Since I've hung out over here. Good to be back. I've just been busy - I'm sure everyone knows what that's like. I don't have anything of any particular value to add, just saying heya. I had carpal tunnel surgery last week on my right hand. I can feel my fingers again, so at least I got that going for me. Trouble is, my hand is much weaker than I expected a week out from surgery. I can barely hold a coffee pot this morning. That sure as h3ll better come back. Follow up appointment tomorrow - they're going to explain what's up with it. That's why I'm here, I'm stuck at my desk catching up on paperwork cuz I can't bend wrenches again yet, and I can't handle sitting around the house another day. Anyhow, thanks for helping me with my boredom today Peace out.
Hello glad you are back. I felt I should speak up as I myself have been inactive here at HEF until my recent hospitalization and inability to turn wrenches too. I know I have never been a big contributor here yet I do keep an eye out to what is going on and if I do chime in usually my comments are brief. Anyways..I am bored too. cheers Jake
Take it easy guys, put yer feet up. Some times rest is "The" most important thing, especially after surgery. Don't be in too much of a hurry, a week or few is nothing in the great scheme of things. And when you get back to it, put some pictures on here
Yeah, just take it easy and listen to the specialists. I know a few people who expected miracles right after surgery only to be disappointed because they didn't take enough time to let themselves heal. One guy I know had shoulder surgery and went back to wrenching on vehicles 2 days later. Then he says the surgery wasn't successful. Not if you expect instant improvement.
If the doc says take it easy and blah blah blah blah for a year, better make it two. Doc told me I was good to fifty pounds. Get in a shipment of pallets of copy paper, 500 to 800 cases in a shipment. Every box weighs exactly 50 pounds. After four shipments and loading those bixes onto a hand truck, four at a time, pushing them up a ramp then stacking each box, hips and legs got to burning on a walk or going up an incline. X-Ray showed hardware in my back was shifting, and, a pin had fractured plumb off. I had to quit my job and stll have not found a lighter form of employment. If doc says take it easy for six months, make it a year. Thats all, welcome back.
The doc couldn't have had that kind of scenario in his mind lol, did you get to see the same person again? I've had messes a bit along the same lines and found it embarrassing to explain to the Dr why I was back in their consultation room... These days I prefer boredom to early failures, or even better - watch a bunch of movies
Nope, not the same doc. This doc was the one that explained that there was a pin ir a screw that was busted off. He did explain that if it got bad enough he could remove it, or possibly them. He said the bone embedded titanium disks are totally fused to the other two vertebrae and now these pins and straps is just there, doing nothing really, I think, what He said. Its getting close to removal time I think. We shall see.
I had carpal tunnel surgery on both my wrists. I was told it would be at least five weeks before the Doctor would let me go back to work. Both surgeries were 100% successful and its been 30 years. Don't get in a hurry!
Right on. Welcome back.
Hope your hand strength comes back. You're probably going to notice cold weather for a while. One of my guys had a knee replaced this past June, and he doesn't have the pain he used to, but he does get worn out if he has to do a lot of walking or ladders.
X 2. New knee Dec 2 last year.
Yes in my case doc says a minimum of 6 months to heal; I have been injured in the past but always had a cavilier skeptisim of taking reccomended precautions. This time I will be taking it easy and listening to the specialists; because right now you could knock me over with a feather!
My wife had a knee replaced 2 weeks ago, and her other knee replaced 6 weeks before that. Between her stuff and my stuff, our house looks like a dang CVS threw up in there Yeah I hear ya on the healing. Gotta be patient. Funny thing I can be patient torquing crank mains, but not at all when it comes to me. It's not helping I already have customers asking when I can get back out there. Ugh. Also we are having simply gorgeous weather around here. It was almost 70 the other day. I just need to keep my head down and stay focused.
you'll make it back OK, OP. I had both Carps Tunneled 5 years ago. Nice to be able to feel again.
Sounds like you got the right idea "gotta be patient" now if only the customers could be so. I hate being cooped up especially when the weather is nice. My wife noticed my footprints in the snow leading to my shop to see if I could figure out where I left off on a Mack I was working on. I got a firm talking to; so I to shall remain off my feet(5 fractured ribs a collapsed lung with a hole in it) and be patient in healing. Cheers OP
I can relate to the "CVS threw up in here" comment, OP. My wife fell on Dec 7 and fractured her pelvis in 4 places and spent a week in the hospital. I stuffed a loveseat in the corner, and brought in a power sit to stand chair, a commode/shower chair, a wheelchair, a walker, and rearranged furniture in our small home. She got a much needed giggle out of your description.
Well surgery stuff is no joke, even if the weakness is frustrating as hell. Good to see you back. Getting the feeling back is a win. Desk work beats being stuck at home losing your mind. Heal up and take it easy
I had both of mine done one month apart (cut not laparoscopy) in my late 30s. Stitches out in a week. 90% with in a month. 100% successful. I had youth on my side at the time to help with a fast recovery. It’s not a bad procedure, if you need it don’t put it off.
I am guessing yours was carpal tunnel surgery. Is it that much better that fast. Just looking for information on it. Simon C
Yes, carpal tunnel. Immediate relief. Outpatient. You’re awake the entire time. Local 3 shots in the hand. If memory serves I believe it was about a half hour or so. I watched the Dr preform the whole procedure. Really weird seeing yourself being cut and not felling a thing. The best part was watching him stitch it up. Tip: Unless your wife is pretty easy going, don’t remove your own stitches at the kitchen table. I removed mine from the second operation after the nurse who removed the stitches from the first hand pulled the knots through the skin. I figured I couldn’t do any worse, and I didn’t, but what I didn’t figure on was my wife, who is not cool with that type of activity, walking in when I had about half of them out.
Sounds like the nurse wasn't too bright.
Thanks for sharing your operation. I get light numbness the odd time but not the whole day on my left hand. After 40 years mechanicing, cannot complain too much. How long before you could wrench and not feel the incision sensitivity. Simon C
The recovery wasn’t bad at all. One week and stitches out, 30 days later they did the other hand. No time off from work for me, but I’m self employed… I would think you could get a week off if you wanted. As soon as the Novocain wears off you have all your feeling back without the numbness from carpal tunnel symptoms. Then it’s just regular healing time. I want to say I was almost 100% with in a month. I don’t think they really cut any muscle, I don’t recall having any strength issues. No symptoms to this day. My hands do ache with use but I think that’s from age and just working hard. In my prime I welded a lot of pipe and tube by “walking the cup”. Lots of wrist and hand use. Hell any type of welding, it’s all rough on the hands. That and just the daily abuse caught up to me. Don’t use your hand as a hammer the Dr told me.
The procedure was quick, local shots no problem. I had to drive myself so I could do a general. In an out in about an hour. Had to stay bandaged up for a few days but that's long gone now. Hand strength is at about 75%. I went back to work on Friday, just a few small jobs but it was good to be back out. Interesting thing - nothing to do with heavy equipment - I've been a motorcycle enthusiast my whole life, and I've ridden lot of bikes in a lot of ways, as you can probably imagine of a 50(ish) year old. Anyway my current road bike is a 99 Kawasaki Concours. Bit of a pig but it does what I need right now. I took it out for about an hour today, and I didn't have to take my throttle hand off once. Not once. For as long as I can remember I've had to shake it off every few minutes, no matter what bike, what kind of riding... didn't matter. With the exception of a 6 cylinder Goldwing I rode once, I just thought that was part of motorcycling. Didn't happen today.
Carpel tunnel isn't uncommon with welders. When I see video's of welders doing doing figure 8 weaves with Tig I can only imagine the after affects of doing it on a regular basis. Just to keep the weave consistent requires a lot of skill and practice. I never did much Tig but did a bunch of Mig root passes on pipe and vessels. Especially on large diameter vessels holding the gun and doing a slow twist of the wrist side to side you can really notice the effects on your wrist and hand from holding the Mig gun.