hour days now indefinetley while i'm not in any danger of losing my job(yet at least) my employer has no qualms about working me as hard as they can get away with weight restrictions be damned (i work in a grocery warehouse lifting almost all the time) anyway to get to the point i've had almost no recovery in my right hand and i've been on therapy for over a month (ultrasound,exercises,anti-inflams via electrodes) it's better some days worse on others should i be seeking another opinion? all my doctor does is keeps prescribing pain meds and writing work excuses and now my left hand is almost as bad due to overwork i can't go on like this much longer as i'm getting sick pay for my lost hours but it's only 2/3 normal pay and the bills are piling up i won't even go into whether this is work related as that's the subject of another post :) any opinions appreciated.

I don't have alot of time to say alot today but later I will try to give you some info. I had CTS release on both hands last aug. now I'm being tested for RSD. I have severe pain, color changes, swelling, stiffness now in both hands and it now has gone to both feet and ankles, right hand pain has gone all way up to shoulder. Just got put on methadone, I am going today for a block in my back. it is w/c case and you are probably that is why the dr. keeps sending you back to work. i only worked one month after the surgery. have gone thru hell since with w/c, right now going on my own insurance for pain management. could not take the pain. my hearing has been postponed three times already. seek other help for yourself other than the w/c doctor. just do it don't even tell them, this could really lead into a painful life for you like me. i waited and thought w/c would get me a dr and i listened to the w/c drs. they will not even test you for anything. I am thinking of suing the ortho dr from w/c that would not do nothing when i keep telling him the pain was unbearable, now I have this disease for life. I will probably be put on some sort of inserted pain management device. talk later

oh yeah- DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT ANY W/C DR. TELLS YOU. HE DOES NOT LOOK OUT FOR YOU AND COULD CARE LESS ABOUT YOU. IF HE SAYS YOU ARE REALLY HURT HE WILL LOSE THAT INS. CARRIER.

thanx for the reply you see this is the situation, I am not being treated by a workmans comp doctor I was examined by one only after I asked about filing for w/c and she was very dismissive and skeptical of me filing a claim part of the problem is that i am a diabetic and that can be a contributing factor in cts. I swear that all these people work for the insurance companies.If i could get workmans comp at least i could get a disability payment for each hand.trouble with seeing another doctor is i almost have to let my present doctor know because the new doc will want to see my records of the surgery and such.even with overwork you'd think my pain would be better have had off work last 5 days vac and pain not much better.seems to not be too bad today though working on pc doesn't seem to aggrevaite too much. my fear is being unable to work and losing my insurance.

You can file w/c, yes your employer will be upset, they all are they think it will raise theri preimun. you need to do it now, diabeties will not be a contributing factor in the claim. even if it does cause cts, you would not have gotten cts without working there. read up on it, you need to file now.

Hello everybody new to the board I have had the carpal release surgery done on my right hand back in early june the tingling sensation seems a little better i have had nothing but severe pain ever since. I went back to work 2weeks after surgery and have been on and off since i'm on 4hour days now indefinetley while i'm not in any danger of losing my job(yet at least) my employer has no qualms about working me as hard as they can get away with weight restrictions be damned (i work in a grocery warehouse lifting almost all the time) anyway to get to the point i've had almost no recovery in my right hand and i've been on therapy for over a month (ultrasound,exercises,anti-inflams via electrodes) it's better some days worse on others should i be seeking another opinion? all my doctor does is keeps prescribing pain meds and writing work excuses and now my left hand is almost as bad due to overwork i can't go on like this much longer as i'm getting sick pay for my lost hours but it's only 2/3 normal pay and the bills are piling up i won't even go into whether this is work related as that's the subject of another post :) any opinions appreciated.

Hi inpayne68
Going back to work 2 weeks after CTS surgery & lifting heavy items is far too soon I reckon. It takes quite a bit longer than that for everything in your wrist to recover from the invasive surgery alone. Unfortunately, if you go back to doing the same stuff that possibly caused the CTS in the first place, it's very likely that your symptoms will return. There's little else your doc can do except prescribe pain killers & write you sick notes. If you have further surgery on the same hand there's a lower success rate, often due to a build up of scar tissue from the surgery itself. This can make your CTS even worse. When you have CTS you have no option but to avoid overworking your hands.

I'm sorry if I don't sound very positive but really, your hands need a rest from overworking them & you have to take care of them if you want them to remain in some kind of working order.

I hope you have less pain soon & an improvement in your CTS.
Best wishes.
Lidia
:)

I don't have alot of time to say alot today but later I will try to give you some info. I had CTS release on both hands last aug. now I'm being tested for RSD. I have severe pain, color changes, swelling, stiffness now in both hands and it now has gone to both feet and ankles, right hand pain has gone all way up to shoulder. Just got put on methadone, I am going today for a block in my back. it is w/c case and you are probably that is why the dr. keeps sending you back to work. i only worked one month after the surgery. have gone thru hell since with w/c, right now going on my own insurance for pain management. could not take the pain. my hearing has been postponed three times already. seek other help for yourself other than the w/c doctor. just do it don't even tell them, this could really lead into a painful life for you like me. i waited and thought w/c would get me a dr and i listened to the w/c drs. they will not even test you for anything. I am thinking of suing the ortho dr from w/c that would not do nothing when i keep telling him the pain was unbearable, now I have this disease for life. I will probably be put on some sort of inserted pain management device. talk later

Hi Cheryl
I'm interested to know about the connection between CTS/RSD & feet/ankle problems. Were your feet problems caused by something you did at work too? I'm aware that people with diabetes & hypothyroidism can suffer from neuropathy but I've never heard of CTS/RSD type problems in the feet. You must be in very severe pain to be prescribed methadone. It must be awful. How did you get on with the block in your back?

Best wishes.
Lidia
:)

You can file w/c, yes your employer will be upset, they all are they think it will raise theri preimun. you need to do it now, diabeties will not be a contributing factor in the claim. even if it does cause cts, you would not have gotten cts without working there. read up on it, you need to file now.
You see my employer wasn't giving me trouble w/filing a w/c claim it's been my doctor who won't sign off on it. "work related" is apperently a dirty word to them I even went to a lawyer for advice and he said my doctor has to be on board even if i get a second opinion if the ins. company fights it they go by the dianosis of the doctor that did the surgery. I'm going back to the doc on mon. what i need to know is what is it going to take to recover from this? more time off work? more surgery? I don't seem to be getting anywhere and it's like nobody is on my side in this.I hate to complain so much as i know some of you are alot worse off then i am.

then you need to go to one of the doctors on the employers board. if i was you i would first put in a w/c claim and and then go to one of their doctors and then let them start all the procedures. do not go to your own doctor. you never know how long you will be out of work, i have been out over a year now and the IME from w/c put me at total and permant disabled. it does get real bad if you do get RSD or other nerve damage related injury from it. this is very important unless you can afford to pay for everything yourself and be out of work with no pay.

then you need to go to one of the doctors on the employers board. if i was you i would first put in a w/c claim and and then go to one of their doctors and then let them start all the procedures. do not go to your own doctor. you never know how long you will be out of work, i have been out over a year now and the IME from w/c put me at total and permant disabled. it does get real bad if you do get RSD or other nerve damage related injury from it. this is very important unless you can afford to pay for everything yourself and be out of work with no pay.

then you need to go to one of the doctors on the employers board. if i was you i would first put in a w/c claim and and then go to one of their doctors and then let them start all the procedures. do not go to your own doctor. you never know how long you will be out of work, i have been out over a year now and the IME from w/c put me at total and permant disabled. it does get real bad if you do get RSD or other nerve damage related injury from it. this is very important unless you can afford to pay for everything yourself and be out of work with no pay.

the problem with my ankles and feet are from the RSD spreading. it can spread to other parts of your body. i had a caudal epidural yesterday. it was painful too. i will be getting them each week for a while i guess to see if it calms down my nervous system. so far this one lasted almost a day. the pain is back now. Really this is something you don't want to take lightly. i wish i would have had someone tell me about it at the beginnin g. i could have put it in remission or even cured it if it was caught the first few months.

Hi Cheryl
Oh now I understand! The only RSD I had known was Repetitive Strain Disorder which is linked with CTS. That's why I couldn't make the connection between the wrists & feet. I did a search to try & understand more about your problem & discovered that it's Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy you were meaning.

I hope things improve for you soon.
best wishes.
Lidia
:)