I kind of worked through the pain for a bit, thinking I had just tweaked my wrist and that it would heal in a few days.  It wasn’t getting better, so I figured I should rest my hand and wrist for a while and start back up in a week or two.  Right around that same time, we were running around the house with the toddler, just being silly, and I happened to accidentally run right into my husband with my right hand extended, jamming my wrist.  Oh, it was excruciating!  The whole next day every single little movement hurt.  Typing, writing, eating, driving, dressing, lifting…I couldn’t do any of it.  Even without use, the whole area would throb with pain. Being right-handed, this seriously got in the way of things.

I started icing my wrist, hoping that this weird injury would go away.  Luckily the pain subsided a bit, but daily activities continued to hurt.  I couldn’t put ANY weight on that hand unless I made a fist in order to keep my wrist straight.  Little things like chopping vegetables or doing my hair were unpleasant to say the least. (So I just don’t do them! Ha!)

I came to the conclusion that after 10 years of working on the computer I had finally developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Not the end of the world, obviously; there are much worse ailments.  But a nuisance.  I promised my family that if things didn’t start to feel better by April that I would see a doctor.  Naturally, my over-active imagination began to spiral out of control in the following weeks.  What if the pain becomes so bad I can’t use my right hand ever again?  What if it is arthritis that is slowly spreading through my body, leaving me in a wheelchair by the time I’m 50?  What if this is a beginning sign of MS?  What if it’s bone cancer?  What if…what if….?

Sure enough, over 6 weeks went by and no improvement was made, so I visited a hand and arm specialist.  Within a minute of describing my pain and feeling the joints he knew what it was.

“Does this hurt right here?”, he asked, pressing his thumb firmly on the top and center part of my wrist and sending shooting pains through my hand and arm and causing me to momentarily go a bit cross-eyed.

The problem, he said, is not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but a ganglion cyst growing within the joint and putting pressure on the nerves.  Nothing dangerous and potentially fixable, but a bit inconvenient.

(FYI- don’t do a Google Image search for ganglion cysts if you are squeamish.  Hoo boy!  You’re welcome.)

Ganglion cysts are not necessarily uncommon and can present in a variety of ways.  You can’t really see mine as mine apparently is smaller and located deeper within the wrist, but those also tend to be more painful.

The doctor injected it with a cortisone shot (ouch!) and told me to give it a month.  If it isn’t better in a few weeks, come back for another one.  If those don’t work, they can try to aspirate it (drain the fluid) or remove it surgically.  However, there is always the risk of the cyst returning later on.

One other method of removal that I read about online is to whack it as hard as you can with a heavy book, rupturing the lining and therefore getting rid of it (until it grows back…).  Um, hello?  NO.

I also learned that I have what are called “lax joints”, and that my wrists and fingers are hypermobile, or in other words, they have an extended range of motion.  The doctor was quite rushed (I waited for an hour in the waiting room) so I wasn’t able to ask him much about it, but he mentioned that things like push-ups are bad for a person with joints like I have.  I did some research online and learned about a syndrome called Joint Hypermobility Syndrome that has a crazy array of symptoms, some of them can be very serious (spontaneous rupture of the heart or lungs, anyone?), but it seems like there could be varying degrees of the severity of the symptoms.  Anyhoo, if I do indeed have this syndrome, it would explain a LOT over the years.  Ever since I was a kid I have seen doctors for ankle, knee, hip, back, fatigue and headache problems and never received any answers.  I’ve always felt like I had an “old” body and just dealt with the pain, and often ascribed it to the fact that I danced competitively and was always very active.  I’ll have to dive into it all a little more and maybe consult with the doctor again, but it’s almost like a weight off my shoulders to know why.  There isn’t much that can be done about it all, but it’s kind of nice to know it isn’t all in my head or that I’m just a big baby, you know?

So.  There you have it, whether you wanted to know or not.  I’m grateful to have a generally healthy and functional body, and even though this wrist thing isn’t exactly a party, I still consider myself lucky.  In the meantime, I have this super-cool accessory to wear:

I have to wear it at night to keep my wrist from being slept-on funny, which kills, and during the day as much as needed to manage pain.  You don’t have to tell me, I know it’s way hot.  Try not to be jealous

P.S.  This is a wretched picture of me that I took a few days ago while chatting with a friend to show her what was up.  I feel the need to explain that I had to be at work extra-early that day, hence the hat and bloodshot eyes.  But really, let’s face it, it’s not like I really get much fancier for work on days I have more rest.

P.P.S.  After sending this pic my friend said of my office ,”It looks like you’re in a closet.”  Yes, yes it does.

Anyway, one of my resolutions is to exercise more.  This is important for a number of reason.  Obviously, I want a long and healthy life and exercise plays a huge part in that.  Secondly, exercise is wonderful stress relief, and I could use a whole lot more of that.  Third, it increases my self-esteem and self-image and I could certainly use more of that too.  Lastly, I need to lose some weight! Not a ton, maybe 10 pounds or so, but this extra jiggle has got to go!

The problem is I need to lose it soon.  Why?  Because I am going on a cruise in two months.  That’s right, a glorious Caribbean cruise.  7 days of fun and relaxation with my man.  And know what’s even better?  It’s FREE!!!  I won it from my work last summer.  How freaking awesome is that?  But if I’m really going to have a good time, I can’t be worrying about how my saddlebags look as I stroll along the beach.

The even bigger problem is that I seem to think that this 2 month time span is not actually two months but is an infinite time frame.  So what if I never made it on the treadmill today,  I have two months still!  But pretty soon that two months will be two weeks and I will really start to panic.  I tend to do this too often.  I set a goal for myself and then give myself too much leeway if I don’t start to execute on it.  This time though, the time frame is set.  I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I don’t reach my goal, but this is something I really want to do.

Last night, finally, I spent some time on the treadmill I got for Christmas.  (See?  I have my own treadmill, now I really don’t have any excuses!).  And you know what?  It felt great!  I’m not in fantastic shape, but it felt so good to just be active.  A lot of times I put off exercise because I’m too exhausted.  Last night was another one of those nights.  I was completely drained, achy, grumpy, and a little queasy.  I thought there was no way I could find the strength to do anything but loaf on the couch.  But you know, it’s true that exercise actually gives you more energy.  Afterwards I felt great, no aches, no queasiness.  I could feel the blood running through my veins and it felt good to be alive.

So why, after such an enlightening experience, is it so hard to get myself to do it again today???