Hey all,
Where'd all my support go?? Hope everyone had a nice 4th.
Just wanted to give an update on my surgery post op. My surgeon ended up doing a subcutaneous transposition rather than a simple decompression. I would say it went well. Since day 1 I have been able to type and even drive. I took my bandages off between days 2/3 and got my stitches out yesterday. I just had the end sutures clipped and the rest are disolvable (yes!). My elbow has been numb ever since surgery day.
As far as pain goes, today was pretty bad. I have not needed to take any pain medication since surgery! Im pretty proud of that! I have whacked my elbow a bunch of times, which has brought me to tears. The incision today is pretty painful for some reason, maybe its because I am trying to use my arm normally. The incision is about 5 to 6 inches long, and is healing nicely. I was afraid I would have a huge ugly scar, and am happy to say I dont think that will be the case!
I will be making an appointment Monday to start PT/OT 2-3 times a week for 6 weeks. My next post op appt is August 4th. Hopefully by September 1st I will be able to work!
Ill keep you all updated, even if no one reads this thing.

Katie,

Your support is still here. Just busy now that it's summer. Plus dealing with some other health issues right now. Anyway, GREAT NEWS! I'm so glad you're feeling pretty good. Don't over do it though, give your body a chance to heal. My doc told me that nerves heal about an inch a month so it takes awhile, especially with a transposition. I'm impressed that you could type right away, Can you 5 finger type? If you can, I'm totally jealous.

Hang in there and take it EASY!

Chris

Yep-all 5 digits working and able to type! I still have a slight tingling in my 4th and 5th fingers, and I still have alot of the weakness. My 4th and 5th fingers also hurt alot of bend- especially when I try to squeeze my hand into a fist. The incision is still bothering me today. Tomorrow Ill be setting up an appointment for pt/ot.

That's all great to hear! Sounds like you are doing well. I'm now 9 months post-op on my right arm and I'll tell you that it gets better. For the most part, I have no more tingling in my right hand and hardly anymore "pins and needles" in my elbow. I'm still leery of the coming winter because this past winter, the cold really affected my hand. I'm hoping the extra months of healing will help this winter. I will tell you that my elbow is still numb (like novacaine from the dentist) and I think it will always be that way. Most of the time it's not noticible but I do tend to want to lean on my elbow and while it doesn't hurt, it's just plain weird with the numbness.

Good luck with the continued healing!!!

Karin

Hey Karin,

Glad to hear you're doing well. I also have numbness in my left elbow (9 months post-op), but not as much in my right (3 months out). Weird, huh? Katie, have you started your ot/pt yet? Aside from post-op nerve glides and some range of motion stuff, I didn't do much until I was 6 weeks out. I'm working on strenghthening and control of my ring and pinky fingers now. My clawing is SLOWLY improving and with effort I can bring my fingers together, so definitely big improvement there.

Take care and let us know how you're doing.

Chris