It's now been six weeks since my surgery. Today I met with Dr. Millard for hopefully the last time and I'm now wrist brace free for the first time in about 4 months. It actually feels weird! I'm wearing an ace bandage around my hand/wrist for some support and because my hand incision is still really tender. Pressing on the incision is painful so typing on a computer actually hurts because my hand rests right on the incision. The ace bandage gives me some padding.
My hand is slowly getting better. I can curl my fingers into a fist, I just can't tighten them. I have no grip strength yet. I can't break the seal on a bottle so I have to ask others to do it for me. But I have all the dexterity back. I can type and do just about anything, I just don't have any strength. It will take time for me to regain the muscle that I lost after surgery. I'm sure Jeff will have lots of ideas on how to get that back.
There's still some swelling in the heel of my palm and apparently the scar tissue has built up pretty good. Dr. Millard told me to do deep tissue massage over the incision and when he pressed on it, it was quite painful. Pretty quickly he realized that I wasn't likely to press hard enough on my own hand because I'm really not into self-inflicted pain so he said I'd have to make Jeff do it. He said it was too bad Jeff wasn't there so he could tell him how hard to push and I just laughed and told him not to worry because Jeff had no problem causing me pain.
I did discuss the fact that I still have pain in my pinkie and ring fingers and asked how long I should give the pain to go away before I get concerned about it. He said if it's still painful in 2 months, then come back. Hopefully I don't have to see him again. I'm not sure what options would still be left to me after having surgery and I'd rather not have to find out.
My elbow is doing okay. I still can't straighten my arm all the way, but it's pretty close. The area around the incision is numb in some places and extremely tender in others. The back of my arm above my elbow is very sensitive to touch. Just having my hand or clothing rub across it can be uncomfortable. I also occasionally get a feeling like needles stabbing into my elbow which is always loads of fun! I expect all of this to get better over the next few months as the nerves continue to heal. My main concern is the pain in my fingers not going away and getting my functionality in my hand back.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Waking Up Is Hard To Do
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in post-op with someone asking me to wiggle my fingers. I did and said my arm hurt. The voice asked me to rate my pain and I gave it a 7. She put some meds in my IV and asked me again about 15 minutes later how my pain was. The pain was still bad so she gave me another injection. After 4 injections, some anti-nausea meds and a percoset, the pain finally went down to a 4. By now, I'd been in post-op for 2 hours and apparently Jeff was starting to get worried because they called up asking about me. After a bout of losing my stomach because of all the drugs, they finally took be back down to recovery.
Once back in recovery, they finally let Jeff back to see me. He helped me get dressed but I was still nauseous so they wouldn't let me leave yet. I kept my arm elevated and tried not to puke when I sat up. Finally, after a couple more hours, they went ahead and let me leave even though I was still sick to my stomach. I was wheeled to the car and off we went, vomit bag tightly in hand.
Once we got home, I crashed on the bed I'd created the night before on the couch, keeping my arm elevated. After that, I just slept, waking only to take Percosets every 4 hours whether I hurt or not. Staying on top of the pain was one of the best pieces of advice I received and I even set my cell phone to wake me in the middle of the night to take more pain meds. I also used ice packs on my elbow which helped too. My hand was very swollen and I really couldn't move my fingers much at all.
After my first night, my husband had to go back to work but my 7 year old son, Rhys, was home with me. Mostly I dozed on the sofa or watched really bad daytime television. Lunch was difficult with just one arm but Rhys helped out and we managed to get fed. That night, my mother picked up Devyn from pre-school and brought over dinner since Jeff had to work late. But all in all, the first day wasn't too bad. Wednesday was pretty much the same.
I really didn't have any bad experiences until the Thurday after surgery. I went to sleep on the sofa at around 10:00 after taking a percocet. Around 11:30, I woke from a dead sleep and was nauseous and faint. Weird to wake from a dead sleep just to feel faint...I mean what's the point? I managed to get to the bathroom and called for Jeff who luckily was still awake upstairs (there's no way he would have heard me if he was asleep). He came barralling down the steps and found me laying on the bathroom floor, ready to pass out. After a few minutes, I felt able to get back to the sofa and Jeff sat with me. I was in a lot of pain at this point, the pinkie side of my wrist burning really bad. I took another percocet at midnight but it didn't really help. I was starting to wonder if I needed to go to the emergency room which would have been a real pain since we live about 30 minutes from the nearest hospital and we would have had to take our 7 year old and 4 year old with us.
Jeff sat up with me watching television while I writhed in pain on the sofa. Finally at about 2:00 in the morning, Jeff decided to go back to bed and I took yet another percocet. At around 2:30, I finally fell back asleep. The next morning, Jeff called off work and stayed home with me because we weren't sure if I'd need to go into see the doctor. At 8:00, I called the doctor and talked to his assistant. By now, I was feeling better and since I didn't have a fever, I was advised to just monitor how I was feeling and call back if the same scary symptoms returned. Basically, what probably happened was that my body suddenly caught up with itself and went into a mini shock. It was very scary but only lasted a few hours and was the only really bad time I had until the sutures were removed 12 days later.
Living in the arm splint for 15 days wasn't really so bad. I did pretty well at most tasks on my own. At first I asked for help with my socks but after a week, I was able to manage them on my own. I very wisely tied my running shoes very loosely in advance so I could just slip them on and off without untying or tying them again and threatened my husband with grave injury if he untied them. I pretty much lived in track pants or pajama bottoms and t-shirts the whole time so I didn't have to deal with buttons or zippers. Showering required assistance with tying a trash bag over the splint with a spare shoe lace and then Jeff stood outside the curtain and would squirt shampoo, conditioner or body wash when I thrust my hand out the curtain at him. Drying was a bit hard but managable.
Preparing food was difficult. With the Guyon and Carpal surgeries, my hand was completely useless. I couldn't open a jar or spread or cut anything. Trying to make eggs was laughable. I had to have the waitress at Bob Evans cut Rhys's pancakes for him. Driving was managable but probably not recommended. I had to reach through the passenger side to start the engine with my left hand and used a pillow on the middle console to prop up my elbow when driving.
I went back for my first post-op check at 15 days. By then, the splint was getting uncomfortable because the swelling in my elbow had gone down and it was rubbing and just didn't fit right anymore. The resident who'd assisted in my surgery, Dr. Mickelson, was the one to remove the splint and man did it feel weird! I get light-headed really easy anyway so when it came time to remove the sutures, I laid down. The elbow sutures burned but the hand hurt like hell! WOW, did having those suckers out ever hurt! And I was completely shocked to see only one incision in my palm. I had expected another incision for the Guyon Canal decompression but I assume they were able to do both the Carpal and the Guyon through the same incision. Dr. Mickelson kindly told me that he had been the one to do my hand and it only took him like 7 minutes. That didn't really make me feel better.
Dr. Millard inspected my incisions, put my wrist in a hard splint and told me not to lift anything heavy and to come back in 4 weeks before sending me on my merry way. I was amazed at how completely useless my hand was at this point. My elbow felt sore, like the muscles had been really badly bruised and the area around the elbow felt numb like novacaine.
Six days later, I returned to my job. My hand still felt pretty useless so I spent most of the first week using it sparingly and mostly typing left handed. By the second week back, my hand was improving and after the 4 weeks it was feeling fairly good. All in all, at the 6 week point, I felt pretty healed although I know it can take months or years for nerves to heal.
Once back in recovery, they finally let Jeff back to see me. He helped me get dressed but I was still nauseous so they wouldn't let me leave yet. I kept my arm elevated and tried not to puke when I sat up. Finally, after a couple more hours, they went ahead and let me leave even though I was still sick to my stomach. I was wheeled to the car and off we went, vomit bag tightly in hand.
Once we got home, I crashed on the bed I'd created the night before on the couch, keeping my arm elevated. After that, I just slept, waking only to take Percosets every 4 hours whether I hurt or not. Staying on top of the pain was one of the best pieces of advice I received and I even set my cell phone to wake me in the middle of the night to take more pain meds. I also used ice packs on my elbow which helped too. My hand was very swollen and I really couldn't move my fingers much at all.
After my first night, my husband had to go back to work but my 7 year old son, Rhys, was home with me. Mostly I dozed on the sofa or watched really bad daytime television. Lunch was difficult with just one arm but Rhys helped out and we managed to get fed. That night, my mother picked up Devyn from pre-school and brought over dinner since Jeff had to work late. But all in all, the first day wasn't too bad. Wednesday was pretty much the same.
I really didn't have any bad experiences until the Thurday after surgery. I went to sleep on the sofa at around 10:00 after taking a percocet. Around 11:30, I woke from a dead sleep and was nauseous and faint. Weird to wake from a dead sleep just to feel faint...I mean what's the point? I managed to get to the bathroom and called for Jeff who luckily was still awake upstairs (there's no way he would have heard me if he was asleep). He came barralling down the steps and found me laying on the bathroom floor, ready to pass out. After a few minutes, I felt able to get back to the sofa and Jeff sat with me. I was in a lot of pain at this point, the pinkie side of my wrist burning really bad. I took another percocet at midnight but it didn't really help. I was starting to wonder if I needed to go to the emergency room which would have been a real pain since we live about 30 minutes from the nearest hospital and we would have had to take our 7 year old and 4 year old with us.
Jeff sat up with me watching television while I writhed in pain on the sofa. Finally at about 2:00 in the morning, Jeff decided to go back to bed and I took yet another percocet. At around 2:30, I finally fell back asleep. The next morning, Jeff called off work and stayed home with me because we weren't sure if I'd need to go into see the doctor. At 8:00, I called the doctor and talked to his assistant. By now, I was feeling better and since I didn't have a fever, I was advised to just monitor how I was feeling and call back if the same scary symptoms returned. Basically, what probably happened was that my body suddenly caught up with itself and went into a mini shock. It was very scary but only lasted a few hours and was the only really bad time I had until the sutures were removed 12 days later.
Living in the arm splint for 15 days wasn't really so bad. I did pretty well at most tasks on my own. At first I asked for help with my socks but after a week, I was able to manage them on my own. I very wisely tied my running shoes very loosely in advance so I could just slip them on and off without untying or tying them again and threatened my husband with grave injury if he untied them. I pretty much lived in track pants or pajama bottoms and t-shirts the whole time so I didn't have to deal with buttons or zippers. Showering required assistance with tying a trash bag over the splint with a spare shoe lace and then Jeff stood outside the curtain and would squirt shampoo, conditioner or body wash when I thrust my hand out the curtain at him. Drying was a bit hard but managable.
Preparing food was difficult. With the Guyon and Carpal surgeries, my hand was completely useless. I couldn't open a jar or spread or cut anything. Trying to make eggs was laughable. I had to have the waitress at Bob Evans cut Rhys's pancakes for him. Driving was managable but probably not recommended. I had to reach through the passenger side to start the engine with my left hand and used a pillow on the middle console to prop up my elbow when driving.
I went back for my first post-op check at 15 days. By then, the splint was getting uncomfortable because the swelling in my elbow had gone down and it was rubbing and just didn't fit right anymore. The resident who'd assisted in my surgery, Dr. Mickelson, was the one to remove the splint and man did it feel weird! I get light-headed really easy anyway so when it came time to remove the sutures, I laid down. The elbow sutures burned but the hand hurt like hell! WOW, did having those suckers out ever hurt! And I was completely shocked to see only one incision in my palm. I had expected another incision for the Guyon Canal decompression but I assume they were able to do both the Carpal and the Guyon through the same incision. Dr. Mickelson kindly told me that he had been the one to do my hand and it only took him like 7 minutes. That didn't really make me feel better.
Dr. Millard inspected my incisions, put my wrist in a hard splint and told me not to lift anything heavy and to come back in 4 weeks before sending me on my merry way. I was amazed at how completely useless my hand was at this point. My elbow felt sore, like the muscles had been really badly bruised and the area around the elbow felt numb like novacaine.
Six days later, I returned to my job. My hand still felt pretty useless so I spent most of the first week using it sparingly and mostly typing left handed. By the second week back, my hand was improving and after the 4 weeks it was feeling fairly good. All in all, at the 6 week point, I felt pretty healed although I know it can take months or years for nerves to heal.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Surgery
I've already figured out that typing left handed is hard to do!
Surgery was Monday and now it's Friday evening. My husband, Jeff, and I arrived at Grant Hospital at 7:30 am. The nurses had called me the Thursday before and said my surgery was being pushed from 9:00 to 9:30. When we got to the hospital, we pulled right up to valet parking which was free for surgery patients. We went upto the second floor and right to a reception desk. The receptionist verified who I was, put on my hospital bracelet, and gave Jeff a card that had an ID number on it. When they were done with my surgery, they'd flash a message up on a tv in the waiting room to let him know I was done. The receptionist then callled back to the nurses and sent me right back.
The pre-op area was super nice. They weighed me and had me pee in a cup and then put me in a little room. I changed into my gown and footies and lay down on the gurney. The nurse asked me all sorts of questions and took my blood pressure. Another woman came in and took my ID and insurance card and then the on-call doctor came in. He listened to my lungs and asked me about my medical history since he'd be the doctor in charge of me after I got out of surgery. There was a struggle to get my IV started and eventually a second nurse had to put it in the back of my hand. While I was signing my consent forms, Dr. Millard and his resident, Dr. Mickelsen, came in. Dr. Millard asked me again if I knew what they were going to do to me and then nicely initialed my right arm. I guess he was claiming me as his own.
Dr. Millard left to go get changed and Dr. Mickelsen asked me some more questions about my history of symptoms. Then I was joined by the anastesiologist who asked me more questions. Jeff left at this point, taking my glasses with him so I was blind. Finally, I was left with the surgical nurse who was going to wheel me upstairs to the OR. All in all, I think I saw about 10 different people leading up to surgery time.
The trip to the OR was surreal. It was like on TV. The halls were empty and we just went up a surgical elevator and then right into the big brightly lit OR. There were a couple people waiting and they had me scoot over onto the operating table. As I was doing so, the nurse put something that burned into my IV. I lay back on the table and they put the mask over my face and someone asked me where my favorite vacation spot was. Then I was gone. Nothing.
Surgery was Monday and now it's Friday evening. My husband, Jeff, and I arrived at Grant Hospital at 7:30 am. The nurses had called me the Thursday before and said my surgery was being pushed from 9:00 to 9:30. When we got to the hospital, we pulled right up to valet parking which was free for surgery patients. We went upto the second floor and right to a reception desk. The receptionist verified who I was, put on my hospital bracelet, and gave Jeff a card that had an ID number on it. When they were done with my surgery, they'd flash a message up on a tv in the waiting room to let him know I was done. The receptionist then callled back to the nurses and sent me right back.
The pre-op area was super nice. They weighed me and had me pee in a cup and then put me in a little room. I changed into my gown and footies and lay down on the gurney. The nurse asked me all sorts of questions and took my blood pressure. Another woman came in and took my ID and insurance card and then the on-call doctor came in. He listened to my lungs and asked me about my medical history since he'd be the doctor in charge of me after I got out of surgery. There was a struggle to get my IV started and eventually a second nurse had to put it in the back of my hand. While I was signing my consent forms, Dr. Millard and his resident, Dr. Mickelsen, came in. Dr. Millard asked me again if I knew what they were going to do to me and then nicely initialed my right arm. I guess he was claiming me as his own.
Dr. Millard left to go get changed and Dr. Mickelsen asked me some more questions about my history of symptoms. Then I was joined by the anastesiologist who asked me more questions. Jeff left at this point, taking my glasses with him so I was blind. Finally, I was left with the surgical nurse who was going to wheel me upstairs to the OR. All in all, I think I saw about 10 different people leading up to surgery time.
The trip to the OR was surreal. It was like on TV. The halls were empty and we just went up a surgical elevator and then right into the big brightly lit OR. There were a couple people waiting and they had me scoot over onto the operating table. As I was doing so, the nurse put something that burned into my IV. I lay back on the table and they put the mask over my face and someone asked me where my favorite vacation spot was. Then I was gone. Nothing.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Time for surgery!
Surgery is a little less than 2 days away. I'm not nervous yet, probably because I have too much to do! I finished editing my husband's cousin's wedding photos so I can get them into the mail. Now I'm doing all the things around the house that need to get done. Laundry, changing the sheets on the beds, vacuuming, etc.
We'll send Rhys to spend the night with my mom so she can drive him to school Monday morning and we'll drop Devyn off at daycare on our way to the hospital. We have to be at Grant by 7:30 in the morning. Surgery was pushed back half an hour or we would have had to be there by 7:00. I'm sure I won't sleep the night before and of course I'm not allowed anything to eat. The hospital has already called me twice, once to pre-register me and another call from the surgical nurse asking me about stuff like allergies, medical conditions, etc. Looks like this is really happening!
I've read a few really good blogs from other people who've had surgery and they've really helped to give me a good idea of what to expect (as well as you can from just reading anyway). But there are a few things that will be different for me. For starters, they were all men. There are just some things that a girl has to deal with men just don't understand. For example, it's going to be very difficult to put on a bra and shave with only my left hand. The other difference is that none of these guys had carpal tunnel and guyon canal decompressions at the same time as their cubital tunnel surgeries. So I'll be dealing with the added pain and recovery in my wrist/hand as well as my elbow.
I'll try to update the blog after surgery to let everyone know how things are going. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes! They are much appreciated!
We'll send Rhys to spend the night with my mom so she can drive him to school Monday morning and we'll drop Devyn off at daycare on our way to the hospital. We have to be at Grant by 7:30 in the morning. Surgery was pushed back half an hour or we would have had to be there by 7:00. I'm sure I won't sleep the night before and of course I'm not allowed anything to eat. The hospital has already called me twice, once to pre-register me and another call from the surgical nurse asking me about stuff like allergies, medical conditions, etc. Looks like this is really happening!
I've read a few really good blogs from other people who've had surgery and they've really helped to give me a good idea of what to expect (as well as you can from just reading anyway). But there are a few things that will be different for me. For starters, they were all men. There are just some things that a girl has to deal with men just don't understand. For example, it's going to be very difficult to put on a bra and shave with only my left hand. The other difference is that none of these guys had carpal tunnel and guyon canal decompressions at the same time as their cubital tunnel surgeries. So I'll be dealing with the added pain and recovery in my wrist/hand as well as my elbow.
I'll try to update the blog after surgery to let everyone know how things are going. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes! They are much appreciated!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
3 more weeks...
Surgery is three weeks from tomorrow and I'm wishing it was sooner which makes me sound like one sick puppy. I thought I was doing pretty good but this past week, I feel like I'm getting worse. My pinkie finger on my right hand has really been bothering me so I've been wrapping my pinkie and ring finger to immobilize them which seems to make them feel better but takes away a lot of dexterity.
I came across this great website and forum for people with Cubital Tunnel and through that, was able to read the blog of another Cubital Tunnel sufferer who gave a really good account of what to expect from the Cubital (CuTS) part of the surgery. He gave really good tips and advice and I now have a better idea of what to expect. Of course, I'm actually having two more procedures than he did at the same time so I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make in my recovery versus his.
Over all, I'm just wishing that surgery could come sooner so I could get it over with and hopefully start feeling better.
I came across this great website and forum for people with Cubital Tunnel and through that, was able to read the blog of another Cubital Tunnel sufferer who gave a really good account of what to expect from the Cubital (CuTS) part of the surgery. He gave really good tips and advice and I now have a better idea of what to expect. Of course, I'm actually having two more procedures than he did at the same time so I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make in my recovery versus his.
Over all, I'm just wishing that surgery could come sooner so I could get it over with and hopefully start feeling better.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The road to surgery...
So what's new with Karin? I'm having surgery! Not super-serious-could-cause-death-surgery but still it's the first (and hopefully only) time I've had surgery and it's my right arm so I'm nervous about the recovery afterwards and the long term results.
I've had wrist pain off and on for the past 8 years and my family doctor diagnosed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and told me to wear a wrist brace. When the pain would flare up, I'd wear the brace until it seemed better and then forget about it until it flared up again. Then in mid-July, I suddenly experienced severe pain from my right elbow down through my pinkie and ring fingers. My husband, Jeff, the wonderful Physical Therapist, said it was my ulnar nerve being pinched. After a week of it not getting any better, I went to my family doctor and he confirmed diagnosis, saying that the ulnar nerve is "trapped" in the Cubital Tunnel space in my elbow. He prescribed steroids and naproxen and told me to come back in 2 weeks when that didn't work.
That's right, he said it wouldn't work and that when I came back, he'd send me to the surgeon. 2 weeks later, I went back when the medicine didn't work like he said. By now, I was also having a recurring muscle spasm in the heel of my thumb. This time, the doctor sent me off for an EMG and then on to the surgeon.
Having an EMG is horrible. They strapped electrodes to my arm and sent electical shocks through my arm in varying degrees of intensity. It was like being shocked over and over again, harder and harder. Some of the shocks really hurt and some made my arm jump. Then, the doctor stabbed (and I mean STABBED) a needle into my arm and hand in various places to see if the nerve was conducting impulses all the way down my arm. Holy cow, that really hurt. Especially when he stabbed the needle in the skin between my thumb and first finger. The results confirmed evidence of Cubital Tunnel (entrapment of ulnar nerve in elbow) and Carpal Tunnel (entrapment of median nerve in hand/wrist) Syndromes.
Carpal Tunnel and Cubital Tunnel can apparently become pretty serious. You can end up with permanent numbness, tingling, weakness and "clawing" of your fingers. There are times that I feel like my pinkie finger is being pulled down towards my palm. I get flashes of pain down my arm like I hit my funny bone, which is the ulnar nerve being pinched. The ulnar nerve runs to the pinkie and ring fingers and the median nerve runs to the thumb, first and middle fingers.
After that, I was off to see the orthopaedic surgeon. Jeff had strong beliefs about who he'd allow me to see and he insisted on Dr. Gary Millard, a hand and arm specialist who treats the Columbus Bluejackets among others. I met with a resident, Dr. John Buschman, first. He asked some questions and did a quick exam. Then Dr. Millard came in and they talked and he asked a few more questions. I basically confirmed that I'd used wrist splints and elbow braces and tried meds but was still having problems. Much to Jeff's surprise, Dr. Millard suggested surgery. He doesn't see any point in waiting since it's not likely the symptoms will ever disappear on their own or for good.
I wasn't surprised despite Jeff's belief that Dr. Millard would recommend physical therapy before surgery but I was surprised when Dr. Millard said he was not only going to operate on the Cubital and Carpal Tunnels, but he was also going to go ahead and decompress the Guyon Canal as well. That's also the ulnar nerve, but in the side of the wrist. From what I've read, Carpal and Cubital Tunnel surgeries are pretty common but not the Guyon Canal surgery.
So surgery is scheduled for October 5th at 9:00 am. Dr. Millard will move the ulnar nerve out of the Cubital Tunnel and relocate it to under the skin and fatty layer in my arm. That's called a Subcutaneous Ulnar Nerve Transposition. He'll decompress the ulnar nerve in the Guyon Canal and the median nerve in the Carpal Tunnel by cutting the ligaments over the nerve and then close the incisions, allowing the ligament to close with scar tissue. Surgery will be out-patient and only take 1-2 hours. I'll be wrapped from above the elbow all the way to my hand for 2 weeks. Sutures will be removed after 2 weeks and then I'll be in a wrist splint for another 4 weeks.
On average, it takes a nerve about 1 inch per month to heal. So if I'm measure my arm from my elbow to the tips of my fingers, that's about how long until the nerve should be fully healed. And as fun as all that sounds, during the middle of all of this, I began to experience the same symptoms in my left arm as well. I haven't told the doctor yet about that arm since there's nothing they can do until the right arm is healing but I'm nervous that I'll have to have the surgery on that arm as well.
I'll keep everyone posted with how things are going once I'm up from surgery. But that's it in a nut shell for now.
I've had wrist pain off and on for the past 8 years and my family doctor diagnosed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and told me to wear a wrist brace. When the pain would flare up, I'd wear the brace until it seemed better and then forget about it until it flared up again. Then in mid-July, I suddenly experienced severe pain from my right elbow down through my pinkie and ring fingers. My husband, Jeff, the wonderful Physical Therapist, said it was my ulnar nerve being pinched. After a week of it not getting any better, I went to my family doctor and he confirmed diagnosis, saying that the ulnar nerve is "trapped" in the Cubital Tunnel space in my elbow. He prescribed steroids and naproxen and told me to come back in 2 weeks when that didn't work.
That's right, he said it wouldn't work and that when I came back, he'd send me to the surgeon. 2 weeks later, I went back when the medicine didn't work like he said. By now, I was also having a recurring muscle spasm in the heel of my thumb. This time, the doctor sent me off for an EMG and then on to the surgeon.
Having an EMG is horrible. They strapped electrodes to my arm and sent electical shocks through my arm in varying degrees of intensity. It was like being shocked over and over again, harder and harder. Some of the shocks really hurt and some made my arm jump. Then, the doctor stabbed (and I mean STABBED) a needle into my arm and hand in various places to see if the nerve was conducting impulses all the way down my arm. Holy cow, that really hurt. Especially when he stabbed the needle in the skin between my thumb and first finger. The results confirmed evidence of Cubital Tunnel (entrapment of ulnar nerve in elbow) and Carpal Tunnel (entrapment of median nerve in hand/wrist) Syndromes.
Carpal Tunnel and Cubital Tunnel can apparently become pretty serious. You can end up with permanent numbness, tingling, weakness and "clawing" of your fingers. There are times that I feel like my pinkie finger is being pulled down towards my palm. I get flashes of pain down my arm like I hit my funny bone, which is the ulnar nerve being pinched. The ulnar nerve runs to the pinkie and ring fingers and the median nerve runs to the thumb, first and middle fingers.
After that, I was off to see the orthopaedic surgeon. Jeff had strong beliefs about who he'd allow me to see and he insisted on Dr. Gary Millard, a hand and arm specialist who treats the Columbus Bluejackets among others. I met with a resident, Dr. John Buschman, first. He asked some questions and did a quick exam. Then Dr. Millard came in and they talked and he asked a few more questions. I basically confirmed that I'd used wrist splints and elbow braces and tried meds but was still having problems. Much to Jeff's surprise, Dr. Millard suggested surgery. He doesn't see any point in waiting since it's not likely the symptoms will ever disappear on their own or for good.
I wasn't surprised despite Jeff's belief that Dr. Millard would recommend physical therapy before surgery but I was surprised when Dr. Millard said he was not only going to operate on the Cubital and Carpal Tunnels, but he was also going to go ahead and decompress the Guyon Canal as well. That's also the ulnar nerve, but in the side of the wrist. From what I've read, Carpal and Cubital Tunnel surgeries are pretty common but not the Guyon Canal surgery.
So surgery is scheduled for October 5th at 9:00 am. Dr. Millard will move the ulnar nerve out of the Cubital Tunnel and relocate it to under the skin and fatty layer in my arm. That's called a Subcutaneous Ulnar Nerve Transposition. He'll decompress the ulnar nerve in the Guyon Canal and the median nerve in the Carpal Tunnel by cutting the ligaments over the nerve and then close the incisions, allowing the ligament to close with scar tissue. Surgery will be out-patient and only take 1-2 hours. I'll be wrapped from above the elbow all the way to my hand for 2 weeks. Sutures will be removed after 2 weeks and then I'll be in a wrist splint for another 4 weeks.
On average, it takes a nerve about 1 inch per month to heal. So if I'm measure my arm from my elbow to the tips of my fingers, that's about how long until the nerve should be fully healed. And as fun as all that sounds, during the middle of all of this, I began to experience the same symptoms in my left arm as well. I haven't told the doctor yet about that arm since there's nothing they can do until the right arm is healing but I'm nervous that I'll have to have the surgery on that arm as well.
I'll keep everyone posted with how things are going once I'm up from surgery. But that's it in a nut shell for now.
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