Dear all,

This is the first time I write for this forum. I feel quite relieved to find a web-community to share the condition i am in.

I am diagnosed having moderate CUTS after EMG test.
Symptoms are :

- I have no pain, never had
- numbness
- swelling
- weakness in grip
- irritation of elbow (if it is touched)

Doctor told me to have a surgery immediately. (without any EMG or even x-ray)He said it is an emergency, i shouldnt lose a sec.

To my suprise, weakness in grip lessened after i have started to take medication. In fact, weakness has diminished to a considerable degree that i can feel the regained strength clearly.

However, my doctor seemed unconcerned about this. He repeated that surgery is a must. I have this condition (numbness) for around two weeks. Within one week time, strength has come back. Numbness persists.

There is no pain and i stopped all the left arm activities other than squeezing a ball for my fingers. I have no claw, no cold hand, no pain.

What shall i do in such conditions ? Doctor is still in favor of surgery. Shall i get a 2nd opinion ? Is it common that strength returns in CUTS in 1 week time after the medication ?

thanks

Greetings, hope you are continuing to get improvement in the early stages of this thing. If you've searched this forum & read all, sure you realize there is much complexity involved. There are levels of progression and of course the one that drives us all to do something is PAIN. Being optimistic, we all hope the other will improve on it's own or not be something we can't live with. How long you let it go is a personal matter but if you've tried all the preventative measures and it seems not to respond to a level you can live with you probably need to do it.....I guess what interests me is that your Dr says it's an emergency and you need to do something right away... My Dr urged me to get a 2nd opinion (said I had time) mine being a lot more/worse symptoms than you. I believe you should too. Try to find one in your area that specializes in hand/elbow/arm. Whether He/she be Ortho/ Neuro/ Plastic and how familiar they are with this condition.Good luck and let us know......Jennifaux

Thanks for the advice. I really need to hear more about my condition before i take the surgery route. I am glad that such a forum exist. What a relief.

The problem is i dont understand why weakness decreased but numbness persists. I guess i need another EMG or stg. to discover.

Your doctor's advice is important, of course, but given you've only had your symptoms for two weeks (and no pain), and given that you're already seeing improvement in grip strength after a week of pain medication, you may wish to pursue conservative treatment for a while longer to see if you continue to improve. Did the doctor reveal why the rush to surgery? Does he feel your ulnar nerve is being blocked in a serious way? Is he a hand doctor or surgeon, as opposed to just a family doctor? Also (last question, promise) do you have any idea what caused your CuTS in the first place? Sometimes simply stopping or modifying the activity that caused your CuTS (e.g., stop sleeping on bent elbows) will immediately result in a reduction of symptoms.

The advice I give is to listen to your doctor, but if what he/she says doesn't seem or feel right, then get a second opinion. A good doctor will never mind a second opinion, and in fact, usually welcomes it because it lessens their risk if there is a corroborating opinion.

x2 on the second opinion... it can never hurt... i saw 4 surgeons before getting my surgery.

Is the numbness constant- i was advised that once symptoms reach this level surgery should be performed sooner rather than later.. that said jumping into surgery after only two weeks of the problem seems quick

are you splinting the arm at night?

Thanks for your interest and consideration.

I finally went to a hand surgeon with my EGM and took 2nd opinion. He said there is no rush for surgery and even lessened my medication intake. I will buy a splint on Monday and after 1 month I will get another EGM to see the progress.

After all, weakness decreased but numbness persists. Surgeon said that recovery of numbness is very slow. I have to emphasize the fact that numbness is very much alive and I feel like there is no change in its condition for 3 weeks.

Do u think this indicates something ?