Chronic pain from median nerve damage
I am a nurse and had severe carpal tunnel in both hands and had surgery several years ago. I was misdiagnosed in 1991, as the consultant said it was my sleeping position causing the numbness, so I ignored the symptoms for 20 years as I didn’t have severe pain until a few years ago then was rediagnosed hence the surgery. The surgery stopped the hand tingling and numbness but I still have burning and prickling pain in my arms which is sometimes in lower arm and sometimes upper arm or neck. An MRI cleared my neck. I am now needing increasing amounts of chronic pain medication as years progress and I am looking for any general advice and opinion on whether lidocaine patches would be any help? I also want to warn others not to ignore or put off carpal tunnel surgery or they could get permanent median nerve damage as I am told I have.
Thank you for that. They repeated my EMG after surgery and said my scores had improved and I asked for another EMG 2 years ago which led neurologist to say I would not get a satisfactory result from repeated CTS surgery. ( I just wanted to get my pain decreased).I do not know the actual results. If you could advise me on who to ask to be referred to, I would be grateful. I am considering a chiropractor since your reply as I would do anything to get my life back.
One might guess that the post-operative NCS are either improved or normal from the neurologists comment but it would be interesting to see them. It sounds as though you have already explored several possibilities, including neurology, so it's hard to know what to suggest. Rheumatologists, hand surgeons, neurologists, pain clinics, physiotherapists and some alternative practitioners (such as chiropractors) all sometimes have apparent success in treating odd pains in the arms but I don't think any of us have guaranteed fixes, especially when the diagnosis is obscure. I think that's as far as I can get on the web where I only really have very limited information available. Your best guide to who is a useful opinion local to your area will usually be your GP, especially if he/she has been there a long time, in which case they are likely to have lots of experience of the local services. Good luck with getting it treated, and if a clear diagnosis does become apparent I would love to hear what it is. JB
In one sense the original comment that it was 'sleeping position' was correct - it is probably mostly the position we sleep in that aggravates CTS and makes the symptoms worse at night... but it's still CTS. Persistent burning/prickling pain which is in the arm but NOT in the hand is quite unlikely to be due to permanent nerve damage from CTS and other causes should be pursued despite the 'clear' MRI. Lidocaine patches are a fairly harmless experiment I think, though I am not an authority on their use. What do your post-operative NCS results look like? JB