Fuhgedaboudit

[wayfaringwordhack]

Almost two weeks ago, I went to a doctor about a pain in my wrist. He took my hand in his, pinched the tendon between my thumb and wrist a couple of times and, when I failed to say "ow," advised me to, and I quote, "Forget about it." This is after I explained that I had already been suffering from the pain for three months. It came upon me suddenly in Albania when I was lifting Soëlie out of her crib one night. For a while, the pain only came in the middle of the night, and I thought I was sleeping in a position that was bad for my arm.  I tried and tried to sleep differently, but the pain spilled over into the day and the sharp lances of quick-fading agony became a lance followed by a dull throbbing pain that could last minutes.

But, according the doc, my best bet was just to forget.  Um, yeah.  OK.

Today I went to see an osteopath, and she said I have a combination of a mechanically-caused pain and tendonitis. She manipulated my hand, wrist, and elbow for a good hour, told me to ice the wrist at least once a day, and to buy a wrist splint to immobilize it if the pain is not gone in ten days. I'm supposed to rest it as much as possible, but having the exclusive care of Soëlie when J is gone (ten days this time) and the cooking and housekeeping...yeah...not much chance at rest.

I hope the rest and ice (and maybe the splint) take care of it because I really don't want to have surgery, which the osteopath said might have to happen if it gets worse. :-/

Comments

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Ugh...is this what they call the mommy thumb problem?

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Mommy thumb problem? There is such a thing? *goes a-googling*

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I hope it feels better and you don't have to have surgery!

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

So do I. I think I'll try a lot of things before I try surgery. :P

[sunflower-sky.livejournal.com]

I had tendonitis in that spot after Hallel's birth. My doctor sent me to a physical therapist, who did ultrasound treatment a few times (apparently it's supposed to warm the area and encourage healing?) and when that didn't work, referred me to an occupational therapist to make a splint. I wore the splint for a few hours a day for like three days (she specifically said to wear it no more than a few hours a day) and it completely healed! I guess it was just impossible for me to really rest the joint without the splint...

My doctor said the next step would be a steroid shot from an orthopedist. I was glad to have been able to avoid that...

~D

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Wow, makes me want to go get a splint right away. Did anyone instruct you in better ways to do certain movements, like lifting Hallel, in order to prevent the reoccurrence of the tendonitis?

And yeah, I read that steroid shots can be iffy and take up to 18 to make a difference.

[sunflower-sky.livejournal.com]

Yes, they told me two things: to hold my wrists straight when lifting and not let my hands dangle down at an angle; and to try and lift close to my body with my elbows bent, rather than stretching my arms out. Both help reduce strain on the wrist. It was pretty impossible to do with an itty bitty baby who needed to be lifted in and out of car seats/strollers/lying position on the floor; it should probably be easier with Soelie, who you can encourage to come close to you before you lift her, and whom you'll be lifting mostly from a standing position.

My dad (a rehab doctor) also advised dosing me up on anti-inflammatories (full dose of Advil like 3 times a day for like a week), but.... :-/

So yeah. Splint. I say if it doesn't improve at all within a week, go for the splint, wear it a few hours a day and see if it helps.

Feel better!

~D

[clarentine]

Ouch. Also, ouch. I hope the splint works for you!

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Same here! Other has had good results with just a splint, so I'm hoping I will too if I have to get one.

[nebula99.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Feel better soon.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[judo100.livejournal.com]

I've found wrist splints to be very helpful. Hope you do too.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I'm encouraged by the good feedback I've heard about splints. :)

[pjthompson]

Oh, honeybun, so sorry!

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I just hope I'm not one of those who takes 12-18 months to see improvement. o.O BUT, improvement is possible without surgery my research tells me, so that's good.

[pjthompson]

Yes, that's good, but sometimes it does take time. I had one of those overuse things (centered in a different area of the bod) but it did get better.

[melinda-goodin.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Hope the splint helps and the mommy thumb gets better

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Thanks, so do I, and to think I never knew about mommy thumb before. I would have preferred to learn about it in a different way, though. :P

[footlingagain.livejournal.com]

Yikes - the perils of having children! Though to be fair, I get something similar from lugging Le Creuset pans full of vegetables about, so it's not all their fault.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the splint works its magic for you - trying to manage everything literally single-handed must be nightmarish!