My hands hurt...........

Over the past few years,I've noticed that my hands just aren't as strong as they used to be. I love to cross stitch and crochet but my hands literally ache when I do those things. It's gotten so bad now that the simple tasks of holding a toothbrush, holding onto the steering wheel, stirring a cake mix make my hands cramp and throb. The tips of the fingers on my left hand are literally numb all the time. It feels so weird. Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and both hands will be throbbing and hurting so much I want to cry. Just holding a book hurts my hands so much that I could barely hold the prayer book and song book in church today. I've tried arthritis pain meds and stronger pain meds-nothing helps. I even have two of those carpal tunnel hand braces that I wear when I am desparate for relif,but it's only temporary-nothing I've found so far does really any good.

I went to see a dr a few years ago and he felt around on my hands but was more interested in scheduling me for a BOOB job than anything else. And I didn't even go to him for that reason LOL. Needless to say, I haven't been back to that quack! My husband made me see our family dr about the issue again friday. His experience tells him it's carpal tunnel problems. I kinda knew that but I've also found out I had thyroid issues and sometimes that can make CT problems worse. I was hoping it would just be the thyroid and a stronger medicine might make it all go away. I'm waiting for a call back from the office to tell me when the appointment will be. I don't want surgery. I did a little research online and have had other friends who have had the surgery tell me about it. I really hope this is something that is an easier fix,but I have a feeling it won't be. I don't like the idea of having both hands operated on. My husband tells me that we'll do whatever it takes to get my hands to feeling better. (It's not his hands that they will operate on if it comes to that is it? LOL) He means well and I love him for saying that. I'm just tired of hurting---and not being able to do the things I enjoy doing. Something's gotta give.....