Carpel tunnel

islandlady71119
islandlady71119 Member Posts: 4
edited 30. Nov 2019, 11:24 in Living with arthritis
Hi, I went to my doctor yesterday for acupuncture and mentioned my wrist was really swollen,my doctor thinks i may have carpel tunnel, I am so upset and depressed by this, just one more thing to add to the list. the arm that is affected is where I have other problems with arthritis, no catilage in my shoulder and my neck has no discs(fused together) I have had nerve pain there for years.my doctor said i will probably need an operation,I wasn't given any advice on how to manage this new problem or any support devices, i have a tubigrip on my wrist which is helping a bit, but is it safe to use?I feel after 27 years of living with this awful condition doctors have given up on me,my partner and son keep me going,I am so depressed and angry though, i feel my voice isn't being heard.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Islandlady welcome to the forum
    I am so sorry you are suffering at the moment and feel quite down and depressed, all of us on this forum has Arthritis of some kind and can understand the way you feel we have all gone down that avenue of thinking not another problem to add to the many we have with pain and Arthritis and various other complaints. It does help to talk to someone either on the forum or ring our number 0800 520 0520 where you can actually talk to another human being. The most popular forums are Living with Arthritis and Chit Chat.
    Hope all goes well Christine
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello, I have psoriatic and osteoarthritis plus fibromyalgia. I had a double carpel tunnel operation in 2012, the only procedure so far in 23 years of arthritic dross that actually made a difference to the quality of life. I was fortunate in that at the time my arms and shoulders were unaffected so it was relatively straightforward (though having neither hand available for a week or so made life interesting). Now I have PsA in all my fingers and both elbows and OA in both wrists and one shoulder which is no surprise. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It's bad enough being in constant pain: worse if one feels it's not being acknowledged.

    Unfortunately, arthritis is hard to deal with both for us and for the docs. I suspect that much of my pain, when my wrists were fusing, was due to carpal tunnel but nowadays they do a lot of carpal tunnel operations. I was given wrist splints which were useful in that I couldn't do much while wearing them so could only wear them when I didn't have much to do :lol: Usually evenings. This ensured I did keep giving my wrist muscles a workout for the rest of the day.

    Once there, arthritis can, and does, crop up in other joints. Our best bet is to keep them moving (although my neck, like yours, is virtually immobile now), keep the weight down, eat healthily, not smoke and do physio. It can take up a lot of time and, no, people don't understand but, let's face it, what do we arthritics understand about Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy or (worst of all by my reckoning) Motor Neuron Disease? It's human nature to avoid pain.

    But arthritis, with all these other diseases, does affect a whole family in different ways. I've always found it essential to be upfront with mine (while remaining upbeat). It's not their fault I'm in pain but there are days and times when I just have to ask for things to be done that I can't do.

    Arthritis often, not surprisingly, causes depression. Might it be worth seeing your GP for a short course of anti-depressants?
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • Hi, I haven't been on here for a while, thank you for your support. I am feeling a lot more positive,my wrist is no longer swollen and I no longer see the GP who thought I had carpel.I have radically changed parts of my life and I feel much improvement, I have changed my diet,I only eat home made healthy food with lots of fresh veg and fruit(, I read that Broccoli is good for arthritis). I never eat junk food. I take regular walks(weather permitting) and changed things at home, I have an amazing partner who does all the heavy duty things, just simple things like opening doors were extremely painful for me, I have come to terms with things I can no longer do and focused on what I CAN do.I no longer feel depressed,I rejoice at being alive everyday, I live with an unwelcome condition, it doesn't define me or control me.