Carpal tunnel surgery tomorrow..recovery time?

[Aimsmum]

I have been on the waiting list for carpal tunnel surgery for a few months, got a phone call this morning to say a cancellation had come up tomorrow and did I want the place, so I am booked in for tomorrow morning (it has slightly ruined my holiday plans! )

So now I have managed to get everything in place, DD looked after, shopping done, house tidy, work contacted etc, I was wondering if anyone had any experience of the surgery and how you felt afterwards/how long recovery was?

It is my left hand, so could be worse, I'm a lone parent (but dd is 10) and work P/T I have read on the NHS website that recovery is about 4-6 weeks, so was wondering really how accurate that was and how long to estimate that I will be off work for?

TIA

Depends what you do, but you can usually cope OK after a week unless theres lifting. It will be a bit sore, but nothing awful.

I've had both wrists done (though not at the same time!) - the first time I was on mat.leave the second time I was back at work and they signed me off for two weeks. The first few days were pretty sore and I made sure I had help with DS1 (who was around a year old) for the first 4/5 days - but by the second week I was doing most things inc. nappy changes - though obviously being 'careful' and not using the hand excessively. I had to keep the hand dry - so invested in disposable plastic gloves and put a large plastic bag over my hand - tied with an elastic band when I showered. One thing to think about is driving - if you have a manual car you may not be able to change gear for a few days. The surgery bit is fine and its all well worth it as you'll soon be tingle/pain free.

I'd say 2 weeks until the dressing is reduced and your stiches are out. Is it a manual job?

Thanks both, that doesn't sound too bad really, and i am looking forward to being pain free

I had a lump removed from the palm of the same hand about a year and a half/2 years ago and I think I was off work for 3 or 4 weeks, although that was in a different position, but by the end of it had mastered doing most things one handed and keeping my hand out of the shower

I work in a research dept, so lots of computer use, fairly big files, so not too bad.

Sorry SB, crossed posts with you there, not a manual job, so should be fine, I get full pay when off sick, so at least that is one less thing to worry about.

Starting to feel nervous now, so have decided to stuff my face, since i can't eat anything tomorrow!