Today I started another chapter of my healing journey — my awake carpal tunnel release surgery — and I’m documenting it day-by-day so anyone going through this can see the real, unfiltered recovery process.
If you’re new here, I’ve also shared my full L5-S1 fusion experience in my in-depth breakdown of what spine fusion really feels like, which walks through everything from symptoms to the moment I woke up after surgery.
I’m also keeping a running daily journal of my spinal fusion recovery, updated with every phase of healing.
You can always find my newest updates and articles on the SpineRecover homepage, and I also share shorter updates and videos over on the SpineRecover Facebook page.
Here’s how I ended up choosing awake surgery — and what Day One actually felt like.
Why I Chose Awake Carpal Tunnel Release
This surgery wasn’t originally planned for this year. Normally, carpal tunnel release surgery is done under sedation. But because I already hit my insurance out-of-pocket max after my fusion surgery, waiting until next year would’ve cost thousands more.
My surgeon, Dr. Bridgeman at the Columbia Orthopedic Group, told me he could get me in much sooner if I did the awake version — no anesthesia required.
Unlike my fusion surgery — which you can read about in my full L5-S1 fusion experience — the prep for awake hand surgery was almost effortless:
• I ate normally
• Drank water
• Took morning meds
• Drove myself
• Walked straight back, no fasting, no IV
If you ever have questions about recovery, you can reach me through the SpineRecover contact page.
And most common questions are answered in the FAQ section.
Day 1: The Surgery and First Few Hours
The entire surgery took about 10 minutes. I laid back, put on headphones, and talked with Dr. Bridgeman while he worked. The numbing shots burned a bit, and I felt some sharp pain during the cut, but every time I mentioned it, he numbed me again.
The part nobody warned me about:
The sounds.
You can actually hear things happening inside your hand. It wasn’t painful — just unsettling.
Afterward, my hand was wrapped tightly from the palm to several inches down my wrist. No splint, just a thick surgical wrap. I need to keep it dry for a week and get stitches removed in two weeks.
About four hours later, the numbness wore off fully and the cramping started. I took Tylenol and will rotate in ibuprofen. I was told not to lift more than 2 pounds with this hand for a week.
Day One is done — and I’m honestly relieved to have this behind me after dealing with carpal tunnel for so long.
Days 2–4: Pain Changing, Ice Working, and the Incision Beginning to Heal
By the time I woke up on Day 2, I could already tell things were improving. Day 1 had a raw, deep, sharp kind of pain that honestly shocked me. I expected soreness, but the combination of the fresh incision, the cramping in my palm, and the shock of having my hand worked on while awake hit harder than I thought.
Thankfully, my surgeon gave me a short prescription for a stronger pain medication, and I needed it. I took one pill the night of the surgery and another on Day 2. The pain wasn’t unbearable on Day 2, but it was still intense enough that regular Tylenol wasn’t going to carry the load alone.
By Day 3, I still took one more of the stronger pills, but the pain was already changing. It wasn’t that deep, punchy cramping anymore. The shocking electrical sensations were fading. Instead, the pain was becoming more of a sore, tender, throbbing type — the kind that tells you the body is starting to repair things.
During all three days, ice was truly my best friend. I kept my ice pack on the bottom of my palm and wrist almost constantly, rotating it in and out. It helped keep the swelling down, reduced the pounding ache, and honestly made the Hand Day 2 and Day 3 bearable. I learned pretty fast that icing early and often makes a huge difference in recovery.
Now on Day 4, the pain is fully shifting into the “healing stage.” It’s more manageable, and it’s nowhere near as intense as Day 1 or Day 2. But the incision itself is starting to make its presence known. Even under the wrapping, I can feel a burning sensation — not the scary nerve kind, but the normal burn you get when a surgical cut is knitting itself back together.
It’s the kind of pain that reminds you the wound is active and doing what it’s supposed to do. The deeper pain is mostly gone. The constant cramping is mostly gone. Now it’s just the surface-level incision burn and general soreness.
These kinds of details are exactly why I started SpineRecover in the first place — so I can share real, first-hand updates that complement the bigger stories I’ve already written, like my full breakdown of living through L5-S1 fusion and my full C5-C6 disc replacement journey. Recoveries are all different, but they all have the same theme: they change in phases, and every phase tells its own story.
Day 4 is where things finally started to feel like progress, and I’ll keep adding to this journal as things continue changing each day.
5 Days After Surgery
5 days after the surgery, I was allowed to remove the soft cast. This is what my hand looks like as well as how large of an area it is as seen in the photo above! I still have the stitches in and they get removed in about 9 days which is two weeks after the surgery day.
