Let's see, I'm 47 now...it'll be two years this Oct since the first surgery...so I was 45. Math is not my strong suit, can ya tell? :D

My PN was DX at the same time I had the nerve conduction study done for the CT. The Neuro did a study on my feet as long as I was already there. That was the second time I'd had a nerve conduction study for CT done. The first one was long before any PN symptoms. The PN symptoms came on a couple of years or so before the CT surgery.

PS: Bob, you might be able to do some work at 3 weeks but I couldn't tell you how much. There are so many factors to consider in this surgery. Everyone heals differently and has different pain thresholds and of course with PN I think we probably tolerate a higher level of pain than most people normally do. And much depends on the doctor doing the surgery as well. It's a crapshoot. Honest.

I can only tell you what I experienced. It may or may not be simliar to what you will experience. I can tell you that before the surgery I was in agony. It even drowned out most of the PN pain when the CT pain was at it's worst. After the surgery it's been great! In my right hand it's like I never had CT ever, at all. My left hand still gives me a bit of trouble but it's different than the CT pain was. What the cause of it is I have no idea. I do know that the left hand did not go as smoothly as the right hand did. And the CT was much worse in my right hand than my left. To be expected as I'm right handed.

I'm having a NCT done this Thurs (6/26) a.m.
for my neurologist's comparative testing. They can
foreward the results to the surgeon cause they're all
at Johns Hopkins together.
We'll see what they have to say after that.

I do not have pain so severe it keeps me awake, altho
I do wake up to CTS pain, maybe 3-4 nites out of 7.
I 'shake it out' and get back to sleep in 1/2 hour or so.
My problem is that my CTS affects my fine motor skills
and I'm constantly dropping things and have numbness
with moderate pain frequently- but not all the time.
That's why there's no rush to do it - pain wise.
But I'm afraid if it gets so bad that there will be irreparable
harm and the surgery won't be able to fix it all- if I wait too long.
(at least that's what the surgeon is talking about,
but I've been putting him off for the last 24 mos. by having him give me cortisone shots once every 10-12 mos)

Hi Bob, maybe the carpal tunnel pain is masked some what from the pain meds you take for PN, my C/Tunnel problem happened before the PN even started, at that time my doc prescribed me tramadol which did help some, but still had pain especially aggravated by using drills or electric sanding, any electric tool that vibrated use to always worsen the pain.
At night i always put a splint on my wrist to keep my hand as straight as possible, it did help to get a good sleep otherwise the pain would wake me up all the time.

Brian :)

my carpal tunnel
 

Which I have had since I was about 30 yrs old (32 yrs ago)

Is 99% gone with the benfotiamine!

Never expected this result! Nighttime arm going to sleep also gone. Fluid retention, 99% gone.

One has to wonder about fluid retention, and metabolic failures when it comes to nerve compressions!

Mrs D,
I just started the benfotiamine about 2 wks ago.
Mebbe I'll give it some time to start to work.
How long did you take it, before you started having results
6mos? 1 yr?

Brian
I've always slept with a brace, since the surgeon
Dx'd the problem.

For me it was at least a month, maybe 6wks.

First the arms going to sleep at night (some nights) got less and less, and now my hands are better. (I've had carpal tunnel as a primary symptom of my thyroid problems--and it was very very bad during my pregnancy when I was 34. It improved some after delivery..the EMG showed tho it was severe.)

If I do something extreme, like handle heavy rocks, I can feel the zing in my hands. Sewing with a needle is hard for me too.
So I gave up crocheting for example. Heavy digging or twisting with a trowel in the dirt, can also set me off.

I did 300mg of benfotiamine for about two weeks, then reduced to 150 mg daily. Remember I was using regular thiamine before that with some success. I also now use 100mg of r-lipoic acid for insulin resistance control daily.

My carpal seemed mostly due to fluid retention. So I watch my sodium intake, and use a diuretic once or twice a week. Since the benfotiamine, this swelling is very much less. So for people who have this peripheral edema, the benfotiamine seems very useful.

They think my CTS is repetitive related.
They think it's repetitive stress related with playing/practicing guitar
daily for 40 yrs, and my occupational work too.
(I know of guitarists who've played for 60 yrs daily, and don't have CTS)
But I'll give it a try.
Did you take the 300mgs all at once
or 150mgs 2x day?
My bottle is 150's.

I take it at night.
 

Yes all at once. This version of benfotiamine is fat soluble.
So some stays in the body and is not washed out as quickly as soluble thiamine.

I think there must be a loading dose issue. I started it for the burning I was having in my feet. Sometimes depending on what I ate that day (it seems cumilative) I get flaming, other days, little if any. Last summer the burning was very severe.

So I gauged my dosing based on my feet.(not the hands/arms).

But I do notice my arms don't fall asleep/numb anymore at night. And I don't need my wrist braces anymore. My wedding ring is not so tight either. (I wear a wide gold band which is a good signal for edema for me).

I have learned how to protect my hands, hold them so they are straight during the day etc. And so far luckily I have avoided surgery.

My son plays the bass, and he is having some problems too.
They are much worse for him if he eats gluten. So he went gluten free for a year or so. He has fallen back on old ways lately-- says the GF life is so hard on him financially-- but I don't hear much complaint yet about the hands. He is almost 27 yrs old.