Anyone here have carpal tunnel?

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hzl eyed grl

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
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Originally posted by: Digobick
Originally posted by: hzl_eyed_grl
That happened/happens to me too. Not as bad right now. When that happened I told my doc in CA. So if you want to try it out, all I'm doing is wearing
something very similar to this (it's the same brand) and taking vitamin B6. Good luck!
Which one of those braces are you using?

Doh, when I linked it....it was the direct link to the support. That's wierd. What I use is very similar to the Soft Form Elegant Wrist Support. It's the same brand and everything, I just can't find the exact one.

cquark - Thank you for the advice. I'm hoping that it will go away. lol It used to be really bad, but hopefully it won't get that way again. :)

EDIT:

Saga - It would help, but then there is still MY forums. :p lol
 

CtK

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2001
5,135
3
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i use to have it but now its not that bad i changed desk at work that gave me more room to rest my whole arm on the desk and not have it hanging half way out and that help A LOT!! give that a try if u can
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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I used to have seriously concerning wrist pain. It was worrying to me and I tried the splint thing (self purchased).

Eventually I figured out that 100% of my troubles (and my wrists were bad - I couldn't even do free weight bench press anymore, and I was constantly massaging them) were a result of first person shooter gaming and more importantly poor keyboard positioning.

You HAVE TO have your wrists flat when typing/mousing. I now have a wrist wrest for both keyboard and mouse, and my keyboard is now flat. NEVER use those dump little things to orient the keyboard at you. For a while what I was actually doing - after reading about this as an idea - was putting spacers under the keyboard at the front, so that the keys were actually leaning _away_ from me. I found it really helped. I don't bother now because my wrists are 100%, and I can game all day (they'll feel a little woozy after, but no pain). You have to have it so that a flat ruler can be, at any time, flush against your wrist, your top knuckle, and your forearm. This will alleviate most people's tenderness.

A splint may slow down your regression, but ultimately you want to get at why your wrists are fvcked. It's better to deal with that, than fix them after the fact.
Many times some relatively minor changes can make a tremendous difference.
I used to think that was a load, but it's totally true. For the past several years I've had an increasing pain in my lower back as well and I eventually figured it was due to my HORRENDOUS posture. Fixing posture has fixed my back. It's still not 100%, because I REALLY love slouching, but if I don't slouch my back gets much better. Ergonomics are worth consideration!
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
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Originally posted by: hzl_eyed_grl
I've known for a while that I might have carpal tunnel. I went to my rheumatologist on Wednesday and she told me that I do have it. Right now I'm wearing splints on my wrists at night when I sleep and I'm taking B6. She wants me to do that for 6 weeks. If that takes care of it, great. If not, she said that she can give me injections.

So, do any of you have it or had it? If you do or did, what did you do for it? What about the success of treatment?

Thanks.

Im learning how to treat CT now in massage school. Since im still pretty new at it, i really cant offer any advice. One thing im curious about is. what are your symptoms?

 

DanTMWTMP

Lifer
Oct 7, 2001
15,908
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it's just overuse. It requires rest.

went to doc not too long ago because of intesnse pain in the wrist, got diagnosed w/ tendenitis and I have to take multiple doses of ibruprofen (the pain is sometimes that bad). I do these wierd stretching excersizes and rest often. Since then it's been to be a lot better. If i continued to over use the wrist, I can probably get CT says doc. Good thing I got it chked early.

doc says symtoms are usually numbness in palm, thumb area, pain, etc in wrist...eh i forgot i donno too much about it...
 

gistech1978

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2002
5,047
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it comes and goes.
but im afraid i do have it.
sodium makes it flare up for me. it did for my exgf too.
i know this because i overindulged on chex mix one sunday and that monday i could barely move the mouse or grab anything without pain in my wrist. luckily i have a stress ball thing at work that i squeezed on for about an hour and that helped out quite a bit.
 

hzl eyed grl

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
13,107
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Hmmm I've never heard of the soduim thing. I'll have to pay attention after I eat salty foods and see if I feel any different.

One thing im curious about is. what are your symptoms?

Dan gave some good symptoms. I get pain in my wrists and palm area. My hands get very cold most of the time. I can sometimes wake up and my hands and/or arms might be numb.
 

Alatariel

Member
Mar 31, 2004
38
0
0
Originally posted by: hzl_eyed_grl
I've known for a while that I might have carpal tunnel. I went to my rheumatologist on Wednesday and she told me that I do have it. Right now I'm wearing splints on my wrists at night when I sleep and I'm taking B6. She wants me to do that for 6 weeks. If that takes care of it, great. If not, she said that she can give me injections.

So, do any of you have it or had it? If you do or did, what did you do for it? What about the success of treatment?

Thanks.

I had it - absolutely no fun. It got to where it was too painful for me to play the piano even while wearing braces so I got both hands fixed. The doc who did it has a lot of experience with them (he's actually a hand surgeon which I always found interesting) and he said that my right wrist was one of the worst he had ever seen. He had a great deal of trouble getting it cut open. I had my left wrist done March of 2003 and it's about perfect now. I had my right wrist (the bad one) done in June of 2003. It's still giving me a little grief - I still have trouble putting my weight on it to do push-ups and I have trouble touching my pinkie finger and my thumb together, but otherwise, I wish I'd had the surgery done years ago...

Honestly, I tried all of the non-surgical treatments before finally just having the surgery and I didn't find them to be very effective. The doc also told me that recent study suggests that carpal tunnel is less of a "repetitive motion" disease as previously thought and more of a genetic predisposition that is aggravated by repetitive motion. Just food for thought...

 

amdskip

Lifer
Jan 6, 2001
22,530
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I'm very fussy about the height of my chair and I'm using a microsoft natural keyboard. Sometimes my wrists do hurt and I want to prevent having problems in the future as much as humanly possilbe.
 

NikPreviousAcct

No Lifer
Aug 15, 2000
52,763
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You're asking this on a forum filled with single teenage computer nerds who all have a enconomy size bottle of Jergens next to their beds?
 

hzl eyed grl

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
13,107
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Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
You're asking this on a forum filled with single teenage computer nerds who all have a enconomy size bottle of Jergens next to their beds?
Is THAT why you asked me for lotion last Christmas?! :Q :eek:



:p *Kiss*

Alatariel - Nice to know it worked out for you. I'm hoping I won't have to have surgery. I've had too many surgeries for other things and I don't want another. GAH!
 

SoyBoy004

Golden Member
Oct 23, 2000
1,768
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i may have it also. i do get numb once in a while in the hands and forearms. my wrists do feel very tight. when i roll my wrists, i hear cracking noises like the bones are flicking off of each other. i know..i'm weird.
 

dakata24

Diamond Member
Aug 7, 2000
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first time ive heard about taking b6. my doctor just said to wear a wrist brace and ibpropin.

if you dont mind me asking hzl_eyed_grl, how much are you taking a day? tia
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
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My wife is making me set up an appointment. Tonight my CT was so bad, I couldn't grab the knife strong enough to cut a piece of cake. :(
 

hzl eyed grl

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
13,107
67
91
Originally posted by: dakata24
first time ive heard about taking b6. my doctor just said to wear a wrist brace and ibpropin.

if you dont mind me asking hzl_eyed_grl, how much are you taking a day? tia
She didn't tell me how much to take. My boyfriend just picked up the GNC brand and it's 200mg.