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The neurologist told me I have problems with my median nerve. He said it was moderate to severe, but he really wanted to call it severe. It's carpal tunnel syndrome. He said I would probably need surgery in the not-too-distant future. So my general practitioner recommended I wear wrist braces to see if they help. He thinks the shoulder problem is probably the rotator cuff, but it's possible that the carpal tunnel syndrome could be affecting it. So I have to wait.



He said that if the braces work (and the braces are the only thing, in his experience, to prevent surgery) I probably won't notice a difference for eight months. He said that even though the nerve function in my neck came up as normal on the test, he still thinks some of this might be related to my neck. I asked if it could be a muscular problem. He said, "I don't know. That's very possible." He didn't say anything about a follow-up visit. So does this mean that he is not going to investigate anything else until I've worn the braces for eight months? So . . . no treatment for at least eight more months? It didn't occur to me that that could be what he meant until after I left the office with an unsatisfying "solution" which isn't a solution, yet.



I am hopeful (although not very hopeful) that the braces will work and I can avoid surgery. But I also worry that I am merely delaying treatment with surgery, and as the doctor himself pointed out, this could lead to permanent damage of the nerves. And he also said that he has seen some botched surgeries from some very skilled surgeons. (He doesn't know what happened in those cases.) I feel very frustrated and I am wondering if I should try to seek a second opinion, or possibly alternative treatment, but then again, could I do more harm than good? Alternative treatments can be effective, or they can be based on nothing and do nothing. So I am not sure what to do. I also have a very limited ability, financially, to do anything about this on my own. I just want my hands back. I am tired of this.

I have deterioration in my left wrist and my cervical spine. I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor to find out what can be done to help with that, as well as what might be causing my shoulder, since nothing showed up on the x-ray, but shoulder pain is what prompted me to seek help. It could be related to the other problems, or it might be a separate problem.

COMMENTS

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TheArtistRose
13:42 Mar 06 2017

Oh no! :( Hope they find out. Feel better

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NLW
03:19 Mar 07 2017

Thanks. Me too.

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