Nope. The two surgeries you describe are for epicondylitis ("tennis elbow" or "golf elbow") and ulnar nerve transfer, not for carpal tunnel. I have had 3 surgeries--a carpal tunnel release, a lateral epicondylectomy, and a medial epicondylectomy w/ulnar nerve transfer--on the same arm. I can *definitely* attest they are all different!
Burning pain on the underside of your forearm, especially if it wakes you up at night/keeps you from sleeping is probably the most well-known "defining" symptom. Numbness in the last 2 fingers of the affected hand is another telltale sign. Your whole arm (up to and including the shoulder) may hurt, due to the way you use the affected limb to compensate for the pain. Typically, the first thing(s) they'll do for you is give you a splint and anti-inflammatories. If that doesn't work, then they'll try cortisone shots (IMNSHO, these are utterly worthless) and pain meds (Darvocet, Ultram, stuff like that). If you have 3 cortisone shots in a year, then you are a surgery candidate. I was lucky--surgery helped me. But I suspect I didn't wait too long...
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Nope. The two surgeries you describe are for epicondylitis ("tennis elbow" or "golf elbow") and ulnar nerve transfer, not for carpal tunnel. I have had 3 surgeries--a carpal tunnel release, a lateral epicondylectomy, and a medial epicondylectomy w/ulnar nerve transfer--on the same arm. I can *definitely* attest they are all different!
Burning pain on the underside of your forearm, especially if it wakes you up at night/keeps you from sleeping is probably the most well-known "defining" symptom. Numbness in the last 2 fingers of the affected hand is another telltale sign. Your whole arm (up to and including the shoulder) may hurt, due to the way you use the affected limb to compensate for the pain. Typically, the first thing(s) they'll do for you is give you a splint and anti-inflammatories. If that doesn't work, then they'll try cortisone shots (IMNSHO, these are utterly worthless) and pain meds (Darvocet, Ultram, stuff like that). If you have 3 cortisone shots in a year, then you are a surgery candidate. I was lucky--surgery helped me. But I suspect I didn't wait too long...