02/6/2009

Finally got medical help
For my aching wrist. The orthopedist told me to make a fist with my thumb turned up and tightly tucked under the fingers, then asked me to bend the fist down. I couldn't move the fist--not even a tiny bit. Keeping me engaged in talking, he firmly grabbed my fist and in one sharp move pushed it down. I screamed and it hurt like hell on earth. He explained between my sobs that he had to do this to determine the severity of pain and to rule out other possibilities. Apparently, the condition is a fairly common occurance in young first time mothers, called DeQuervain's Syndrome.
So now I have to wear this splint for 10 days, ice my arm 3-4 times a day everyday and go to physical therapy for two weeks.
The good news is that, according to wikipedia (and my sister, even though she didn't know the medical name for it) the syndrome normally lasts upto a year and once it heals itself, it rarely happens again. This is month 8 of my pain, so not too long from now, I should be pain free. Yay!