[Macd123]

I keep asking if I exhausted all the alternatives, should I get another opinion (I’ve got two already), I don’t want to take pain meds, I don’t want to be ambulatory for a lengthy time - all this is in my head 😱😱😱😱😱

[*Laurie*]

What is the reason you are having arm surgery?

[Skeezyks]

I'm sorry I don't recall what your arm surgery is about. I do recall reading one of your previous posts on the subject. I don't know as there is really much of anything I can offer with regard to this. You mentioned you've already gotten 2 opinions. If you get another, what you'll then have is 3 opinions. But, in the end, you'll still have to make up your mind as to which one you want to go with. Maybe yet another opinion will be helpful. But maybe it will just muddy the waters further. Of course you won't know until you've done it.

I don't know if you're familiar with it. But PsychCentral has a sister website: "NeuroTalk". (Maybe I mentioned it in a reply to one of your previous posts?) Anyway... you might take a look at the forums over there & see if you see anything you think might be of benefit. There are a lot of members over there who are knowledgeable with regard to a wide range of medical conditions. Here's a link:

https://www.neurotalk.org/

[Macd123]

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

What is the reason you are having arm surgery?

It’s my ulnar nerve - my fingers are numb because the nerve is compressed. The surgeon thought it was the best route to save the nerve - it’s a common procedure but there are more conservative treatments that I haven’t tried. There is a chance that I could lose the feeling in my hand. There’s also a fairly long recovery period with the nerve surgery. Both opinions recommended the surgery - one doctor didn’t think it would get better without surgery. I should probably trust the doctors????? No guarantees though ☹️☹️☹️

[Nammu]

I put off back surgery for years cause I didn't want to go though that....I was on pain meds though cause the pain was unbearable....finally my pain doc said there was nothing else they could do and referred me to a third surgeon. I liked him immediately and agreed to the back fusion and it was life altering. I had had two other surgeons say surgery was the answer previously. He relieved the pressure on my spinal nerve and I'm not in constant pain any more. Maybe what you need is to find the right surgeon? I just trusted the thrird one so much more, the other two were fine people but there was something special about the thrird one.

[Macd123]

Originally Posted by Nammu

I put off back surgery for years cause I didn't want to go though that....I was on pain meds though cause the pain was unbearable....finally my pain doc said there was nothing else they could do and referred me to a third surgeon. I liked him immediately and agreed to the back fusion and it was life altering. I had had two other surgeons say surgery was the answer previously. He relieved the pressure on my spinal nerve and I'm not in constant pain any more. Maybe what you need is to find the right surgeon? I just trusted the thrird one so much more, the other two were fine people but there was something special about the thrird one.

The one doing the surgery is supposed to be very good!!!!!

[guilloche]

Macd123...

I don't really know anything ulnar nerve surgery. But, several years ago, I started having intense pain in my hands... to the point where it hurt to hold up a glass of water or steer my car.

After being misdiagnosed with carpal tunnel and bouncing around a bit between medical providers, I found an amazing chiropractor and a massage therapist that worked out of her office.

It took a good amount of time, and I took a month off work (no typing for a month!) - but between the chiro, the massage (weekly, covered by insurance since it was prescribed to deal with a specific issue), stretching, resting, and self-massage (to work on the fascia) - it eventually got better. I'm fine now - I play piano (I had to stop in the middle of all this) and continue working at a job that requires typing every day.

The massage therapist said that she saw people frequently that were misdiagnosed with carpal tunnel and were about to get a surgery that often left people worse off, without fixing the pain. It doesn't seem uncommon.

As I said, I literally know NOTHING about the ulnar nerve or what kind of problems you might be having... but if you're worried and you have other, less invasive options to try first - why not try them?

A book that I found incredibly helpful was, "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" (by Clair Davies and Amber Davies).

The idea is that when your fascia (the sticky webbing that holds everything in place inside you) gets knots or trigger points or "stuck" (hardens sometimes from injury or stress, so that it can't stretch the way it's supposed to) - it can refer pain. You might feel it in your arm, but it might be coming from your neck, for example. The book lets you look up where you're having pain, then tells you where it might be referred from - i.e. where to do self massage.

I don't think I would have gotten better without the self massage. When I started, literally every place on my arm that I tried to massage hurt very badly...

Anyway, it's worth looking at if you're worried about the surgery. I'd recommend trying to find a really good massage therapist that understands "medical massage" and fascia/trigger points (I've had better luck looking for massage therapists that work out of chiro offices, since they're usually working with the chiro to try to fix something).

There's also a ton of info online if you look up trigger points, and probably fascia massage. You can also just start by working on your arms, and focus on places that hurt (my rule was that if it hurts, it needs massage). Don't torture yourself, but work on those spots. It's better to do a little (but deeply) - like ~10 deep strokes on a sore spot - but to come back to it several times a day (rather than spending a lot of time on one spot, then not touching it again for 24 hours).

Like I said, I'm not sure if this is relevant to the stuff going on with you, but it sounded similar. It did take a LONG time to get "back to normal" - it was slow progress, but there was progress along the way.

Hope this gives you some ideas. If you do decide to do the surgery, I hope it works out and that you're back on your feet, feeling better, quickly. Good luck!

Is there a possibility to have the doctor, surgeon, and psychiatrist have a consultation together?

[Rose76]

Posts above make good points. Generally speaking, you want to exhaust conservative treatments before you go under the knife. Surgery of any kind to any body part comes with risks. There is no eliminating that. Surgeons are the first to tell you that. But there's another angle to look at, regarding risk.

I would think that the longer you allow a nerve to be subject to compression, the greater the potential for the nerve to become permanently damaged. There can be inflammatory processes going on affecting the ulner nerve and the ligaments/tendons in the elbow that cause pathological changes to the area. Surgeons think about the risks of postponing surgery.

I've heard that surgeons always want to cut, and I used to believe that. Then I got referred to surgeons. To my surprise they were more conservative than the doctors who referred me, in wanting to try other measures before resorting to surgery. My primary care doctor was just about sure that I needed surgery on my heel for Achilles tendonitis. I had been limping for a couple of months. Well, the surgeon put me on Indocin, and the problem went completely away. Then I stopped needing the Indocin and the problem hasn't come back. Xrays show there is permanent damage in the area, but I have no symptoms now, so the surgeon sees no reason to cut. So surgeons aren't as "knife-happy" as I used to think. For another problem in my foot another surgeon explained that a surgical procedure could possibly help. But, he said, there was a good chance that surgery would not help at all, or might even make the problem worse. He sounded real unenthused about doing the surgery, so I haven't gone ahead with it. Most of the time my foot issue doesn't stop me doing normal things.

What's pivotal, IMO, is the integrity of the surgeon. Is he/she recognizing and acknowledging the downsides of the surgery? Also, how experienced is the surgeon in doing this procedure? Has he/she done this procedure hundreds of time? If he has, he's had some outcomes that weren't as good as hoped for. I would flat out ask about that: " So, Dr. X, tell me about some things you've seen go wrong with this surgery." If he evades that question, then I wouldn't trust him.

[Macd123]

Originally Posted by Rose76

Posts above make good points. Generally speaking, you want to exhaust conservative treatments before you go under the knife. Surgery of any kind to any body part comes with risks. There is no eliminating that. Surgeons are the first to tell you that. But there's another angle to look at, regarding risk.

I would think that the longer you allow a nerve to be subject to compression, the greater the potential for the nerve to become permanently damaged. There can be inflammatory processes going on affecting the ulner nerve and the ligaments/tendons in the elbow that cause pathological changes to the area. Surgeons think about the risks of postponing surgery.

I've heard that surgeons always want to cut, and I used to believe that. Then I got referred to surgeons. To my surprise they were more conservative than the doctors who referred me, in wanting to try other measures before resorting to surgery. My primary care doctor was just about sure that I needed surgery on my heel for Achilles tendonitis. I had been limping for a couple of months. Well, the surgeon put me on Indocin, and the problem went completely away. Then I stopped needing the Indocin and the problem hasn't come back. Xrays show there is permanent damage in the area, but I have no symptoms now, so the surgeon sees no reason to cut. So surgeons aren't as "knife-happy" as I used to think. For another problem in my foot another surgeon explained that a surgical procedure could possibly help. But, he said, there was a good chance that surgery would not help at all, or might even make the problem worse. He sounded real unenthused about doing the surgery, so I haven't gone ahead with it. Most of the time my foot issue doesn't stop me doing normal things.

What's pivotal, IMO, is the integrity of the surgeon. Is he/she recognizing and acknowledging the downsides of the surgery? Also, how experienced is the surgeon in doing this procedure? Has he/she done this procedure hundreds of time? If he has, he's had some outcomes that weren't as good as hoped for. I would flat out ask about that: " So, Dr. X, tell me about some things you've seen go wrong with this surgery." If he evades that question, then I wouldn't trust him.

Thanks I’m going in Monday - I’ve had two surgeons tell it was a good idea. My hand is numb and my two fingers aren’t working too good. I’d love to believe I could go another route but the doctors didn’t really think that was a good idea. They thought that it had progressed to a point where surgery would be the best way to prevent more damage. I’m really nervous and hope I’m doing the right thing....thank you!

[Rose76]

Avoiding more damage would be a real strong case for going ahead with the surgery. I hope it works out for you.

[Artchic528]

I'm sure you've probably worked yourself over into a nervous wreck with looking up what could go wrong with such a surgery, but rest assured, the doctor is where he is because he is a highly trained neurosurgeon. They wouldn't have let him into the operating room, much less handed him the scalpel if he hadn't earned his doctorate in medicine and further doctorates in that field.

It's perfectly natural to be nervous before surgery of any kind, but know that you are in good hands. I hope you have a reasonably speedy recovery, and that all goes well. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

[Nammu]

I hope your surgery goes as well as mine did and may you recover quickly and smoothly. If you want I'll be a pocket rider Monday. ((Hug))

[Artchic528]

Originally Posted by Nammu

I hope your surgery goes as well as mine did and may you recover quickly and smoothly. If you want I'll be a pocket rider Monday. ((Hug))

I'll be in that pocket too. The more the merrier!

[winter loneliness]

Good luck. I think surgery sounds like a good choice.

[guilloche]

I thought that I had posted a followup comment wishing you well for your surgery, but I've been struggling with a cold/flu - so I may have forgotten to actually post it.

I wanted to let you know that it sounded like you did all the right things beforehand, and that it was really good that you even got a second opinion. I think you made a good decision, and while it's anxiety-provoking (I think any surgery would be), it seems sound.

I hope your surgery went well (Monday, yesterday?) and that you're home safe and recovering. Best wishes for a quick and easy recovery!