bulie

I was diagnosed with bilateral cts about 3 months ago. My doctor initially told me to wear the splints while sleeping and to take Aleve. I tried that for a month (using the drugstore splints with only a stay on the bottom) and that helped reduce the instances of hands falling asleep at night. However, the tingling during the day worsened. The doctor then ordered the splints be worn during the day while perfroming tasks that require bending my wrists (for me -- typing and driving) and changed the meds to Celebrex. Because the drugstore splints did not fit properly, I couldn't use them for activities (my hands are short so they came up to high to allow mobility). Also, they had no stays on top which did not prevent most of the problems. So, I went to the brace store and was fitted properly. These were much more expensive ($50 a piece rather than $15 a piece) but were covered by insurance (thanks to the prescription written by my doc. They seem to help. My hands don't go to sleep while driving and there is less tingling when I use my mouse or type while using them. Unfortunately the tingling is still there when I don't use them and the pain is progressing (initally I had only tingling and numbness -- now my wrists and forearms hurt from time to time).

So, the splints have helped with sleeping and some during the day.

Good Luck!

Julie