Hi everyone,
This isn't being posted for replies, but rather I wanted to post the myriad of symptoms I have had over the past 2.5 years with my carpal tunnel, more for other people who may be experiencing similar things and are unsure of whether it may be associated.

I hope I am not out of line with posting this.

My CTS started when I was 19, with the night-time numbness. Nothing severe and nothing some wrist braces at the time didn't fix. Now, 15 years later it began again. not from long hours on the computer, though I am sure that contributed, but from a huge variety of things I had done. Moving into a new home for my mother and I, by myself. Involving lots of heavy lifting. Pushing my mom in a wheel chair frequently when she was very ill. Home renovations that had to be done that I did myself, involving lots of screws and nails and such. as well as normal work activity.

Symptoms for me began rather oddly, I had the numbing and tingling which I ignored since my Mom at the time was more important. What got me to get my hand checked finally was I awoke one morning to my left thumb pulled into the centre of my palm and I had no ability to pull it back to where it belonged. It didn't hurt, it was kind of cool actually, straighten it with my right hand and it would pop back into the centre of my palm. There was definite play value with that symptom, but I didn’t realize there was something rather severely wrong with my hand.

Visiting the doctor and explaining my symptoms, plus the thumb position, the doctor said I have CTS and gave me NSAIDs in hope it helped (non steroid anti inflammatory drugs) as well as set me up with a specialist for further testing. It took 8 months to get into the specialist and during that time it progressed to frequent tingling at night, pain in the palm, thumb twitching, another incident of thumb in the centre of the palm, and the beginnings of dropping things and wondering why the heck I was so clumsy all of a sudden. At some point I also stopped feeling hot on my fingers. I realized this when i got into a bath I thought was luke warm and nearly burned the flesh off my bones. I now use my wrist for testing temps, and frequently get fingers peeling after doing dishes because the water is so hot and I don't realise. I have even turned my hot water tank down to compensate.

I finally got in to see the specialist who was the wrong one. On the good side I know I don't have arthritis or nay vitamin deficiencies. he referred me to the correct one for never analysis. Sigh.

6 moths later I get into the right one, first nerve testing showed yep, I have CTS. By this time the wrist braces don't stop the tingling at night. I now have pain constantly in my palms ranging from sharp to throbbing. My thumb still twitches occasionally, which is annoying but entertaining to watch. I drop practically everything and sometimes even have trouble opening a bag or doing things up. Talking on the phone causes the tingling as well as other everyday type things. Also at this point writing is painful after a couple lines.

Sigh. another 4 months and my second nerve analysis. No improvement after wearing the splint every night. Nerve analysis, no worse, but no better. offered the option of cortisone, which is a temp relief, or surgery. So I have him get the ball rolling for surgery since I know there will be a waiting list. Sure enough..3 more months later for the initial surgeon visit. At this point can barely write naything as holding the pen hurts. Don't talk ont he phone anymore if I can help it. Grocery shopping I try not to do just because I can't lift anything very heavy anymore.

NOW.... by this time the pain is now shooting up my arms and into my left shoulder and my right elbow. The tingling at night is severe without the braces and don't stop tingling for 40 minutes or more to the point of standing in the kitchen looking at the knives thinking ' I could release that darn ligament myself, by gum!!" When i wear the braces the next day I have unbelievable pain shooting up either side of my palm. Pillar pain i believe it may be called and is common after the surgery. I drop the simplest things. can often not even open a bottle of pop, or lift things. At times i am just plain un-coordinated and can't seem to et my fingers to work and grab things. My typing is just plain weird and have recently decided it isn’t all the keyboards that are sticking on the shift key, but rather I just don't seem to hit it hard enough anymore. the temperature sensing is mostly non existent, but every once in a while it kicks in and realise how hot the hot water really is or how hot my morning coffee cup actually is. Most of the time it just feels room temp.

So after all those symptoms and this long road, my first surgery is September 25. the surgeon described the possible pain, including the pillar pain and the scar pain in the middle of the wrist and I have determined that the pains I feel now which are of more variety are definitely the lesser of two evils. I'm getting my dominant hand done first, which should be fun since I have to be back to work in a week just because without me the whole place would crash to the ground. and around November will be the other hand. just before the Christmas rush! Yay! It will be the open method as my surgeon told me endoscope isn't recomennded for severe cases like mine. I also feel it would leave too much room for error or missing things that may be adding to the problem. He seems very good, is a plastic surgeon, as my nerve doctor told me that's the type of doctor he would want if he had to have his hand sliced open by someone.

the pain up the arms is almost constant now and the right arm is also now up to the shoulder. I'm pretty sure I am getting headaches from it at this point. I am on a new NSAID (Voltaren) in a final effort to keep the symptoms tolerable until the surgery. I have constant sharp and shooting pains in my palms now, constant almost arthritic pillar pain mostly to the thumb side of the palm and even with the braces on the tingling happens and lasts.

Hopefully this will help some people who may be having some of these same odd symptoms and have no idea what they are, as many of my symptoms I have searched for online and find no reference to them in CTS.

As soon as the surgery is done and my right hand recovers enough to update everyone on the progress I will.