CTS - Been there , done that as Marge said!
After twisting rachets, screw drivers and wrenches for 20 plus years in the military and working an additional 10 years @ the Post Office, my CTS just got so bad I couldn't stand it any longer. It was not only a constant pain (actually the numbness got so bad it hurt), but I was losing sleep, dropping things, and could hardly do my job anymore.
I had the left one done and 6 weeks later had the right one done. In both cases the surgery was done out patient. Went in @ 7 AM, got prepped (about an hour), 15 minutes in surgery, an hour in recovery and arrived home by 10 AM. I had mine done with a block and I was awake for the entire deal. Had both surgeries on a Thursday, got to take the bulky bandage off on Saturday, stitches (8 each time) came out 10 days later. Worse pain was the night of the surgery - it reminded me of novacaine wearing off after having work done on your teeth. Told not to lift anything heavier than my hand for a week, then could gradually work my way up to lifting anything that didn't cause any pain to lift! By the end of the 6 weeks when I returned to work, I had no problems doing my job - except regaining "full endurance". My wrists would get tired more rapidly than before the surgery - took about 6 months to get the endurance back. Now bear in mind I am constantly handling letter mail in my job.
I can honestly say I have had excellent results from my surgeries. Anyone who asks me about how my CTS operations turned out - I tell them it's like having two new wrists/hands! No pain, no numbness and no regrets over having the surgery. The key factor in my recovery was following doc's orders. I was told to start exercise as soon as I got home (about 2 hours after surgery). Nothing major, just stretching and moving fingers. I did as I was told, regained range of movement and got the scar tissue loosened up and have had no problems. Others who had the surgery (quite prevelant in the Post Office) and did not follow doc's orders with the exercise have had more difficult times.
It's been three years since my surgeries and I am still doing just fine - no recurrence of any of the symptoms at all! I am still handling over 100,000 pieces of mail in an 8 hour shift pain free!
Proper diagnosis (nerve conduction tests) and alternate treatments (I wore braces to sleep for 3 months prior to deciding on suregry & had a cortosone shot (which did no good at all) prior to the braces) are important as not all cases are as severe as mine was and do not require surgery.