Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

[Passport1]

Right hand gets ice cold. I had a nerve transmission test and the results were equivocal for CPS. I saw a hand specialist and after examining the hand he declined to do the surgery because he said I didn't have any problem with my wrist. Suggested it might be a vascular issue higher up in my arm. I've done a lot of mechanical work in my life but the thought of grabbing onto a cold wrench today makes me wince. Cold weather exacerbates the issue. I wear a splint w/little improvement. I guess I'll just have to wait for warmer weather.

Anybody else have this issue?

 

[Lubener]

I have the same problem with my right hand. I never went to the doctor and never suspected CTS. What's weird my right hand can be very cold for a long while and then warms back up on its own and then go back cold again. All this happens indoors.

 

[Astro14]

From your description, your hands get cold, the doc doesn’t think you have carpal tunnel, and your doc suggests a vascular issue.

You need to see a vascular specialist. Follow your doctor’s recommendation.

Internet diagnosis by amateurs is not a great second opinion.

It’s not clear what you actually have. If it’s actually Carpal Tunnel, there are therapies, and surgeries, that can be very effective.

Therapy was ineffective in my case. Surgery (on both of my hands) worked great. No more Carpal tunnel syndrome. Properly diagnosed and treated.

 

[JohnnyG]

Yes, I had numbness in both hands, Ice cold, nerve conduction test said definite carpal tunnel. Turned out to be an early warning sign of a heart attack!
I don't mean to scare you or give out medical advice, mostly because I had just undergon a stress test 2 months prior, which showed nothing. The point is, most of the time they don't even know!
The telling part of my story is this: Had the numbness in both hands, had the hand operation on my right hand only, with intention of getting the other one done later, HAD THE BLOCKAGE, 2 stents put in, Both hands cleared up!

 

[ecotourist]

Carpal tunnel syndrome doesn't make a hand "go cold". It causes numbness and tingling in a characteristic distribution, often at night, and often relieved by shaking the hand in a characteristic way.

Suggest you read up on "hand-arm vibration syndrome" and "Raynaud's syndrome".

 

[AutoMechanic]

My mom had carpel tunnel. Never got cold or anything she just would go numb in the wrist. Had the surgery and it went away for awhile.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I had carpel tunnel in both hands, got pretty bad in 2000. I had bi-lateral carpel tunnel release (cutting the band at the wrist) in June 2001. Yes, both hands at the same time. It was when the major slice and dice surgery was weaning off and the latest technology was two small incisions, one for a camera, the other for the laser. I had the laser.

In the hospital at 5 am, I was eating (trying to) lunch at noon at some chain restaurant before we drove home. Very painful (soreness) for 3-5 days, do not hit or boldly touch anything with the heel of you hand for 6 months. It's been almost 20 years and I have no returning symptoms.

I recommend finding a highly qualified hand/arm surgeon, get tested and let them guide you. My testing showed it was so severe that the surgeon didn't hesitate, he said "what do you want me to do?" I said "fix it." He said be here at 5 am tomorrow. They will tell you what to do at the check-out desk.

 

[PimTac]

Simple test to check for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Extend the affected hand out with palm down and tuck your thumb under the hand. Bend your hand down till it’s pointing to the floor. Hold for ten seconds then release.

If you have CTS it will be painful going up your wrist and arm.

 

[benjy]

prolly not CTS but if it were adding up to 150 mg of B-6 would likely control or even cure it, as it did for my girlfriend a factory worker. i dont know your overall health which is important + not a DR but learned a LOT from reading. our SICK Care system runs on $$$$ garnered from people who abuse their bodies!!! take type II diabetes its CURABLE but modern medicine says no + following their high carb diet will make it worse!! check out Dr Sten Ekburg + Dr Ken D Berry to learn a LOT. good luck + getting truely healthy is the ANSWER in many cases, as Dr Sten Ekburg often says. hes my fav as he EXPLAINS " how the body works" BUT few people are willing to change their POOR eating habits even thou its a CHEEP CURE! just look around at the MANY OBESE people today!!!

 

[JeffKeryk]

Carpal tunnel does not cause cold hands. I had severe carpal tunnel in my left hand. I am left handed. I waited like 10 years to deal with it because I was caring for my parents. A lot of needles pain all the way up my arm to elbow. Surgery and therapy worked a miracle.

I believe you have something else.
Good luck.

 

[ecotourist]

You need the correct diagnosis first. Carpal tunnel surgery does not help if you don't have carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

[BISCUT]

A hand "specialist" seems critical from the posting. There are not a lot of really good hand specialists out there. I learned this a decade ago firsthand form one of my cops. A horrendous section of roadway around Bear Mt. Parkway originally engineered under the "Great Deal." While it sure did put men to work and did it well, the engineering was rushed and there was little forethought to future growth.

A winter month with snow and ice on the ground. Morning rush hour and a minor accident. It's killing not to say the cops name as it's one of the best names EVER!!!! Think cereal. A car uninvolved in the MVA looses control and is headed for him directly. He was a tall wiry guy and was luckily able to see it coming and threw himself backward (backdrop is a guardrail and 40ft wall of stone). The result was a severe elbow injury, causing nerve damage to his hand.

Over the course of a year he saw more than 8 doctors in the NYC area and the prognosis was not good. I recommended he speak to a dr in the group I used for my knee in 2001. They had a hand specialist. This group does stars (even Al Roker in the day!) pro football and pro soccer players. He met dr. Pianka in (Hudson Valley Bone and Joint) and this doctor fixed him up where the rest said not much you can do.

Travel if you need too, find the right doctor as there is no going back in a lot of these situations. Good luck.

 

[benjy]

our health or lack of it can be attributed to many things + even dr prescribed meds can cause issues. have an old book about vitamins before the net + theres a list of things that deplete certain vitamins in there, b-6 being one thats depleted by Premarin the female hormone replacement + i surely cant forget Mercks dirty little secret! they made a cholesterol medication with 100 mg of coenzyme Q10 because it gets depleted + is VERY important for heart health BUT they never sold it!!! a dr thats nutritionally smart as well as their regular knowledge is a lucky find!!

 

[Passport1]

Had the doppler studies and they were negative. My doctor said maybe I had a vascular spasm in my wrist. I'm going to return the the hand surgeon and ask to have the procedure. If it doesn't grant me relief then I'll just live with the problem. Sux to get old.

 

[Job]

I hope you follow above advice and go to the correct specialists referred by your primary care doctor. Find out what’s wrong in a logical manner. Hope you find out what’s wrong and correct it.

 

[Mazomopar]

I think ecotourism is on right track with Raynauds. Repetitive use, vibration increases odds of occurrence. When you say it feels cold, if you put both hands on someone's face, would they say "holy cow, that right hand is cold" or does it feel cold just to you " on the inside" as it were. Raynauds will cause vasospams, making the vessel clamp down. Usually out at the microvascular level. The vessel doesn't have an actual arterial blockage. When the vasospams stop, vessel allows arterial flow to resume. Different people have different triggers. We at onetime would immerse hands or feet in ice water to induce a spasm and retest. At onetime Raynauds belonged to the vascular side of the street but more lately it is treated more as an autoimmune disease similar to rheumatology issues.

 

[JeffKeryk]

If the doctors you have seen cannot diagnose your problem, please seek out another doctor.
I waited way to long, coupled with lousy doctors, and suffered because of it.
I changed insurance to Stanford Hospital. Only then did I get results.
Good luck.

After the staiches were removed. No way could I make a fist until after physical therapy. Fingers all swollen.
Far better today.