Carpal Tunnel Surgery Recovery

 Carpal Tunnel surgery for me was an experience that I didn't expect. First of all, I drive my husband and sons to work every day. The rule was that I had to be without pain meds for 24 hours before I could drive. I had made the decision before surgery that I wouldn't take the pain medicine. Too many people were depending on me. John could've driven himself, but that would've left the boys to walk to work if I couldn't drive them. We do not live that far their work place, but I didn't want them to have to walk. There were days I should've taken the meds. Tylenol and Advil didn't touch my pain but I made it through. 

Recovery itself (pain aside) wasn't that bad. I went in for the two week post-op visit and had my stitches taken out. THAT was an experience. I didn't cry or scream, but I wanted to do both! It was painful. My wrist incision healed beautifully. My elbow incision was still open and required steri-strips. I also ended up on "just in case" antibiotics, but all in all the incision did well. 

I will say that my expectations for surgery were unrealistic. I thought the pain/numbness/tingling would immediately go away once surgery was over. That hasn't been the case for me. It has greatly improved, but I still have some numbness and tingling in my hand and arm. My doctor is aware of this and I was told it can take up to 8 months for the nerves to rewire and for the pain to completely go away. That being said, I would do it again - and I am. I am going to be having the other arm done in about three weeks. 

May Weigh-Ins

 May Weigh-Ins

    2 - 219.1

    9 - 

    16 - 

    23 -

    30 -

Menopause Update

 This update is coming a week or so late. I have been at a loss for words lately and have avoided blogging. 

I had my menopause labs drawn again to see where they were since starting hormones. My estrodiol level had went up, but not where they wanted it to be so they doubled the strength of my patches. So far she's had me using two of the patches and she called in the stronger ones for when I run out of these. My progesterone level must've been fine because she left that where it was. I was started on a testosterone cream, though. I go back in for labs in three weeks to see how things are going then. They have talked to me about doing pellets, but they are so expensive and are not covered under insurance at all so right now I cannot justify them. 

April Weigh-Ins

 April Weigh-Ins

    4 - 212.9

    11 - 214.2

    18 - 214.9

    25 - 216.4

April's Goals

  Physical Health

1. Work to keep a1c in range.
2.  Keep all doctor appointments

3. Have Carpal Tunnel Surgery

Nutrition

1. Eat more protein
2. Drink more water.
3. Try one new recipe.

Fitness

1. Spend at least 20 hours on the Walking Pad this month
2. Start Weight Lifting 3 times a week
3. Keep Moving

Spiritual

1. Read 30 chapters in the Bible 
2. Complete my current Devotion book 
3. Complete "He Calls Me Daughter" Devotion

Emotional

1. Journal daily
2. Attend all therapy appointments and follow recommendations
3. Schedule a Mom's Day Out

Misc.

1. Schedule a Love Shower
2. Schedule two "fun dates" with my family
3.. Read 5 books

Carpal Tunnel

 About three-ish months ago, I started having numbness and tingling in my finger tips. This quickly turned into PAIN. It got so bad one Saturday night that it woke me up while I was sleeping. By Monday, I decided it was time to consult my doctor. I went to the doctor and he did a couple things to my hands/wrists and told me he thought I had carpal tunnel. He scheduled me for a Nerve Conduction Study and we waited. The appointment for the test came and it was very unpleasant. 

My doctor said the results showed I had moderate carpal tunnel and he referred me to a specialist. That appointment was yesterday. I really liked the doctor. He said the test showed I had MILD carpal tunnel, but after he did his exam, he said he disagreed and it was more severe than that. He only examined my right (dominate) arm. 

Let me side note here. my symptoms since my first visit with my doctor have went from my finger tips, to my entire fingers, to my entire hand, and up to my elbow. That all happened in about three months.

He gave me three options. 1) Do nothing and wait. He said given how quickly my symptoms were progressing, he didn't recommend that. 2) I could do steroid shots but they wouldn't be a permanent solution and would have to be repeated every so often. or 3) We could do surgery and see if that would help.

I am not interested in doing something that isn't a permanent fix. This is painful. It is to the point now that I can't even stand to hold John's hand on my right side. At times it makes it difficult to grip the steering wheel and the strength in that hand is decreasing. We both agreed that surgery would be the best option. He said after we did surgery on the right side we would "reevaluate and see if we wanted to do the left." 

Right now, I am waiting for the surgery coordinator to call me to schedule the surgery. I know nothing is 100%, but I am ready to get this done. He said he would be releasing two different nerves, but I do not remember what either of them where called. He said one was at my wrist and one was at/near the elbow. 

Please pray that this fixes things and for a gentle recovery. Thanks everyone! 

4.0

 No, that's not my GPA! (I wish!) I finally made it to 4.0 MPH on the Walking Pad!!! I did it yesterday for most of my walk, but today, I started and finished my walk at 4.0, except my cool down time! I am so proud of myself. That was supposed to be part of April's goals, but it ended up happening early.