Give Me a Hand!
So I have carpal tunnel syndrome.
I’ve been denying it since last summer, when my right hand became strained. At the time I bought a wrist brace and wore it for a few months. The symptoms went away. More recently, I’ve noticed tingling/numbness in that hand and also my left hand.
Despite lots of research, I was unable to determine whether I should keep wearing the brace, apply heat or cold to my wrists, try to strengthen the muscles, or avoid exercise.
I finally went to the doctor yesterday, and during our 5-minute interaction (afforded me by my $401/month health insurance and $15 copayment), she pulled and prodded at my hands, diagnosed carpal tunnel, and wrote me a prescription for occupational therapy. By the time I realized that she hadn’t answered any of my questions, I’d already been banished to the waiting room.
This is a huge blow. I need to type for my livelihood (I do a lot of report and proposal writing in my job, and I am teaching an online class this summer and also again in the Fall, and I am looking for writing/research contract gigs). But it’s more than that. Writing is also my avocation; one of my favorite things to do. I love blogging, and reading and commenting on other people’s blogs, and I love email, and even love writing for its own sake.
During my lighting-round medical exam, my doctor didn’t express worry about my hands. She said the condition was in its very early stages and that OT will help. It’s all very common, treatable, etc. etc. But still.
Do me a favor. Don’t let this happen to you. Finish reading this, and then take a little break. Stretch your hands—yeah--right now— and then put them back on the keyboard. And keep those wrists straight.
Posted by Dori at 12:11 PM
6 Comments
Ohhh, I used to go to therapy for my hand/wrist. They used this ultrasound thing, but then...I got a paraffin wrap! It felt so good! I looked forward to going.
By the way, at least in CA, it's a worker's comp thing, and if you tell your HR dept., they have to get your workstation checked out by a worker's comp person and then make the necessary changes to make it ergonomic. Also, the medical stuff is covered a bit too. Worth looking into...
Oh no!! I'm so sorry -- that's awful. I hope the therapy helps.
I am so sorry Dori! At least you caught it early - although I know that does not make you feel better now.
A
So sorry to hear that. But, I agree with Hilary - look into the worker's comp.
Hope it improves quickly with the therapy.
Even if it isn't worker's comp, you should get an ergonomic check of your workstation to make it as friendly as possible. Glad thye caught it early, and I hope things improve.
Dori, sorry to hear about this and I hope the therapy works. Our friend Joe actually had a repetitive strain injury from typing and grading a lot but I think he recovered from it. I can ask him what he did if you'd like. Also, I don't know if the technology has advanced enough, but would speech recognition software help in the interim? I thought I saw this program for a lot less than $99 at Target, but it's just another thought:
http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/
Good luck.
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