Carpal tunnel syndrome

[Eyelashwishes]

I'm currently almost 40 weeks of my 2nd pregnancy and have carpel tunnel syndrome. I got it with my first pregnancy too but nowhere neat as bad as this. It got better after my first child was born, but never went away completely.

I'm at the point where I can't sleep because of it, I don't feel it's safe for me to drive because my grip is so bad,I can hardly write of use my hands for longer than a couple of minutes! I'm really worried about how I'm going to manage a toddler and a newborn if this doesn't go away after she's born.

Did anyone else have it this bad and can you reassure me that it goes away 😭 my midwife did tell me its due to the swelling that it's is so bad and as that reduces after birth it should improve. How long did it take for you if you had it? Thanks in advance!

@Eyelashwishes sorry to hear you're going through this, I had the same from about 17 weeks pregnant and in the end lost feeling 3 of my fingers, it's really awful. I would advise you to book a GP appointment and ask for steroid injections in your wrists. I've had two lots so far and they have completely resolved the carpal tunnel. I'm nearly 36 weeks now and have no pain or numbness in the night.

There was only one GP at my surgery trained to give the injections so might be worth asking the receptionist to get a quicker appointment. The GP I spoke to said things should go back to normal in terms of swelling etc within a month of giving birth so it sounds like having the injections at 40 weeks still might be beneficial for you x

Hiya, thanks so much for your reply. I'm so sorry you had it from so early I can't imagine how bad that was! I'm starting to lose the feeling in a couple of fingers and it's just horrible.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I have been put on a waiting list for steroid injections, but was told the list is quite long. Interesting to hear how much they helped you though, did they hurt?

I had carpal tunnel from around 20 weeks and it was horrendous. It went completely as soon as my baby was born. I hope this gives you some hope!

I’ve had it in all my pregnancies. It went immediately after the birth. I have it again and my grip is really bad this time round hoping it goes again after the birth.

mine was awful but it's almost gone 4 months after birth.. Still a bit of a weaker grip than I used to have, but generally OK and most feeling has come back. I decided against the injections as it clearly is finally resolving Itself.
I wore splits 24/7 though , its the only way I could be ok.

@Eyelashwishes ah, perhaps there isn't a trained GP at your surgery or something... I would say it was an intense pain in my hands for 24/36 hours after having the injections, but for me that was totally worth it to alleviate the long term pain!

Looks like other people on here have said it resolved immediately after birth for them and as you're so close hopefully it will be the same for you 🤞🏼. I did have a friend who paid privately for an injection but I've no idea how much it was, but could potentially be an option after birth if you're still struggling. Hope all goes well for you!