Carpal Tunnel or Not? - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Message Board

kayjoe · 08-13-2001, 05:51 PM

Hello all,
I just found this site and was wondering if anyone might have any suggestions for me. Here is my story: I started noticing problems with my hands in April of this year. I went to the doctor. I was waking in the middle of the night with my hands feeling "asleep". The dr. said he thought it was bilateral cts. gave me shots in both wrist. NO relief from the shots. He sent me for an MRI on my wrist. Came back normal. Then MRI on neck came back as protruding disc c5-6 on right with minimal nerve root compression and no cord compression. Sent me to neurosurgeon. He thought cts and neck problem was mild arthritis. Had EMG done. came back normal (no cts) Doctor said now i have tendonitis. I wear splints at night. gave me celebrex to take but I am allergic to that. I noticed about a week ago that my right thumb cramps when brought in toward my palm. My hands seem swelled all the time and ache alot. No intense pain just aching. I also noticed that if i hold the phone for too long or prop up on my elbows, my hand goes to sleep. I noticed a "shocking" feeling run from my elbow through my fingers when i was propped on my elbow and reached down to get a pen. My dr. says we may have to repeat the EMG in 2 months. My question: is this tendonitis or could it be CTS? Why would the doctor want to repeat the EMG for tendonitis? I am really confused at this point. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. I work as a seamstress and have done this type of work for about 13 years now. I have read alot about CTS and my symptoms sound like it but dr says tendonitis.

P.S. I am under worker comp. Could this be why I am not getting a correct diagnosis? Please help!

thanks in advance

piperbln · 10-26-2001, 09:42 PM

Hard to tell! Carpal tunnel has some pretty definite symptoms.....numbness, with a possible loss of muscle control. The numbness is weird though, commonly it occurs in your thumb and first two fingers with only the inside half of the ring finger going numb. The outside of the ring finger and pinky still have feeling. It's also hard to make the numbness go away, it usually isn't pins and needles when it goes away either, it burns.
Try the exercises on this page, [url="http://www.aaos.org/wordhtml/press/exerci.htm"]http://www.aaos.org/wordhtml/press/exerci.htm[/url]
if they help, at lease part of your problem may be carpal tunnel. If not, good luck finding a diagnosis.
Piper

dave52 · 11-06-2001, 06:12 AM

Sounds like CTS to me. I have CTS in right hand and wrist and use a splint to sleep most nights. I also have an elbow brace that I wear during the day. I am on Celebrex and seems to help with the swelling in my hand. My Neuro also had blood tests done for Thyroid, arthritis, and lyme disease. Thyroid problems have been associated with CTS. Maybe you need to get a second opinion.

Karen P · 11-07-2001, 03:09 PM

It sounds like cts to me. I had surgery in May and all is almost well. I don't wake up with the pins and needles feeling. Everybody is different. I had a test were the inserted needles with a electric shock, not sure what the name of the test was, but it confirmed that I had cts. You may want to see another Dr. so that you can get another opinion.
Best of luck.

kayjoe · 11-07-2001, 04:58 PM

Thanks for the input. I went back to the Doctor last month. He released me and I am waiting on a letter from him. He said I would continue to have problems with my hands and arms if I continue to do the same job that I am doing now. I have had 2 Emg's done already and they came back ok. He didn't test me for anything else. Still have problems but not at bad since I have been doing a different job at work. I am just waiting for his final report to see what my options are at this point. Thanks again for the inputs. Good luck to all of you.