New here with lots of questions - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Message Board

Nutz · 04-03-2007, 12:53 PM

I just recently found this wonderful forum and I'm hoping that your experiences and vast knowledge will help me and my husband.

Some background -- My husband noticed muscle atrophy between his thumb and forefinger of his right hand several months ago. It's remained relatively the same since then. He also gets a bit of tingling in the fingers and stiffness when straightening out his arm from a bent position. He tends to sleep with his arms above his head which causes his arm to stiffen up. His work involves using power tools and lots of "clamping and crimping" motions. In the past 3 years, he's used jackhammers for 10 hrs/day for 5 days straight and he's also done alot of shoveling of dirt, snow, digging ditches, pulling out trees, using a pick and axe (We've been totally renovating an older home).

He had a nerve conduction and EMG test done last Thursday on both arms and hands. The NC showed carpal tunnel, but the neurologist who performed the EMG was "confused" by his results. He said he has ulnar nerve damage but didn't call it cubital tunnel. He asked him if he was diabetic (which he isn't, but it runs in his family) and said "your doctor will have to do his homework on this one." ??? Our PCP is concerned also because he said this indicates that something else is going on in the body. My husband had a regular full blood/lipid panel done just 5 weeks ago and everything was fine, but his PCP ordered additional tests - B12, ANA, sendimentation rate, fasting glucose and TSH. I'm not sure what he's looking for, but he has me worried.

Anyone have any information they could share with us? I'm mainly looking to find out if any of you have had similar symptoms and a similar diagnosis of ulnar nerve damage without having "something else going on in your body"?? Couldn't this damage be from everything he's done and continues to do on a daily basis?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give--it's much appreciated.

God bless,

Shshi · 04-04-2007, 05:33 PM

Hi,

The neurologist is looking for B12 deficiency, Lupus, and thyroid problems, among other things. These can all cause problems with the peripheral nervous system, as can peripheral neuropathy.

You might want to get a second opinion on the results of the EMG/nerve conduction study.

I hope everything turns out alright!

Lisa

Johands333 · 04-06-2007, 03:29 PM

Nutz,
I am not sure why the doctor was confused on whether this is carpal tunnel or not. From what you describe about your husband's type of work and how he sleeps sounds like the type of activities that would bring on carpal tunnel. He should be sleeping with wrist supports. You have no idea how much your hands get twisted while sleeping. The supports will keep his hands straight. The work he does uses his hands way too much. How old is he? How long has he had his job? For me, it took about 5 years of carpal tunnel getting worse before I got to the point where I said Enough! I couldn't take it anymore. You don't want him to get to that point. I was on Naporsyn for 5 years. Aleve is a lower dose of that, I think. It will mask pain, but it won't go away. Most of what I've read here and online is that carpal tunnel doesn't get better, it only gets worse or stays the same for a time. If necessary, your husband should get a second opinion.

Nutz · 04-09-2007, 09:06 AM

Thank you Shashi & Johands333!

I so appreciate you posting your thoughts and advice. And, yes, we are getting a second opinion from another neurologist/neurosurgeon, but we have to wait until April 18 for the appt. because he's so busy. My husband did have his additional lab work done last Thursday, but we haven't gotten any results yet obviously.

To answer your questions, Johands333, he is 46 and he's been doing his type of work for the last 20 years--some years more, some years less. We've been doing this "house renovation" for the past 32 months without many breaks. It seems that all the work has been hard labor and when he starts something, he doesn't quit until he's finished. I remember after using the jackhammer for 4 days straight, his arms were numb and his elbows were giving him all sorts of discomfort. It took several weeks for it to subside, then he was onto digging ditches and replacing roof shingles! I believe his nerve damage is most likely due to what he "does" and not so much "systemic," but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm praying that his lab work shows that nothing is wrong. BTW, he doesn't have "pain" -- he says his fingers get tingly and his forearm will get cramped or stiff when he's on the phone and sometimes his elbow gets achy, but he says he never has pain.

Again, thank you so much for your insight and kind words. This forum has been so helpful -- thank you again,

God bless,

Johands333 · 04-10-2007, 05:34 AM

Nutz,
My husband remodeled 2 bathrooms. He also was online a lot and played golf. During a 2 or 3 week period he woke up every night with pain that sounded to me like cts. He didn't have any pain after that. Getting back to your husband. You don't necessarily have pain, numbness is the biggest symptom. My fingers would feel like I had paged through 1,000 sheets of paper. It was like there was no feeling in the tips. As it got worse, I would have pain in my wrist and arms. My hands were swollen, but I never noticed. We were down in warm, sunny FL out on a golf course. A lady came up to me while my husband was playing and she asked why I wasn't playing. When I told her I had cts, she said she could see how swollen my hands were. They were puffy. Mostly in the area between my thumb and pointer fingers.