Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

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I'm new here!

I'm here because I work full-time and struggle to have the energy for anything resembling a life (hobbies, friendships, new experiences, all that jazz) though I have a supportive partner and family, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place (the rock being our crumbling health service and welfare system, the hard place being my need to keep my job so I don't starve). As I don't use any kind of mobility aid, people rarely realise I have any kind of disability (until I open my mouth and put my foot right in it!) but several bouts of covid have left me permanently fatigued and some days it's an effort just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. If you've been through similar lived experiences and have any advice, I would love to chat.

#MightyTogether #AutismSpectrumDisorder #Dyspraxia #CarpalTunnelSyndrome

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Frustrated, Depressed and Hopeful at the same time!

THIS MIGHT GET LONG

I haven't been on in a week or little more. I love all the encouragement here, and at the same time can't handle hearing others issues. Makes me feel like an azz cause he I am venting. My head is kinda messed up again and my flashbacks are back. I went to my daughter's yesterday to watch my youngest two grandsons. Actually my daughter offered to pick me up so I didn't have to walk the half mile in the heat. When I asked about my oldest grandson she informed me that he was several hours away but coming back that day as he had a severe breakdown and had to get inpatient treatment. Bipolar and Sciz (never could spell that word); my ex-husband has the first and my middle child has both. I have major anxiety and depression. She asked me not to tell anyone as it wasn't announced to outside their household. When I first heard it was like getting punched in the gut. Had to fight my head in convincing myself I was a good parent. My sons first time in inpatient he was eight. What I didn't understand until around 5 years later was that he heard voices (at very young age) that told him to hurt or ki** people. I had to learn to read his body language, moods, tone of voice and think three steps in front of him to prevent any violent outbursts. He went through trial and error will a multitude of medications before the proper cocktail was found. But he had numerous meds that he had adverse reactions to. Ranging from hand tremors, eye twitching, weight gain and seizures to name a few. He's in his middle twenties now, able to not be on any medication and is doing well. Yet he hates me for all the placements "I" put him in. Of around ten, I asked his doctor only once to please place him as I needed a break. The other times either his doctor or the school was persistent that he needed more help than what I could give. I explained to him that "his behavior is what sent him each time I had to take him. All I did was sign the paperwork. Back then I was afraid if I hadn't taken him for the help I know he needed that the school or doctors could have him taken from my care.
So now my grandson is facing the same hard road. My daughter also has more milder Bipolar yet is in denial. From what my daughter told me was that her and her wife had gotten into a huge disagreement/fight and my oldest grandson lost it. My daughter-in-law is staying at her parents and they are leaving for a 3 night 4 day family vacation as planned. When they returned will be going into counseling for the family. My son's actually live together and last week I received several phone calls from the youngest fiance saying they were fighting will the first one saying they were close to becoming physical. I had already been on my way there but after that phone call disregarded the actual speed limit and made my own. Surprised her when I got there sooner than expected. The third call came in the midst of my severe head cold and was miserable. My oldest called and after I talked with them both over the phone I told them I am not coming as I could not safely drive, that they are both adults they need to figure it out themselves and the needed to grow the **** up.
Today I drove a friend to run some errands and he triggered me but I could control my reactions. He tells me every time I take him somewhere that he has PTSD when riding in a car. So he's saying; your speeding, slow down (only once was I going more than 5 over the limit). Grabbing the handle at different times, etc. I explained that I understand PTSD and I'm actually a very good driver. When I asked where his ptsd came from, he said he didn't really know as he hadn't been in an accident unless it was when he was little and don't remember. But my ex (abuser) would constantly criticize my driving. Yelling even, and threatening. Once he made me pull over as he said I turned the corner at the light wrong and he was driving. Well, let's just say that was the second time he made me walk home.
On a lighter note, I should be getting my apartment soon. I'm praying it's this week. I will be calling the lady in the morning and asking when I'm supposed to come sign my paperwork so I can move in. I'm so tired of couch hopping. Carrying my things that I'll need for several days everywhere I go. Been doing that since end of January. As grateful as I am that I've been able to do that and not be out on the street, it's old. I'm old! Or at least my body is.
I was talking to my uncle the other day and I told him that I had written down everything I've been diagnosed with because I always forget and just tell the doctor that I've listed the major issues. But with listing my hearing loss and requiring glasses to plantar facility's to carpal tunnel syndrome to hEDS to C-PTSD I have been diagnosed with 47 different things. When I go for my yearly physical next month my doctor isn't going to be happy because I haven't gotten my mammogram or my colonoscopy done. But as I told my uncle, my head can NOT handle knowing anything else is wrong with me. I don't let any of them define who I am. Yet in some ways they do. My triggers for my flashbacks define me, as does my anxiety and pain. Everyday those 3 I deal with 24/7. I'm like trust me I know I have medical issues, major non life threatening one. Even if I did take those tests and they found something wrong, I don't know that I would take measures in trying to make things better.
Every year for the past 45 years I had been diagnosed with something new because my body is slowly deteriorating. This past year, I've gotten 4 new diagnosises. When I asked my uncle if he had seen where I gave his birthday wishes he said yes and thanked me. Then we were talking about age and medical problems. I told him that I don't want to live to be his age (73) I'm 52 because of how my body already is. Yet I want to live and see my grandsons grow into men. It's days where I allow myself to think deeply about myself that ... it's just very depressing. I always bring myself back up to being positive.
I do apologize this is pretty long. But I thank you for allowing me to express myself and vent. I appreciate you all for reading it through. May God Bless each and everyone of you! #PTSD #c -PTSD #ChronicPain #ChronicIllnessEDS #MentalHealth #DomesticAbuseSurvivors #EmotionalAbuse

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Just want some understanding

Over the years, since 2008, I have struggled with mental illnesses. Most of that time untreated. My diagnosis' to date, sorry for long list, are
-BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder)
-MDD (Major Depressive Disorder)
-Bipolar 1, manic depressive
- ADD/ADHD(combined)
- Generalized severe anxiety
- General Psychosis

With all this I also had a genome test done that showed my body does not produce Serotonin or Dopamine. As well I have an over active metabolism and diagnosed with a Metabolic disease.
All this contributes to my mental health, but most don't realize I have physical problems that contribute as well.
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Recurring Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Daily Migraines
- RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome)
- Lumbar Radiculopathy
- Bilateral Pars fracture
- Asthma

I go through so much and yet feel like I can't talk to anyone. None of my doctors can tell me why I have these issues and 2 of them are infact rare(Metabolic disease, Recurring Carpal Tunnel).
After attempting suicide for the 17th time last year I was hospitalized and I have not been the same. The doctors believe I damaged brain matter when I overdosed on Adderall(Bad Idea).
I am tired now of all the swinging my emotions do, the thoughts I can't control, not being able to describe what goes on to anyone and feeling bad about wanting to die. I wish I could just talk to someone about all this without their judgment or belittling it/me.
#BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #BipolarDisorder #MentalHealth #MensMentalHealth

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Carpal tunnel

I’ve had carpal tunnel for years since working on a computer. I was wearing a brace for a while. It got better after I stopped working and using my hands constantly for 12 hrs a day, but it’s come back worse than ever since I had the baby. It’s strange and so bad now my whole entire arms get numb. I’m typing this using one finger because my whole arm and fingers are numb. My ring finger has the most sensation now so I use it. Picking up heavy things has become difficult and I get a popping/clicking feeling in my wrist and a shooting pain in my hand. Sometimes when I wake up my hand hurts so bad and there so much pressure it feels like it’s going to explode!!! It take forever for the pressure, pain, and tingling to fade away. I need surgery sooo bad but I don’t know how if I won’t be able to move my hands afterwards for I don’t know how long?! I have to take care of the baby and kids. I couldn’t feel my arm or hand when I was holding her, trying to give her medicine, and make give her the bottle earlier. I’m worried I will lose use of my hands or drop the baby or something!!! I need surgery but need my hands/arms to take care of my family but at the same time am losing use of them. I’m kind of at a loss of ideas 😩 #Depression #Anxiety #CarpalTunnelSyndrome

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So what’s wrong with me?

I’m asked that question often because I look younger for my age and I’m very active and functional. How did everything develop? I’ve always had cold hands and toes since I was about 5 years old. I never worried about it much honestly until I found out it was #RaynaudsPhenomenon in 2017. This is the same year I was diagnosed with #Fibromyalgia & #MajorDepressiveDisorder .

What it feels like? For me, it feels like the soreness you feel after a workout and never recovering. Now, anything thing I do tell people is that I got Mono back in 2010. First time I ever got severely sick to where I even lost weight. Now it’s 2023, I have an overactive immune system and a autoimmune that they can’t find. However, they were about to do a DNA(DS) AB, High Avidity blood test because my ANA is normal and my other blood test are normal. They suspect #Lupus but they do know I have #ChronicFatigue .

*My spoons are usually 1-2 tasks that’s would last 4-5 hours until I’m fatigued*

…and I’m also diagnosed with #CarpalTunnelSyndrome .

On top of all that, I have other undiagnosed issues including #TemporomandibularJointDisorders in my jaw (nevous of dentist) and #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder (functional and social)

Another thing, I have hypermobility in some area, such as my fingers & my knees. I was also told I had a deformity in my neck to where my neck is straighter compared to other people (I never knew what that mean). This was done after an MRI.

Two reasons I was given that all these symptoms came in my late 20’s and now in my 30’s. I was told it all started when I got sick in 2010 making my immune system go haywire (definitely possible) but also genetics (possible if it’s from my mother). That would be something I’m unable to figure out. Again, I look fine and very functional but I have an equal amount of bad days.

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I’m 92% Moved In. Where Is My Happy?

So… months ago I promised this group that after my move was complete I would start posting regularly again. I have been in my new place a month, so what’s the delay? Well…
I love being here but am not feeling the elation I was hoping would come after escaping my previous living location that I found very stressful. Where is it?
I keep telling myself that I am simply still adjusting, that being a chronic pain sufferer is exhausting, that I am still carrying a heavy stress load being my husband’s caregiver (even though I now get respite two days a week for six hours). What is it that is keeping me from jumping into the excitement of my new town?
Is it that my lifelong depression won’t or can’t just vanish? Did my psyche suffer so much bruising that it is struggling to heal? Am I having difficulty trusting the new family contact I have because of my family-related trauma history? I don’t know. Initially I was excited to be here, but that seems to have run out. Now I just feel tired all the time. I don’t feel inspired to hang my pictures on the walls. There is still 8% of organization needed before my move is truly complete. Two boxes still need to be unpacked.
The graphic I included with this post is depressing to me, even though I can relate. I’m wondering if this is as good as it will get for me… at least right now. Chronic illness is long-term by definition, after all. If so, maybe I need to adjust and stop expecting more.
I don’t really believe that though because I accessed joy prior to my move through Mooji’s Invitation to Freedom video and mindfulness practice. I guess I just drifted off-course. Getting back to those things that I know work will bring around the relief again that I crave.
Come with me. We’ll start with Mooji:

youtu.be/ptcINj_7tcI.
(If the link has expired, just go to YouTube and run a search for “Mooji invitation to freedom”.

#apathy #ChronicDepression #Depression #Anxiety #Fibromyalgia #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #CPTSD #Mindfulness #Trauma #CarpalTunnelSyndrome #Caregiving #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #Stress

An Invitation to Freedom ~ Tiruvannamalai 2020

Moojibaba presents a powerful yet simple exercise — An Invitation to Freedom. This distilled and direct guidance takes us directly into the recognition of ou...
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Advice needed after rheumatology evaluation please

Ten months after first asking my primary doctor for a rheumatology referral, I finally had an appointment with one yesterday. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I have a lot of different symptoms and pain in every area of my body. I have seen a neurologist, gastroenterologist, and orthopedist. I do have tendon tears that are causing pain, but it doesn’t account for most of my symptoms. My ortho and physical therapist think there might be a systemic tendon issue. My doctors ruled out many things with lots of tests. They only want to cover up symptoms, so I was persistent for an answer and finally got a referral to a rheumatologist. Unfortunately, he was pretty dismissive. He said he read my medical records from my primary care, he asked me questions, and he gave me a physical exam. He asked if I had a prostate exam (I am a transgender man) and didn’t know most of my current diagnoses. I also realized later that he didn’t ask me about my cognitive symptoms or check anything but the areas I already know there are tears and push on a few of my vertebrae. I asked about pain management because I am allergic to corn and derivatives which are in most pharmaceuticals. He didn’t know anything about compounding medications or herbal supplements. He recommended physical therapy and to “figure out what works for you.” At the end of the appointment he said he was ordering 4 blood tests. Repeating the 2 inflammatory markers my doctor has tested a few times and were normal, a different RA test, and one to check for muscle degeneration. He said that if those come back normal than I don’t need to follow up with him. He said to follow up with my ortho because my pain is likely due to injuries and micro traumas. And to see an endocrinologist, even though I already had a lot of hormones checked with my primary and doctor who prescribes my testosterone. And to continue with the heart monitor I’m wearing this week and the cardiologist because I could have postural tachycardia. I was nervous and felt pressured to say that plan was fine.

I got the blood work results via the lab’s app today and they were all normal. I am so upset. The doctor said someone would call me with the results. I am not a doctor, but I know there are other tests, blood and otherwise, that can be done to further investigate my symptoms. I’ve been researching my symptoms and connective tissue diseases for over a year. I feel like most medical professionals don’t care enough to dig deep into what’s going on and just pass me off to others or give me meds for symptoms.

I don’t know what to do. Do I tell the person who calls from the doctor’s that I want to follow up anyway and ask the rheumatologist for more testing? Do I go back to the ortho and have him check all of my joints, back, neck, hands and feet? Do I ask my primary for another referral to a different rheumatologist, when she didn’t even want to refer me in the first place? The original referral said “low suspicion of rheumatic cause, patient requested eval.” I don’t know.

I am just so exhausted, feel defeated, and want to give up.

#Undiagnosed #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #CPTSD #Depression #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #Anxiety #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #AvoidantPersonalityDisorder #SuicidalIdeation #CarpalTunnelSyndrome #TriggerFinger #Bursitis #Tendinitis #rotatorcufftears #labraltears #sciatica #Migraine #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #SleepApnea #Asthma #GastroesophagealRefluxDisease #Allergies #Folliculitis

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I Think My Weighted Blanket Is Too Heavy for Me

I took the plunge and invested in a weighted blanket. There were blankets weighing 7, 12, 15, 20, or 25 lbs. I tend to like more sensation rather than less, so I chose a 20lb queen-sized Hypnoser version. But I seldom use it because it is so intense for me. I usually try it then put it away again for months. My fibromyalgia symptoms are all over my body and I also have carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms, am a large woman, and am developing arthritis in my shoulders and knees. I have depression and anxiety too, but am not having symptoms currently. All of that means that I cannot stand to remain in the same position for very long and typically flop around like a fish while sleeping. When I use the weighted blanket I wake up in the same position as if I have not moved at all, so maybe not moving during sleep is the problem for me.

I just took a 90-minute nap under my weighted blanket and woke up feeling hung over. It is difficult for me to determine if this is a sign of deeper sleep that is good for me or a problem. When I looked up articles about problems with weighted blankets, I found one that said if a blanket is too heavy for someone with chronic pain, lupus, arthritis or fibromyalgia it can increase pain. Am I experiencing worse pain now? I’m not sure. Some of my post-nap fuzzy-headedness has lifted, but my body is definitely still reacting to the blanket. I have lived with chronic pain for over 25 years now and don’t take pain meds, so it is often difficult for me to define the pain I spend tremendous energy ignoring all of the time. I feel like I need to stretch, and that often happens when my pain increases, but it is also true if I use a sauna and warm up my body.

Please share your experience with weighted blankets for me to compare. I’m interested in anything you have to share, but particularly want to know if anyone else had the same result as me but continued to use it regularly and eventually had a positive outcome. It will also be helpful to me if you let me know if you have similar physical conditions as I have described and if you tried a lighted blanket with different results. I am considering selling this one and trying a lighter one. Thank you in advance!

#Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #WeightedBlankets #PainManagement #Pain #Sleep

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Hello. I am new here. I'm hoping The Mighty and the groups within will be a help for me. And as soon as I get more familiar with it, I hope that my sharing will help others as well. I've struggled with mental wellness for as far as I can remember and am at a point in my life, with chronic pain issues mixed in, where it has become the most disruptive to daily living than it ever has before. I feel like every day is a fight, mentally and physically. I've decided to take time to look within and try to learn and hopefully, discover what changes are appropriate to make or things I can do to cope on the days when I feel all I am capable of is breathing. I call those days my dark days and there are more of them than not. It was alarming to me when I realized I was defining it a good day when at least part of it wasn't so dark. It has lead me to feeling ashamed, guilty, and worthless. My husband is supportive, however I don't like to share too much with him, about how big my struggle has become and what I go through, because I feel like I'm being a burden and don't want to bring him any worry or stress, as well as be a negative existence in his life. So I hide how bad I feel most of the time, which isn't easy. I'm a currently, non-practicing nurse, a wife, a mother to 4 grown children, and a grandmother to 12. I am very blessed, however I feel like I'm extremely falling short of being the best I can be to my family. And it's been hard to play a very active role in their lives for a while now. I almost panic when I have to interact for any length of time and get overwhelmed quite easily. The physical problems are contributing as well, and I can't help but wonder if they have been produced by my mental health issues. I think that about sums it up. Thank you for "listening". #ChronicDepression #Anxiety #Fibromyalgia #Osteoarthritis #DegenerativeDisease #PeripheralNeuropathy #CarpalTunnelSyndrome

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