The Dogmother Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 A friend is having carpal tunnel ops on both hands - separate ops of course - both hands are bad, but their dominant hand is very bad indeed. Does anyone her have experience of this, and any tips for the recovery period? All gratefully received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 My friend had this earlier this year. Both her wrists. I can't remember the actual recovery time, I think it's about 6 weeks, but I will say whatever it is your friend needs to rest her hands. My friend didn't, and prolonged her recovery time She is however much better now, and as much as she hated going to the dr, she is glad she did now. She tried to make sure all the important things were done before she had her ops, and had a support network in place as she has three young kids. Hope it helps your friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 What would you like to know? I am a pre assessment nurse on a day surgery unit, we do a fair few of these!! Ask away i'll help if I can...... K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 Thanks, I'm not too sure TBH, but I think she'd like to know how successful it can be, then recovery time and rehab/physio. i will ring tomorrow and see if there are more questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Good news then. Are they are very successful on the whole. Shirt procedure mostly done awake but asleep if a little most tricky. Recovery start to finish is 4-6 weeks. Mostly the hand is out of action completely for the 1st 10-14 days depending on the surgeon. Once dressings are off you can use it very gently. No picking heavy things up like kettles and stuff. Physio again is surgeon dependant but it can be done at home. The pain that she has at the moment will go almost immediately. The hand can throb for a few days after but nothing compared to what she is facing at the moment. The usually leave a couple of months in between hands to allow it heal. My top tips are.... learn to brush your teeth and hair with ye other hand as it really hard! Also personal bathroom hygiene is very hard so practice that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 Thanks, I'll pass that on. I have offered help with lifts, and shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 She'll need that. Also get her to change her bed! She won't want to ask anyone to help with that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I had this operation done on both hands two years ago, the ops were three months apart. First of all it is well worth having the op as my symptoms are now completely gone I would advise keeping the hand elevated for the first couple of days after surgery in a sling, and also to make full use of the painkillers that the hospital will provide. These will most probably be codeine based, so watch out for the constipation I had three weeks off work for each hand and found that to be sufficient for me, but of course everyone is different and do different jobs. I had a little go at driving a couple of days before I returned to work and found that my left hand ( my dominant hand) hurt a little whilst changing gears but I was in full control of the car. My left hand was the one that was operated on first and it's surprising how quickly I adapted to using my right hand. Once the stitches had been taken out I used bio oil to help with the scarring and dryness and now you wouldn't know by looking that I've had surgery. I think that I posted a thread on here asking for advice about my op, hopefully it will still be there. Does your friend have an underactive thyroid gland? That was the cause of my carpal tunnel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 Thanks Jules No idea re the thyroid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
