sorehands

I've had carpal tunnel since 1994 and had surgery done in 2000 on both hands. It helped some, but it got really bad again in a few months of last part of 2002. Anything I do makes them hurt and get numb more. The pain makes me want to go crazy & can't sleep sometimes. I have no pain in the upper arms, shoulders or neck, just my lower forearms, wrists & hands. I just try not to use my hands too much and rest them when I can. I have made changes at work & at home using my hands. My coworkers and family feels bad for me sometimes. I just do what I can do. I'm doing exercises to keep my hands from getting too weak from the nerve damage. I'm also using a tens unit more for the pain in the wrists and forearms, it works good at times. I'm facing surgery again but don't know if will help. When the surgery was done, nerve damage was found. The doctor said nerve damage can't be repaired once it gets too bad. I just had testing done a few weeks ago & my neck and shoulders are ok. I also had xrays of hands & wrists and bones looked real good, no arthritis at all. I also have very bad tendonitis in the wrists and forearms that the doctors said is hard to treat due to damage to tendons from overuse and maybe scar tissue. I have been to PT for a few months but doesn't seem to help much. I just try to get used to it & find it hard.