Hey Kristin! Happy August 1st!

I initially went to my own Dr. in March 09 for elbow pain, he sent me to a clueless Ortho PA that gave me cortisone injections and said it was golfers elbow... I dealt with the pain until it got so bad in both I went back to my Dr. in Sept 09, he diagnosed as bilateral neuropathy and sent me to a"real" ortho - his diagnosis was the same bilateral Cubital/Carpal brought on by my job. I then went and got my nerve testing done that confirmed that I do have moderate to severe nerve damage in both Ulnars. So, basically 1 1/2 years.

I started the Workers Comp process at work last week 7/27, have my legal representation in place and I don't expect anything to really happen for 90 days...so maybe I'll start the New Year off with my first surgery!!

Good to hear from ya!

Keenan

Hi Kristin (my sis spells it that way too!)

I am an artsy type as well and I freaked when I started having problems, especially since mine was in my right hand. I am a photographer and I'm back in school for graphic design. I also work FT on the computer. I had surgery on my right elbow and wrist(for carpal and guyon's canal syndrome) last October 5th so I'm 10 months out today. An this point, my right arm is doing really well. Sure, there's the occasional "bad day" when I have some pain in my pinkie, wrist, or an achy elbow but those are few and far between. Every month after surgery just got better. I do give props to my surgeon because he did my transposition through a very small incision (2 inches) and I credit that with a lot of my recovery.

Sadly, as I'm typing this, I'm having a bad day with my left elbow. I had that one checked in March but the EMG/NCS showed the elbow was fine and I ended up having carpal and guyon surgery on the left wrist in April. I'll be pretty peeved if I end up having to have the left elbow done but not because of the recovery time but because I could have gotten it all over with at once and I swore I never wanted to see my surgeon again (even though he rocks).

Good luck with everything. Recovery is really not that bad and I honestly don't think that it will effect your work other than for the first month or so. If you have to have surgery on the wrist, that takes longer to recover from than the elbow does. Take it one step at a time and remember that there are a lot of people here who know what you are going through!

Hello there - nice to hear from someone who has gone through this. Also good to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am so glad I found this site. I have been going crazy and so many people just do not understand.

Newest News: I had a second appt with my orthopedist a little over a week ago and was extremely disappointed. He said that since I have gone from tingling to burning - my arm is healing and to come back in 6 week if I am still in pain. "Best thing you can hear from a surgeon." I was soo not happy. He completely ignored my increase in pain and the dropsys as well as the new problems I am having with my right hand. Needless to say I am going to get a second opinion. Again, I am so glad you guys are here and people keep in touch.
Kristin

Kristin

I'm 11 months post op, and despite the fact that I've had a few complications with recovery and still can't pick up my beloved guitar and fret a chord (sob, sob), I'm not quitting yet.

From my own experience, the time to worry is when the pain tails off. In my case the nerve became compressed to 2/10ths of it normal diameter, leading to what is now apparently permanent nerve damage, as too many axons were destroyed or crushed.

I experienced occasionally pins and needles, then numbness. This in turn became pain that lasted no more than 4 weeks or so before turning out like a light. That's when the atrophy and clawing kicked in. Keep a note of changes in sensation, feeling and pain, where they are, how intense they are, and how long they last. You'd be surprised what you can forget. Share it with your doc.

Quality of life is important believe me...badger your doctor it is bad and don't leave it until it's too late, believe me.

I hope it all works out for you, and you find some relief, treatment or recovery.

Good to know what to keep an eye out for. Started keeping a "log" back in April when all of this started. My hope is that you will be able to play again. Not being able to do what you enjoy is horrible.

I had my second opinion. Love love loved this one. He actually talked to me and even better - listened to what I said. I am having a nerve test on the 20th on both arms. I know this will not be fun but need to know were I stand. No atrophy so we also started a stretching program under the care of a physical therapist. Painful right now but am hoping that it will lessen as time goes on. They do not want me to do anything more until the nerve test. I will do all possible to not have surgery.

Kristin,

Good luck with the EMG. It's not fun but not the end of the world. Hopefully the person who give it to you is kind with the needles. They aren't big ones by any means. Some of the zaps can be a bit painful and afterwards, your arms might feel a little weird.

Once I had my EMG and the doc recommended surgery, things happened pretty fast. I probably could have had surgery within a couple of weeks but waited because of work and school. My hand surgeries were actually harder to recover from than the elbow but I have long term residual numbness in my elbow that will likely never go away. I still get some minor aches and tingling in my right hand but there's no way of knowing if it's from the elbow or the hand. I was told at my last EMG that was post-op that I still show signs in my wrist and that those will likely never go away but that my elbow looked good.

Good luck with whatever path you end up going down and let us know how you're doing!

Karin