Pat and Ellis,

For what it's worth, I had carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)in 2000 for
a few months, BEFORE starting HGH in 2003. It was annoying rather
than incapacitating. I got a splint to prevent extending my
wrist, but that seemed to make things worse, so I quit using
it.

I tried a supplement called astaxanthin for a month, and it
made no difference. It finally went away by itself in a few
months - I don't remember exactly how many. Six? I still get
the numbness momentarily sometimes, when exercising heavily,
and a lot when bicycling, but I suspect that is because of the
straight handlebars on my mountain bike (as opposed to curved
ones found on most road bikes.) It never bothers me in the rest
of my life, including a fair amount of keyboarding.

My point is that I never noticed any difference when I started
on HGH in 2003, or with various dosages and interruptions since
then. I wonder if the people who reduced their HGH doses because
of CTS would have had relief anyway, because of the passage of time.

Pat, your situation is different than mine, because you say
you've "always" had it, so waiting (longer) for it to go away
is not  likely to help. You said it got worse when you
were on HGH for 6 weeks, but you don't say if it got any better
when you reduced the dose and finally stopped HGH. I gather it
did not, since you are still contemplating surgery.

You should know that there is an endoscopic surgery for carpal
tunnel syndrome that leaves less of a scar and has a shorter
recovery time than the traditional open surgery. Also, standard
treatment is a trial of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as
naproxen or ibuprofen.

Quote from the Mayo Clinic web site:

Results

Many people continue to have some carpal tunnel symptoms after
surgery, but most report that the operation reduced their
symptoms significantly. Grip strength is often reduced
immediately after surgery, but usually rebounds within a few
months. Your scar, however, may feel tender for up to a year.
Massaging your scar can help desensitize it.

The time off work after carpal tunnel surgery depends on many
factors. A right-handed factory worker with open-release surgery
on the right hand and no option for light-duty work might be off
work six weeks or more, while a left-handed executive with a
right open-release surgery may not miss any time from work. Most
people are off work for at least a month after open-release
surgery.

At least 10 percent of the people who have either variety of
carpal tunnel surgery never return to their original line of
work — especially if their jobs involved heavy manual
labor. Be sure to discuss return to work with your surgeon
before surgery.

End of quote.

Mike Lenker
(P.S.: I am not a surgeon)

Ellis: Hello Mike. Thanks for the great advice for Pat,
and your insights. Your advice that there is the possibility
of endoscopy surgery that is better than the traditional
surgery is worth a million dollars for her if she didn't
already know it and would have gotten the traditional surgery.

And as for me... I learn from you... now I have learned
something useful that I might tell somebody else someday.
200 years ago I might have been considered a doctor because
I have learned so much that heals from good doctors!

Thanks for writing. Thanks for a great post. Three stars
for this post. (three stars means: "this is a very good post...
I think you should read this post because you will learn
something interesting.") Again, three cheers for Dr.
Mike Lenker.

rbwplwjd@... wrote:

Hello Ellis!!
I've always had mild Carpel tunnel Symptoms (CTS) and seeing
as CTS can be a side effect of taking HGH I was a little concerned.

I started taking HGH about 6 months ago (2 UI/day). After about
6 weeks my CTS was beginning to get worse so I dropped to 1 uI/day
then finally to 1/2 day. Then I stopped entirely.

I have been to my Doctor and had the nerve conductivity test done
-the results were a recommendation to have Carpel tunnel release
surgery. I currently have continuous tingling fingers/numbness.
and have been assured that I will be able to regain feeling If
I have the surgery done.

Other than the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome I had good results from
using HGH.

Do you or other members of Rejuvenation have experience/knowledge
with HGH and CTS? Can you give me any advice on restarting HGH
after I have the surgery?

Much Thanks!!!

Live long and prosper
Pat

Hello Pat,

We have only had a few cases of persons who reported carpal
tunnel syndrome, in 10,000 posts... and they all got better
by dropping the dose to about half... What I have learned is
that Vitamin B complex, especially vitamin B-12 is good for
carpal tunnel. I suggest you should try it before you get the
surgery done, maybe it will help you to avoid surgery.

When you start HGH again (I hope you will, soon...) I
suggest you should take 1/2 iu, one day yes, one day no...

See if that does anything bad, and if does not, if it is only
good benefits, then write to me again and let's see what we do.

Good luck, and keep us posted. If anybody else has advice
for Pat, anything that is good for carpal Tunnel, please let
us know.