October 30, 2008

Medical Fun!

Had the first doctor visit this week. We talked about my blood sugar problems and she said he was pretty sure it wasn't diabetes (YAY) but we'll do the fasting/tolerance thing to make sure. He prescribed me Adavair and a new albuterol inhaler, and then we talked about my wrists. He used a little rubber hammer to tap on the base of my hand and I felt it all the way in my fingers, worse on the right side. I could barely do the hold-hands-together test because the left one hurts so badly.

At first he told me to just continue taking anti-inflammatory drugs and bracing the wrists at night, but I told him I've been doing that and it's getting worse and I'd like to try the next step up to stop it. Lately I wake up with both hands feeling numb and weak, and I can't hold a fork or a pen without losing the feeling in my thumb and half my fingers. If I set the pen down and flex the fingers the blood rushes back in, but that only lasts a few minutes. I can't draw like I used to, and I can't lift free-weights or ride a bike comfortably.

He said that in cases where the pain wakes you up at night or you start losing grip strength it's time to look into surgery, and that's right around where I am now (although I don't recall waking up at night, I'm sure yelping in pain in the early morning counts). He's referred me to a neurologist for an EMR(?) test. Basically they're going to stick needles in my arms and run a charge through to see whether the signal slows down in the carpal tunnel area. I have been offered cortisone shots in both wrists to temporarily relieve inflammation, and if that doesn't work, there's always surgery. At this point I am absolutely committed to whatever it takes to get my hands to stop buzzing and going numb on me when I try to draw. It's so hard to lose yourself in the work when the work is hurting you!

Cross your fingers y'all. Lord knows I can't. I go back next week for a physical, and am hoping all goes well and my heart isn't likely to asplode at the gym or something.

Had a two hour bike ride with the Captain today, the longest since you-know-when. His hurt toe didn't bother him at all, but I kept our speed down and the bike in low gear for my knee's sake. We were mostly on the sidewalks (legal in this town) so the Captain could pad along on the soft grass instead of the harsh street surface. We went all over the place. Even to the dog park, which was empty, so I brought in my bike and rode around with the Captain chasing me until he was good and exhausted.

During the ride I tried so hard to induce an asthma attack, pedaling as fast as I could and breathing through my mouth, but nothing happened. This new medication is fucking amazing. I'd forgotten what it was like to be able to go all-out physically and still be able to breathe without my lungs shrinking to the size of itchy, burning little raisins.

Life is good.

Whoever loves, let him flourish. Let him perish who knows not love. Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love.

-Graffiti found on the wall of the House of Caecilius Iucundus, Pompeii.

6 comments:

  1. I wish you were closer to Ohio, massage works wonders for CT, if you can find one in your area you can do trades with I highly recommend it. Even if you only get your upper body worked on dooooo it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, dang, needle test. :\ They had to do the same test on me, but they used a different method. Still involved shocking, but no needles. Wikipedia tells me that there are indeed two ways to do the EMG, intramuscular or surface. I'm kinda glad I didn't get stuck, but I wonder if they missed something. No explanation from the tests for me. Good luck with yours!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Whoever loves, let him flourish. Let him perish who knows not love. Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love.

    -Graffiti found on the wall of the House of Caecilius Iucundus, Pompeii.

    didn't think you went in for the lovey dovey stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Normally I don't, but I saw that quote as applying to love in the general sense, not necessarily just romantic.

    Plus the third part is a good burn against the anti-gay marriage folks :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. My mom actually had sub-clinical carpal tunnel which basically means she had all the symptoms and pain but the EMG said she didn't have it. They said there wasn't anything they could really do for her, so she, like you, has been mostly finding ways to treat herself. While I hope that all goes well with your visit, I wonder if you've looked into aspects of hand usage that may be causing it? For her, it was actually the mouse. So she's stopped using that as much as possible, and uses a very specific kind of squish wrist rest when she has to, and also her tolerance to the height, angle, and thickness of her keyboard is very rigid. I don't know if either of those things are aspects affecting your CT, but it's just something to think about. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unfortunately, the things that cause it are non-negotiable: drawing, writing and lifting weights. If I couldn't do those things, I'd rather not be alive. :(

    ReplyDelete