Idiopathic SFN and onset of carpal tunnel syndrome

Wear wrist braces at night. You can get them pretty cheap.

Hi @julbpat, I also have carpal tunnel in both hands but the left hand is a little worse. I've used wrist braces as suggested by @jemock and they did help with my right hand. It is a fairly inexpensive thing to try. I went to a Mayo hand specialist and had a cortisone shot but it didn't last long. I've thought about surgery which can help but the pain doesn't seem bad enough for me to look at surgery right now.

Here are a couple of articles that you might find helpful:
-- 9 Home Remedies for Carpal Tunnel Relief:
https://www.healthline.com/health/home-remedies-for-carpal-tunnel
-- Carpal tunnel exercises: Can they relieve symptoms?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/expert-answers/carpal-tunnel-exercises/faq-20058125

I have large padded wrist immobilizer braces that I can wear at night. I don’t like wearing them on both wrists at night because they are so cumbersome and unnatural. Have you found something lighter?

I've had some serious carpal tunnel mostly in my right wrist from working in technology since 70s. I haven't gotten surgery, because none of the many people I've known who've gotten it got enough relief to be glad they'd gotten it.

So I've got an assortment of wrist supports I use, depending on how much pain I'm having. Knit arthritis gloves, the clunky night ones with the huge pad inside the palm of your hand, and my favorites, which are my Mueller Green Fitted Wrist Braces. I just looked it up to be sure I have the right name. What I like so much about them is that they'd not as drastic as the night braces, but are more supportive than the knit arthritis gloves. Plus they have the most wonderful soft knit lining that makes a world of difference for comfort for me.

Best wishes,
Cookie

Thanks Cookie. I can easily get those Mueller ones. I searched through my bins of various splints, and found one.

My Nerve Conduction Study today showed carpal tunnel in both wrists, and right ulnar nerve compression at the elbow. I'm going to find out if/why SNF caused this. My theory is that pain in my hands (and weakness) gradually changed the way I hold my hands when awake. I keep them curled, sometimes even weirdly resting them on my chest, I think because my shoulders feel weak. I'm always propping some part of my body on something these days. Maybe all that curled hand position, along with whatever bad stuff I do while sleeping, has gradually inflamed my wrists.

It's always something. My third and hopefully final EMG/NCS - torture!

I’d be interested in what type/brand/length either you or @johnbishop can recommend as I have the sleep issue too, but told a couple of years ago it was carpal tunnel. I’m looking for something extremely light, because even the weight of one arm laying over the other arm has my arms turn numb and motionless. I’m almost tempted to buy those kiddie swim arm floater things to lightly inflate around the wrists and arms but know it’s not practical as they’d be bulky and slide

I have two different brands of night braces and forced myself to wear both last night. The Futuro brand (it’s blue) is my favorite. It’s easy to find in drugstores or on Amazon. It’s labeled for carpal tunnel at night.

I’m going to be diligent about treating this. I don’t want permanent nerve damage in my hands, and I don’t want surgery!

I bought 2 different ones. Here's the Mueller I bought. It does a good job of immobilizing the wrist and is not too bad for sleeping. Works on either hand. The other one I think I bought at WallyMart and I think it was a little better for sleeping. It had a built in palm pad which made it feel a little more comfortable (for me anyway).

Thanks John - always nice to get exact recommendations on what’s been tried and tested. I like the idea of the palm support. I will try, as the constant waking up feeling like hands and arms are paralyzed is quite frightening. Thanks again!

My serious carpal tunnel symptoms kind of disappeared after I retired and stopped using a laptop or keyboard 8 hours a day. I only do 2 hours and do more speech to typing now to save my wrists. At 70 I do not want or need any unnecessary surgery. I agree John Bishop!