Here I am at age 73, 56 years in the trenches as a gigging bass player, and carpal tunnel syndrome has hit my left hand like a firestorm. I never appreciated of course how pain from nerve damage is different from other pain. It's hard to describe, but I totally agree now with a character in a novel I read who stated that nerve damage pain is "pure". It can be and often is all types of pain at once, but even at best it's a combo. Know what it would feel like if your hand was immersed in ice water while being on fire inside? Neither did I.
I totally ignored the early sign, which started about a year ago when my left hand would go to sleep holding my phone while I was doom scrolling. When it finally struck full force a month or so ago it came on suddenly in the middle of the night while I was asleep. It felt like my left arm from elbow to fingertips had been doused in acid and was swelling up to the point of bursting. Well there was no acid or swelling, it was the "little c", I guess we can call it.
Over days it gradually focused down to just in my hand, but some nights it will still randomly attack the whole forearm again. By the time I was able to get in for the nerve tests I had slept maybe 4 hours over the previous 3 nights.
Because I insist on having the best doctor do this I am now sitting 2 weeks later waiting for the phone to ring as the scheduler is finally supposed to call today to schedule the surgery (and please God let that be soon after).
The two bits of good news is that my elbow will not have to be done as they originally thought, which is cubital tunnel syndrome. Essentially carpal tunnel affects your thumb, first and second fingers and half you ring finger, cubital tunnel the other half of your ring finger and the pinky. The other good news is there is now a much less invasive endoscopic procedure that involves a small incision and two stitches in an office visit, and recovery time is usually quicker. But it can still take 6 weeks and longer for "near full recovery" and months for full recovery in some cases. But some bass players report being able to rehearse with the band within a week and do a gig within 3 weeks.
This is killing me as I've had to cancel on my band for a blues festival this weekend and that will be the first gig I've missed with this band since I joined 11 years ago, and I've told them just to go ahead and plan on subs for what we have coming up over the next 2 months as I have no idea what recovery time will be. It's a personal point of pride that I don't miss gigs I've committed to, I doubt that's happened more than 2 or 3 times over all these years, so this is hard. And I'm also not ignoring the fact that this could be the end for me.
In prep my beloved Teles will have to take a back seat for now and I'm having my Jack Casady Epiphone, with its much thinner and narrower neck, set up with LaBella Low Tension Flats. The doctor said light playing would be very good physical therapy starting a few days after surgery. And I'm sure I'll have a wrist brace to help me with proper form.
If anyone cares I'll update this as a record of my experience with it, but as I said it's a big YMMV deal. (I might even throw in a gnarly picture or two if possible.) Any veterans of this have anything to share?
I totally ignored the early sign, which started about a year ago when my left hand would go to sleep holding my phone while I was doom scrolling. When it finally struck full force a month or so ago it came on suddenly in the middle of the night while I was asleep. It felt like my left arm from elbow to fingertips had been doused in acid and was swelling up to the point of bursting. Well there was no acid or swelling, it was the "little c", I guess we can call it.
Over days it gradually focused down to just in my hand, but some nights it will still randomly attack the whole forearm again. By the time I was able to get in for the nerve tests I had slept maybe 4 hours over the previous 3 nights.
Because I insist on having the best doctor do this I am now sitting 2 weeks later waiting for the phone to ring as the scheduler is finally supposed to call today to schedule the surgery (and please God let that be soon after).
The two bits of good news is that my elbow will not have to be done as they originally thought, which is cubital tunnel syndrome. Essentially carpal tunnel affects your thumb, first and second fingers and half you ring finger, cubital tunnel the other half of your ring finger and the pinky. The other good news is there is now a much less invasive endoscopic procedure that involves a small incision and two stitches in an office visit, and recovery time is usually quicker. But it can still take 6 weeks and longer for "near full recovery" and months for full recovery in some cases. But some bass players report being able to rehearse with the band within a week and do a gig within 3 weeks.
This is killing me as I've had to cancel on my band for a blues festival this weekend and that will be the first gig I've missed with this band since I joined 11 years ago, and I've told them just to go ahead and plan on subs for what we have coming up over the next 2 months as I have no idea what recovery time will be. It's a personal point of pride that I don't miss gigs I've committed to, I doubt that's happened more than 2 or 3 times over all these years, so this is hard. And I'm also not ignoring the fact that this could be the end for me.
In prep my beloved Teles will have to take a back seat for now and I'm having my Jack Casady Epiphone, with its much thinner and narrower neck, set up with LaBella Low Tension Flats. The doctor said light playing would be very good physical therapy starting a few days after surgery. And I'm sure I'll have a wrist brace to help me with proper form.
If anyone cares I'll update this as a record of my experience with it, but as I said it's a big YMMV deal. (I might even throw in a gnarly picture or two if possible.) Any veterans of this have anything to share?
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