With the help of an ergonomic keyboard, it’s been typing as usual here. However, that doesn’t mean the wrist pain has gone away entirely. There are still days where it’s intolerable (note the post about pain killers, etc.). So today I went the hand doctor, a specialist sort whose office is covered with lots and lots and lots of hands.
He looked, he prodded, he asked questions. Definitely carpal tunnel. I had symptoms I didn’t even notice until he showed me (like loss of sensation on some of the fingers). Then, he gave me the rundown: shots, therapy and a steroid patch, or surgery. The good news is that he didn’t think I need surgery (yet) — three months of pain, while it seems like a ton to me, is not as severe some cases. But he suggested the needles.
So we had needles.
Gotta say, those were big needles. I don’t mind getting poked, but it was certainly one of the strangest sensations I’ve ever had. I expected some numbness, which I had for a few hours, but what I didn’t expect was the pain. Well, apparently some people get mini flare ups after a steroid injection. I think I was hoping for a miracle cure, but whoa. Today has been barely tolerable. Writing is slow, and most of it has been dictated. So, no progress in that department. I’ve wanted to write, but just couldn’t. Dinner was torture.
Well, I’m hoping that this is the last bout of pain for a while. The doctor said in some cases the shot’s all you need — some people see a complete recovery afterward. I expressed that I’m a writer and, y’know, hands are sort of important (as great as dictation software is, writing spec fic with it is not exactly easy…)
We shall see. I spent some time changing the theme of the site here, and cleaning things up a bit. I like the look so far!
Here’s to tomorrow! Good things will come.
Here’s wishing you the bluest sky
And hoping something better comes tomorrow
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness
I know that better things are on the way.“Better Things” by the Kinks (or, in my mind, the cover by Dar Williams)
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Ick, I never got any shots (maybe because I was on worker’s comp since work causd my carpal tunnel), but it was definitely months before I was able to function with little enough pain to be vaguely productive. And even after that, I had bad flare-ups for well over a year. Nowadays, it mostly behaves itself, only occasionally poking at me to remind me it is there and willing to come back at any moment. Try not to get too frustrated and just ride it through. You’ll eventually reach a sane point.
Apparently some people react to these shots with a terrible, horrible, no good flare up. Apparently that person is me. Was hoping it’d be gone this morning, but not so much. The hope is that in a day or so I’ll be like, some insane writing machine. Or something. 😛 Ah, the risks of our trade!
Mmmhmm…works kinda the same with knees, too. I’ve got arthritis in both of ’em, and the first time I got injections I was told that some people have a flare up, but not many, and sometimes, *rarely*, the cortizone will crystalize and that can hurt a bit. “Hurt a bit” is a massive understatement! I woke up needing a wee at 3 or so, and as soon as I put my weight on my leg, excruciating pain shot through my knee – so bad I nearly collapsed. I’d got one of those *rare* crystalizations. My husband had to go dig out my mother’s old walker for me to use. Got back to bed and cried myself to sleep, it hurt so bad. But, it was better the next day, and subsequent injections haven’t been bad at all. I hope it works out well for you, though – hopefully it’s only a temporary thing!
@Mary YES. I had no idea it would hurt this much. Copious ibuprofen has helped today, but holy moly. Knocked me only arse. I am waiting for it to get better–right now I’ve got weak/clumsy fingers that hurt when I use them. It’s got to get better 🙂
you know i envy anybody who can take ibuprofen. i’m in the “1% of the 1% of all users” in which it constricts our bronchial tubes (am also allergic to aspirin, so there you go). it’s the pits. ibuprofen kills pain so well – but i don’t need it to kill me in the process. i learned this the hard way. LOL
i’ve had arthritis in my hands for a while now. preston keeps joking that i’m just a cat and that eventually due to evolution my thumbs are going to fall off!
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[…] novels. Like, write them and finish them. I wrote a lot between 08-10, until my hands gave out. Yup, literally my hands stopped allowing me to write, and RSI just about destroyed me. Sure, I learned how to do it, but the cost was stupidly high. At the time, I was working from home […]