So my mother is 51 years old and suffers from Carpal Tunnel. She cleans houses for a living which theres no doubt in our minds is the reason she has it. Theres really no other careers she can do, we kind of went over this before thinking of what she can do but we cant think of anything. We dont have the money to get the surgery for her and i was wondering if there was anything we could do to help her. Is there any medication or anything that helps. Aspirin and IB dont help at all. She sits up all night in pain and doesnt get any sleep. She gets maybe a few hours of sleep a night, most of her sleep is during the day when she gets home from work. And the weird thing is, the pain doesnt even happen until night. It doesnt hurt her during the day or evening, but when she lays down to go to sleep thats when it kicks in (why is that). Anyway any help would be greatly appreciate, thanks.
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My mom & Carpal Tunnel
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I'm really sorry about your mother. :frowning: I wish I knew some answers.
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If it is carpal tunnel syndrome, using braces at night and when she is doing repetitive activities should relieve a lot of the pain. Also learning about some of the pressure points in the hands. I find a good massage on my hands (even one I give myself) relieves it.
The brace should have a metal "bone" in it that comes from the palm of the hand, to up the arm past the wrist. A pharmacist will be able to help get the right fit, and bend the metal to the proper angle for your mother.
They are not that attractive, and a bit difficult to sleep in at first, but it REALLY helps!!!!
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She has a brace that we got from longs, it doesnt really help her much, i will let her know about the massage idea though, thanks for the input.
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My GF is suffering the same exact thing right now. She slept with her brace on for the first time last night and it seemed to help. She also cannot find a decent night's sleep. I asked what it could be to a nurse I work with who specializes in neurological disorders, and he told me that if she's feeling the pain at night, she's probably curling her wrists inward and tucking them in under her chin, which she does. She now makes a conscientious effort to sleep on her back with her arms straight down in front of her. The brace and sleeping on her back seem to be helping a bit, but she was crying the other morning from the pain. She feels it only at night as well, sometimes right before bed, which is weird since she hasn't even tucked them in at that point.
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I was diagnosed four years ago. The braces don't help IMMEDIATELY.But they DO help. Providing they are the right fit, and used properly;Wearing them at night prevents the curling, and wearing them during the day when your doing a repetitive activity should lessen the symptoms.Ibuprofen also helps because it is an anti-inflammatory, acetaminophen isn't going to help. The idea is to get the swelling down in the wrists. Also when doing a massage, just like any other, where it hurts when you rub, is where you need to rub, even if the pain seems to be in the wrist, sometimes (usually) the bigger muscle under the thumb is the one that needs rubbing.I go in every now and again for a cortisone shot, not fun, and if done too often can cause a lot of damage. Though, I had 3 and haven't been back for a year and a half. My doc said that sometimes the shots help someone so well, the pain never comes back. I guess though they just gave me a reprieve. I should go back now, as my hands are asleep much of the time.
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My mom usually puts her brace on at night before bed. She used to sleep on the couch with her back up against the arm of the couch kind of almost sitting up, and she said that helped a little. The IB doesnt really help her that much. I told her about the massaging
the hand/wrist thing tonight, and she tried it then went to bed so im not sure if it helped or not, i will have to ask tomorrow.