Ethical safe diagnosis and time wasted
I recently consulted with my GP regarding strange tingling in my fingers and a definite numbness in 6 fingers and both thumbs.
I thought it was CPS (never want to make useless appointments with doctor) My doctor said she thought I was wrong and suggested it could be circulation problems. (family history) She said she would refer me to a specialist.
I received a telephone call from the GP surgery to tell me that I could not have an appointment but had to ware splints for 8 weeks before anybody would see me.
I fail to understand this, what seems to be, over the phone diagnosis. I can see the point of splints IF its CPS but what damage could be done if the problem is circulation. I am diabetic, and insulin dependant. I know what can happen with diabetes and circulation problems.
I feel that a proper diagnosis should be done before treatment for any illness is carried out.
Thank you for listening
Jane Wilson
I am an East Kent patient...I have taken your advise and completed the questioner . I states a 91% probability. I take it that this is fairly accurate but will the splints bring back the feeling in my fingers. I live on my own and tend to knit and sew for comfort. While not attempting to extract sympathy I would like to be able to do these things again quite soon.
I note from some patients on the forum that they seem to adorn the splints at night. Does this mean that's when they are worn or are they applied anytime or all the time.
Thank your for listening (yet again)
and thank you for your help
Jane Wilson
A 91% score makes it almost certain that the problem is CTS and not circulation. Patients with very high scores also tend to have quite severe CTS so it may be beyond splinting but it's worth a try. Most people only wear splints at night but they are easy enough to take on and off and you can experiment. With that sort of score your GP should refer you to us for testing if symptoms are not markedly better after a fortnight with splints - that's long enough to know whether they are going to be dramatically effective. JB
Are you an East Kent patient? If not I will move this to the general CTS forum. Trying a splint for a few weeks is essentially harmless and not likely to aggravate any other problem except in the sense of delaying diagnosis. In the context of CTS I view the response to splinting as a useful piece of information in the process of trying to make a diagnosis. You can make a pretty good start on this by doing the questionnaire here on the website. It is fairly accurate in assessing how likely you are to have CTS - and the distribution you describe sounds more like CTS than circulation problems - though it is a little less accurate in diabetic patients than non-diabetic ones. JB