Many years ago I tried to get hired at a factory. Factories, I soon learned, require one big thing when they are hiring. You have to "pass" a carpal tunnel test. They shoot little jolts of electricity into your wrists and then measure the reaction time, or at least that was my understanding of it. Anyway, I "failed." In effect they said that were I to have a job with repetitive motions I would end up with carpal tunnel. Consequently, the factory didn't want me. Like I said, that was many years ago. Over the years I have had very little evidence of carpal tunnel issues. "Haha- shows what they know" I would think to myself when ever the memory of that almost job came to mind.
But, alas, it did not last. About a month ago I noticed that my hands would go numb when I was driving. I just blamed the car. I thought it must be vibrating somehow and I just wasn't really noticing it. Then I noticed that my hands and arms would kind of go to sleep every once in a while, more than normal but still they awoke easily so no big deal. Then last week- something changed. Suddenly I would go from my hands feeling fine to having no sense of feeling whatsoever in them. Sometimes it actually affected my entire arms. I can control my hands but no longer can I rely on the sense of touch to guide my hands because any touch is outweighed by the constant stream of pain that attacks my hands. And it is more hours than not. Honestly, since it really kicked in I have had maybe 2 to 3 hours a day where my right hand isn't in that obnoxious pain. My left hand doesn't hurt as much or as bad but that right hand hurts enough that I find myself waking up in tears.
And it annoys me! Yep, that is the kind of woman I am. I am not mentioning it because I want any pity or anything like that. I simply need to vent. This stupid pain annoys me! I mean, seriously, I have things to get done! I have a blanket left to crochet. I have laundry to do every day. I have errands to run. I have a little boy to take care of and teach to read and write. This pain is getting on my nerves! (No pun intended)
I spoke to my doctor about it and he is pretty sure that it is just carpal tunnel. My research has taught me that somewhere between 10 and 25% of pregnant women (depending on the source) suffer from some sort of carpal tunnel during pregnancy. Most sites say that after Will is born I won't have this annoyance in my hands anymore (though one site only used the word may and that kind of worried me.) Until then the doctor told me to get some braces for my hands. I am hoping that they help.
Speaking of the braces, I just have to relay this because it tickles me. The day that the doctor told me to get braces I went to the local pharmacy/drug store and looked at all the braces that claimed to help alleviate carpal tunnel pain. There were 3 different types so I picked one and away I went. Today, Hubby and I went grocery shopping. While there Hubby started looking at something in the grocery store pharmacy so I peaked at the braces. Would you believe that not only did the grocery store offer more types of braces, the braces were priced better at the grocery store as well? What the....? How crazy is that?
Anyway, I have to go now and put on the brace that Hubby bought me at the grocery store. It's a night time brace, made to be slept in. We shall see how I do sleeping with my hands turned into stubs! Haha!
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