Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Forum - I Don't Think This Is Carpal Tunnel

I've had chronic wrist pain for many years (probably ten or more), and it has gotten worse over the last three years (I'm a wedding and portrait photographer, and this is my right wrist/hand, the "working" hand I'm having problems with).

I've been to two orthopedic surgeons, one of which diagnosed me with CTS immediately and rec'd surgery ASAP, and the other took x-rays and decided that CTS was the most likely cause because there were no broken bones on x-ray. I've gotten three cortisone shots to the carpal tunnel; the first worked pretty well for eliminating some of the pain, but the successive shots didn't do a damn thing Sad

Over the last five years I've been diagnosed with and treated for the following:

-tennis elbow, right arm
-de quervain's tenosynovitis, both wrists
-carpal tunnel, right wrist
-tendinitis, right arm and wrist

and warned that the next things to come would be trigger thumb and even worse ulnar entrapment. I'd had a nerve conduction study done in 2005 which showed NO nerve entrapment whatsoever, but my orthos don't seem to care that the nerve study conflicts with their diagnoses. I've been told more times than I can stomach, I need the surgery - which as a photographer with only that source of income, it's a good four months without any salary whatsoever. It's not an answer I really want to deal with - and I'm afraid that release surgery won't correct my symptoms at all.

Here's what I *don't* have:

I do not wake up at night with tingling, sore, or otherwise "weird" feelings in my arm/wrist/hand. Ever. Never have.

I do not have tingling or loss of feeling in just the thumb, index and middle finger. I do have a loss of feeling in ALL my fingertips, including the entire ring finger and pinky. I cannot say it's worse in any one finger than the next. It isnt terribly significant - the pain overshadows this by miles.

I do not feel like my fingers are swollen

I *never* feel like "shaking out" my wrist/hand - in fact, I fear that motion as it would result in a whole boatload of pain

-------------

Now on to the symptoms I do have:

-VERY painful "wringing" motion - turning ignition, knobs, or god-forbid opening a can. It's so painful I have to have others help me, or I use my left hand to do things like start my car or open doors.

-clicking of the wrist when I extend it up or down, very consistent - it always clicks. Grinds when I go down, along with clicking. It's gross.

-I feel like I "Have" to "click" my wrist... feels like there's pressure in there that needs to be relieved.

-can't tell when something's too hot on my fingertips, it's been like this for at least a decade if not more. I have gotten burned because of this, from holding a match too long, lighting candles, etc.

-Decreased motion of the wrist - I can't pull my hand back NEARLY as far as my left, nor can it go "down" as far... and it's painful to try

-'pushing' hurts a lot - even something as benign as scratching my head, because i put pressure on the fingers, hurts in my wrist. Pushing a door open really hurts.

-pulling also hurts - i can barely do this if the object is heavy

-holding a coffee cup hurts the de quervain's area

-decreased grip strength - confirmed by the ortho, but i don't have any stats for that

-decreased blood flow? My hand is always colder than the rest of my body

-pain extends into my shoulder and neck on the right side

-i have constant pain in my wrist and lower palm, mostly thumb side

-spasming of the thumb muscle, no clue what that's related to or if it's related at all, it seems to come and go

-pain (aching, dull) on the top of my hand, in the bones (feels like)

-------------------

Honestly, it feels like my wrist is just unstable, like there's some structural problem - but the x-ray I got earlier this year showed NOTHING like that. I have no idea where to go next. I feel like carpal tunnel would present more logically. I suppose I could get the release surgery and see what symptoms are left over and then tackle that? But I was hoping someone out there would recognize my symptoms and give me a heads up on what types of things I should ask my doctor. I'm truly at a loss. I've been going to doctors for about six years or so for this wrist, and I've never been able to get anything but a CTS diagnosis and a recommendation for surgery. After all this time I should just accept it, but something tells me there's something else going on.

Help? Smile

THANK YOU!!!!!