Hi,
This is my first post to this board so I guess I will give you a little background. I am 25 and have two babies. Kobie is 2 years old and Breanna is 9 months. I started having problems with my hands when I got pregnant with Kobie. My ob/gyn told me it was probably carpal tunnel and would probably go away once I had the baby. That was true. I had Kobie and my hands stopped hurting. Then I got pregnant for Breanna and it came back and hurt worse than the first time. Then I had Breanna and it went away. About 3 months ago my hands started hurting again and I just left it alone for a little while hoping it would go away again but it hasn't. It's gotten so bad that they fall asleep when I am driving, it hurts so bad to sleep because the only position I can sleep in is on my back and I want sooooooo badly to be able to sleep on my side but my hands fall asleep and start hurting so I can't. I try to feed Breanna and I drop the spoon so I end up making a bigger mess than she does. So finally I couldn't take the pain anymore and made an appointment with my family doctor who had the nerve conduction test done and had me try two different types of anti-inflamatory medicine. That didn't work and the nerve conduction test came back saying I had moderate carpal tunnel in my left hand and mild in my right. So I finally went to a general surgeon yesterday and he has my first operation (left hand) set for the 16th. And the second (right hand) for two weeks later. He told me that I could either bring my own splints that I have been using for after surgery or he could put a plaster splint on. He said he doesn't want me moving my wrist at all and I just feel like I will still be able to move my wrist if I use my own brace. My question(s)is/are is the plaster splint pretty much like a cast? Also, I know everyone is different but for those of you who had open release surgery, how painful was it after. I am just trying to get an idea so I can plan for someone to be there with me for the first couple of days if I need it. It's going to be hard with only one hand and two small children. Thanks, Desiree'

Desiree'
I would definitely get some help with the babies for the first couple of days at least until you get used to being one handed :) Being a Mom I'm sure you already do a lot one handed so we adapt pretty quick :)
I had open release both hands two weeks apart too. I was under a general anesthesia and also a block for the wrist/hand. When I woke my arm was numb for a good 11 hours. He put a soft cast on, which had a plastic splint inside to keep my wrist from bending. I was told to wiggle my fingers just couldn't bend the hand which the splint prevented me from doing. After 5 days he had me take the bandage and splint off and was told to move it just not picking up things and overusing it. Basically he wanted me to stretch it out and get it moving again. The stitches were taken out a week after surgery at the doctors office. Hindsight being 20/20 I would have started physical therapy sooner, so you may want to ask the doctor about that after surgery. Good luck with your surgery....my numbness and the hands falling asleep went away just about immediately after surgery.
Jeanne