It's all in the wrist.
I'm a dentist. I used to play MMORPGs so I was using the mouse a lot. Plus, obviously, I blog, so I'm always on the computer. Who knew it would take pregnancy and carrying my baby for me to have almost-severe wrist pain?!
I bolded that part about lifting the baby. Apparently, this condition is common among new moms so it's also called "mother's wrist" or "mommy thumb". (See wikipedia entry on this.) My doctor said that usually they consider a list of treatments -- first, medication, then splinting, physical therapy, steroid injections, and, the most radical, surgery. Because I was gasping in pain when he asked me to perform Finkelstein's test, he suggested the injection, mentioning that he also treated his wife that way when she had the same symptoms.
I had the injection last Friday. It still hurts. T_T
I might have to consult him again this Friday and ask for a splint. Maybe physical therapy. I don't mind another injection. (Heck, I had so many needles stuck on me last year for blood tests and whatnot. That's not even counting the ones during derma appointments.) However, I do not want the surgery. Usually if they have to resort to that, it means it's already gotten to a point where they've exhausted everything and nothing's working. Me no like.
I really really WANT to hold my baby normally again without wincing in pain.
You see, the thumb part of my wrist has been hurting like hell for more than a month already. It's so bad, I couldn't carry my little Munchlax during his baptism, afraid I'd drop him. The orthopedic surgeon I eventually consulted diagnosed me with, and this is going to be quite a mouthful, DE QUERVAIN'S TENOSYNOVITIS. I'm just going to copy-paste the definition from the Mayo Clinic site:
De Quervain's tenosynovitis (duh-kare-VAHS ten-oh-sine-oh-VIE-tis) is a painful inflammation of the tendons on the thumb side of your wrist. If you have de Quervain's tenosynovitis, you're likely to feel discomfort every time you turn your wrist, grasp anything or make a fist.Although the cause of de Quervain's tenosynovitis isn't known, any activity that relies on repetitive hand or wrist movement — such as working in the garden, playing music, knitting, cooking, lifting your baby or walking your pet — can aggravate the condition.
I bolded that part about lifting the baby. Apparently, this condition is common among new moms so it's also called "mother's wrist" or "mommy thumb". (See wikipedia entry on this.) My doctor said that usually they consider a list of treatments -- first, medication, then splinting, physical therapy, steroid injections, and, the most radical, surgery. Because I was gasping in pain when he asked me to perform Finkelstein's test, he suggested the injection, mentioning that he also treated his wife that way when she had the same symptoms.
I had the injection last Friday. It still hurts. T_T
I might have to consult him again this Friday and ask for a splint. Maybe physical therapy. I don't mind another injection. (Heck, I had so many needles stuck on me last year for blood tests and whatnot. That's not even counting the ones during derma appointments.) However, I do not want the surgery. Usually if they have to resort to that, it means it's already gotten to a point where they've exhausted everything and nothing's working. Me no like.
I really really WANT to hold my baby normally again without wincing in pain.
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