My carpal tunnel problem

So, I finally had it done.  I'm relieved to say the least!

 

   I have been living with carpal tunnel problems for I guess about ten years.  I have put up with it, always telling myself that I will get around to taking care of it sooner or later.  Always putting it off.  Last years salmon fishing trip, detailed elsewhere in my blog, I told myself that it was the last fishing trip to Oswego,NY that I was going to have to put up with it.  You see, after about two hours of holding my fishing rod, my hand would go numb and I would have to hold the rod with the other hand while I shook my right hand and put it in the cold water to try to get feeling back into it.  From then on, I would probably have to do this about every fifteen or twenty minutes. 

  Well, November is coming up again, and I hadn't done anything about it.  My problem was getting progressively worse and about a month or so ago, I was pressure washing the sidewalks around the house and my hands got numb again.  That was the last straw.  Karen called my insurance company and asked about the coverage for the surgery and was told that it was covered 100%.  My insurance would pay me a certain amount each week while I was off and temporary disability also paid so much and it almost added up to what I was making per week anyway.  It was a no brainer.  Besides, if I was going to miss a couple of weeks worth of work, I was going to miss the hot weather.  Makes sense doesn't it?

   Typing this, basically with the left hand, I am one day past the surgery and it was surprisingly simple.  I wasn't nervous, maybe anxious is a better word.  I was truly happy that I was finally going to have this done and over with.  It was an outpatient kind of deal - I went into the Hunterdon Medical Center at 9:30AM and came out around 1:30 or 2PM.  The actual surgery was supposed to take about 15 minutes, but the surgeon told Karen after my surgery that it took about an hour because, in his words, it was "thicker" in there than he anticipated.  That is why in my first visit to him, his procedural tests to identify the problem really didn't show a carpal tunnel problem.

   It is quite eye opening to find out just how much you depend on your dominant hand for living your everyday life.  Tying your shoes, brushing your hair and teeth, putting on a pair of pants and trying to make yourself something to eat have already presented themselves as hurdles to me in my first day after the surgery.

  When I came out of surgery, I was surprised at low little pain there was.  I had forgotten that I was under anesthesia and last night, the pain finally came.  It wasn't tremendous pain, just a steady dull pain that won't let you forget it.  I had been prescribed some pain killer drugs, and I have taken a few, but honestly, I can pretty much do without them right now.  I plan on taking them before going to bed to help insure a good nights sleep, but I may go without them basically during the day.

   I have not regretted going through with this operation and I anxiously await the results.  I think the first real test will come in November, when we head back up to fish for salmon and I have the rod in my hand all day.  Then I'll know. Next year will be the left hand.