Carpal tunnel

i seem to remember it was only a day or so when i couldn't actually use my hand and then use came back steadily. within 5 days I was using a circular saw although that wasn't very comfortable!

The only actual pain i remember was from the wound and stitches rather than the procedure, scar is about 1 inch long.

Only a day or so of no use? That’s pretty good. How long before you could ride again?

I’m not too worried about pain from the wound (I’ve had much bigger operations/have bigger scars), it’s not being able to do anything that worries me.

Steroid offers temporary relief for the majority of people with carpal tunnel syndrome.
It is rare for it to result in long-term symptom relief, however, except in the case of pregnancy when the symptoms often abate after delivery.
If you have thenar muscle wasting along with the symptoms you describe I would suggest you have a carpal tunnel decompression ASAP. It will not reverse the muscle wasting but will prevent further deterioration.
Steroid is a temporising measure in equivocal cases - in your case it just sounds like you're deferring the inevitable.

Eeek. This is pretty worrying. I’ll have a proper chat with my physiotherapist when I see her next.