Thread: Not so good news from the Doctor.

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I’m right handed and over the last couple of months (pretty much while I was recuperating from pneumonia this winter) I started having problems with my hand and wrist. My wrist started bothering me a little bit at first and then over a couple of day period my little finger went completely numb. Then the muscles in my hand started to waste away (muscle atrophy).

Anyway, I finally got into see the doctor who referred me to a neurologist. I’ve tentatively been diagnosed with Ulnar Nerve Damage. Chances are it may have occurred while I was house bound this winter and spending way too much time on the computer (probably the way I was holding my hand and bending my elbow). The kicker is it will probably be a month before I can get the tests to confirm the diagnosis and will probably require surgery on my elbow to correct.

So far I’ve lost probably 40% of the strength in my right hand along with a lot of the dexterity….the bad news is it’s slowly getting worse and from what I’m reading and the indications from the neurologist are that the damage to the hand may be permanent.

The Doctors suggestion was to baby the hand as much as possible…..a lot easier said than done short of planting my butt in a chair all day long. Oh well I know it’s not the end of the world, but it sure is aggravating. Whoever said the golden years were so great LIED.


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That really sucks, Mike, especially the delays in getting test results and a path forward to dealing with it in a more positive light! Getting older definitely can bring along a whole new bunch of challenges, for sure. Hang in there.

Sorry to hear that news!..But listen to the Docs, they do know what they're talking about!..wishin you good luck.

Sorry to hear this, good luck and wishes for a speedy recovery.

Hell Mike, this is bad news and we were just getting excited for you about restarting the '37 Pickup. Hope you have a speedy recovery and the you maintain a reasonable amount of use of your hand. I include you in my prayers.

That's bad news and sucks bigtime.
The time of your life when you should be able to relax and do the things that are important to you.
And you can't.
Just hope that eventually you return to full health.

Good luck mate.

Mike, that definitely stinks, I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully they can get you in sooner for the testing. I wish you all the best!

Originally Posted by Mike P

The kicker is it will probably be a month before I can get the tests to confirm the diagnosis and will probably require surgery on my elbow to correct.

Mike, just curious why the delay of a month to confirm the initial diagnosis? Seems it would be a relatively simple test, like for carpal tunnel syndrome?

Roger, from what I gathered from the neurologist she is the one who not only did the initial consult, but does the testing and the surgery.

I'm using the VA in Tucson, I have tricare so I could also use a civilian doctor, but as VA has been my primary provider for the last few years I kind of hate to start all over with Doctors/providers I've never dealt with.

Out of respect to mrmustang (Bill) about not turning the posts to politics, I'll leave it at the care and experiences I've had from VA have been first rate......my experiences on the admin side of it not so much.


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I'm sorry you got an owie, Mike, I hope it gets resolved in good fashion. Nerve problems are a bi***; I won't belabor you all with just how I know, but good outcomes do happen. Keep a positive outlook.

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I wondered if you might be dealing with the VA. My newest daughter-in-law is a clinical psychologist with the VA here in KC, and loves the job but has expressed frustrations with the administration side, especially relative to the patients. Godspeed in your process, both for you and for your neurologist in diagnosing and correcting the problem.

Sorry to hear of this ugly problem,Mike.. My wife has had her share of nerve and muscular woes in the last few years,too.. Frustrating stuff,,for all.. Hope you can get it sorted soon,mate..

So Mike, it's been a month since the first post and you mentioned that you were hoping to have confirmation of the initial diagnosis and a path forward defined by now. Anything new on the neuro front?

Actually Roger I just opened up the computer to add to this post.


About 2 ½ weeks ago I was notified that I had an appointment with VA for the next step in the process which was an Electromyography (EMG) test to verify the original diagnosis. The appointment was set for 6 June. Because of the long wait VA referred me to the “CHOICE” program which lets you use an outside provider if there is an excessive wait time.

My experience with the Choice program so far has been reasonably positive…..remember it is another Government bureaucracy (and a fairly new one at that). For the most part the people I talked to were helpful in getting me thru the system with the exception of one employee who acted like she couldn’t give a damn about straightening out a paperwork problem getting my records to the Dr who would do the EMG. If there is anybody else that is referred to the Choice program my advice is to remember you’re your own best advocate…….don’t wait for them to call you back, after an appropriate amount of time YOU make the call (advice actually given to me by the first Choice rep I talked to).

Anyway I got a call from a Dr in Tucson on Monday that set up an appointment for yesterday afternoon. When I asked I was told it was for an initial consult for the test, not the test.

So anyway I filled the El Camino with gas and headed to the Drs office. I left an hour early just in case (old GPS....... Drs office in a new subdivision that couldn’t be programmed into the GPS) and between construction and a wrong turn, I made it to the Drs office with 5 minutes to spare.

I was very happy to find out that the appointment was for the EMG test rather than just being a consult for the test. If you’ve never had an EMG it basically measures the electrical impulses of muscles at rest and is used to help find nerve problems. Basically they shock the muscles. It's pretty much equivalent to grabbing a spark plug wire…….then doing it about 30 more times (yeah let’s see how high we can make the patient bounce LOL).

Anyway the diagnosis confirms what the Dr at VA originally suspected, Ulnar Nerve Damage and also what I had suspected…..carpal tunnel. The Dr wasn't very positive that the damaged to my hand would be reversible even with surgery but the surgery would at least keep it from getting worse.


The test results now go back to VA, and depending on when they can schedule surgery possibly being referred back to the Choice program to actually have the surgery done by an outside Dr. If you want a glimpse at what Government provided single payer health care looks like this is pretty much it.


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Well, it's a good thing that the test confirmed the initial diagnosis and to have a known path forward. Maybe your VA doc will make a relatively quick decision on how to get to surgery for you which sounds like the need. Sadly it seems that the private care option is not much different these days....