Carpel Tunnel procedure

Hi all
Apologies for my late return to the thread
Thank you all for your advice and information very helpful for an anxious mum to pass on.

The first CP procedure has now been done and signs are looking good.
For the first time in ages she has been able to move her fingers freely.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks her hand will be healed enough to hold her cup with out dropping it and driving will also be easier and pain free.

Now for the other hand....

Oh ..... and do take a book to read at the hospital. I had to be there at 7.30am but my 1st op wasn't until 4.30pm!! The 2nd op (at a different hospital - I took whichever hospital they offered me to get a quicker date) - was done within an hour of arriving. Luck of the draw really!! Both NHS.

I've had both done. The consultant told me they no longer do both hands at the same time (for obvious reasons!) I chose to have my right hand done first as I am right-handed so it was more important (just in case it was so awful that I couldn't go through it a 2nd time!!). It was fine! I didn't need painkillers at all afterwards and could use my hand, generally, a couple of days later - not for wringing out cloths, opening jars etc, that took a couple of weeks! Do ensure you have loose pull-up trousers, no bra, no buttons, zips etc. When I had the left hand done, it was a different story - I needed painkillers as it was a lot more painful for the next 48 hours and it didn't heel anywhere near as quickly. When I went to my follow-up appointment, I asked the consultant why the difference. Was it because my right hand was 'stronger' being the main hand? Was it because I'd been through a lot of stress (not connected) between the two operations? Was it because the 2nd hand has already suffered the trauma of the 1st?!! He said in his experience, one hand always seems to deal with it better but studies showed no specific reason, it appears to be random! That said, it has made such a difference to my life, and that bit of pain and inconvenience was more than worth it. It's great if you can help her in the first day or two, but as she has young children, help would be great for longer, as young children are not considerate!! I prepared a load of meals in advance and put in the freezer so meals were much easier, I used plastic bags on my hand to stop them getting wet, I did all the cleaning etc just before, so I didn't feel I had to attempt any of that, and all in all, I made sure I had a lazy few days. She doesn't need to keep the sling on for more than a day or two, but there again, a sling is a visual reminder to others that she may not be able to do lots of things! (It's tempting to keep it on for at least a couple of weeks, to get as much help (and sympathy!!) as possible!!

Definitely still done on the NHS in our area, BlueBelle, thank goodness.
A choice of three hospitals was given, one of which was a private hospital that does a lot of NHS work. That's the one DH chose, after discovering that the local NHS hospital had no appointments whatsoever available.

DH was literally in and out of the hospital within an hour, and given a cup of tea.
Based on past experience, if he'd gone to to the NHS hospital instead, he would almost certainly have been there all day, not knowing for certain until last minute if he would even be operated on or if it would be cancelled!

His other hand will need doing in a while, so I hope he is as lucky second time around.

I ve had mine done and I don’t remember being out of action much however I was very ill with the second one as they had pulled the stitches so tight it got infected and I ended up on a drip for a couple of days they had to give me gas and air to take the stitches out, not me being whimpy they insisted I would need it
My daughter had it done and was not allowed to drive for a couple of weeks

I was told they no longer do that procedure on nhs but obviously I m wrong or could it go by area ??

When I had a very badly broken arm a few years ago I didn’t wear a bra for weeks! Couldn’t do it up.

I’ve had both mine done (separately) and agree that it’s very painful afterwards. I found it was worth thinking about what to wear - anything that needs two hands to do up, like jackets with zips, bras, and shoes with laces, were a problem unless I had help.

DH had this procedure a few weeks ago. He was told to rest the hand for a couple of days, then to start using it as much as possible, but obviously to avoid putting too much pressure on the stitches, and to keep the wound dry for a few days longer

He took painkillers for a few days, as instructed and didnt seem to be in a lot of pain, even when he stopped taking them.

At no stage was he told not to drive, and was back behind the wheel within a week. In fact, although the wound took some time to heal, he seemed to be back doing most things he wanted to do in not much more than a week. Strangely, it only seemed to prevent him from doing things he'd rather not do anyway! That said, there were little unforseen difficulties that caught him unawares, such as opening bottles.

Strengh-wise, he obviously still has a long way to go, but as he has two hands, that's not a big problem.

I had my right wrist done 3 yrs ago and it does take time for full use to come back. Having said that I live alone and managed to do everything I needed to do straight away including toileting and hair washing with a glove on. Dissolvable stitches which disappeared quite quickly.

I've had both done, not at the same time.

She'll be one handed until the stitches are out, and although the op is painless, when the analgesia wears off she'll be in quite a lot of pain for a few days.

If she can manage on paracetamol all to the good, I'd been warned and asked for something stronger (GP by phone) and took codeine (co-codamol). They tell you paracetamol so she may be OK, so say nothing unless she complains.

Also, it takes much longer than they tell you for full strength to return. It took me 2 or 3 months, but people vary.

She won't need much help, a plastic bag over the dressing, and when that is off, oversize rubber gloves will be fine.

Too much information coming, sorry, wiping your own bottom is the biggest problem.