So, I went to the doctor today. For the past several months, I've been experiencing a tingling sensation in both of my hands, accompanied by pain and stiffness. I've also been waking up several times during the night because my hands have been swelling and falling to sleep. Well, the doctor diagnosed me with the dreaded Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both of my wrists! :( Apparently, I've been spending too much time typing away here at the Xchange! Not to mention writing my books, gossip column, articles and book reviews for the newspaper. So now I have to wear splints on both wrists, 24/7 for the next month or so. Also have to ice both wrists twice daily and get a cortisone shot once a week. I've been instructed not to spend so much time typing on the computer! Hopefully, the treatment will work and I will not require surgery! :bigeek: At any rate, I might not be typing as many messages as normal around here, but I think the Xchange will be okay! :lol: Anyone else have experience with Carpal Tunnel?

No experience with carpal tunnel, but mucho experience with the hand thing. ;) My neighbor had to have wrist surgery, though. Research first....her doctor gave her more problems than she started with.

Sorry to hear you're having problems in this area, especially since it's your liveliehood! :( Hope therapy works out....Take care! :)

I feel your pain!!! I had surgery on my left wrist last october for carpal tunnel as well as a ganglion (sp) cyst. My left hand was permantly numb for a while. My right hand isn't that bad yet. Kinda weird since i'm a righty. Did your Dr. give you the lovely splints to wear?

Sorry to hear about that Triv, you seem to hear about more cases all the time as we become a digital society
I know some people who use a voice recognition set up on their computer - that could be a solution to your problem & give your hands a bit of a rest.
Some of the latest gear is a lot better than when they first started developing the software - but like everything, it comes at a price.
I'm told once you get over the weird feeling of talking to your computer, it's quite a neat thing - you can lean back in your chair and converse to your heart's content ;)

My sister in law... (well, 2 of them in fact) have had surgery for it. I haven't had any experience with it so I can't give you any advice...just hugz and let you know that I am sorry that you are going through this.

Originally posted by RetroMan
I know some people who use a voice recognition set up on their computer - that could be a solution to your problem & give your hands a bit of a rest.

Great idea, Retro. :thumb: Would takes a bit to train the program to recognize the cadence of your speech, Triv, but well worth it if it helps stave off CT surgery. Best of luck. :)

Sorry to hear about your condition Michael. I guess you're going to have to take it easy for awhile or look into the voice recognition software that Retro suggested already.
In any case, don't make the problem worse. I hope you recover fairly quickly from the CTS through your therapy. Take care!

Oh Michael! I'm so sorry to hear of the troubles with your hands. I hope all will be okay, and you won't have to have surgery. I agree with Retro about the voice recognition software. It'll definitely be worth it if you can avoid surgery. Good luck, Sweetie. :*

Yikes! That's gotta be torturous! Especially as a writer. Hope that treatment works and no surgery is needed! Just give them hands a rest and take it easy, Triv ;)

Lucky my probs never got that bad. I have tendonitis in both of my wrists though. Can relate to an extent. Hope this therapy works for you. Just do a lot of research on the surgery and you the surgeon. Heard both good and bad results from it. :ghug:

AAAHHH!! My favorite author!! Take good care of yourself, Michael!

:( I hope you don't have too many long term problems with this. We'll sure miss seeing you so much around here. Take care of yourself so you'll be back to your normal posting and writing. We'll miss you meanwhile. :)

Mikey, you've been working too hard - you enjoy your break and take good care of yourself!

I kinda know how you feel(in a way)I just recently have been feeling pain and stiffness in my finger joints when I write or pretty much do things with my hands for extended periods of time,my mother has informed me that I probably am in the early stages of arthritis(sp)she started feeling hers in her late 20's.Hell,this really makes me feel old.

Anyway,take care of yourself,dude.Hope you feel better in time.

Sorry to hear of your trouble, hope things get better for you soon.

Well Michael, I am sorry to hear about that. I hope that you get better without needing the surgery.

Originally posted by Rhelawen
[B]

Great idea, Retro. :thumb: Would takes a bit to train the program to recognize the cadence of your speech [B]

Some of the stuff today can adapt to all sorts of vocal accents, (even speech impediments) quite quickly before you even start training it. It's amazing! It sure is one way of 'getting to know' your computer :)

Michael, I'm so sorry to hear about this. I hope everything is gonna be ok for you!

Get that Voice Recognition Software now!

Best of luck on your recovery, Michael! :* I have had some numbness but not to bad yet. Retro had a great idea! :thumb:

Whatever happens, you can not leave the xchange. You would be missed way too much. ;) Practice typing with your toes, if need be. :lol:

Oh Michael, I am really sorry to hear this!! It must be torture for you as a writer!! I have had bouts of numbiness and pain in both of my hands, but mostly my left, because that is the one I use the most. So I can understand you pain, it's not something I like having to deal with!! ((((((Big Hugs))))) You are in my Thoughts and Prayers Michael, You take care of yourself and Rest, which for a writer I know that is going to be hard, But try anyway :)

Originally posted by RetroMan
Some of the stuff today can adapt to all sorts of vocal accents, (even speech impediments) quite quickly before you even start training it. It's amazing! It sure is one way of 'getting to know' your computer :)

I have the Dragon - Naturally Speaking voice recognition software. It's an excellent program, requiring minimal 'training'. I even used it to chat in IRC. :lol: Had to make sure I had a lot of water on hand, though, because I got hoarse. ;)

Wow Triv, sorry to hear that. I hope everything turns out okay. I can't even imagine getting that and not being able to play my bass.

{{{HUGS}}}

I have carpel tunnel, but I just wear my braces when typing. Sometimes longer, if they are really throbbing. I have a couple of friends who had the surgery and ended up not really researching their docs beforehand.

Be good and really be careful not to type too much!!! :)

Sorry to hear about this Triv.:ghug: Take good care of yourself and get healed without any icky surgery.:*

Michael, I can definately relate! I suffer from Carpal Tunnel in my right wrist and hand and it is a pain to live with (no pun intended). When it is cold outside especially, my hand and wrist stiffen up. If I use this hand and wrist a lot at work, I start to experience pain. I went through some therapy for it back in 1998, but it didn't seem to do much good.

I hope that everything will go well for you and you will not have to go through surgery.

Thanks for all the advice and kind words, guys. Today was the first day in months that I haven't experienced any pain or tingling in my hands, so maybe the therapy is working. The doctor also gave me this large ball of silly putty-like material to play around with to strenghten my wrists. And I am definitely going to look into that voice activated software for my computer, Retro! My doctor has also sugested electro-magnetic therapy as an alternate treatment, so I might try that as well. Again, thank you guys for being the supportive group of friends! :thumb:

Hey Michael, I have several friends that use that electro-magnectic Therapy and it really seems to work for them, all you can do is give it a try!! :)

Triv, I am so sorry to hear this! I hope you recover soon. I can only imagine how bad it'd be, especially because you're a writer. Here's to a quick recovery.

Michael I hate to hear your news but Doctors know best so stay away from the keyboard :hammer:
You will be in my thoughts :D Now hurry up and get better :*

I love the silly putty stuff. It doubles as a stress reliever. :) My doctor has also mentioned electro-magnetic therapy. If you try it tell me how it works. :) Physical Therapy helps tons. Keep those hands relaxed! Get better soon. :)

I can imagine how frustrating it must be for you not being able to do your writing. Glad to hear you're looking into voice recognition software. I should probably do the same thing, knowing how much time I can spend at a computer typing away on a novel.

Originally posted by Rhelawen


I have the Dragon - Naturally Speaking voice recognition software. It's an excellent program, requiring minimal 'training'. I even used it to chat in IRC.

actually Rhelawen, I have chatted to someone using VRS before and the human element really comes though - for example when I made this person laugh, instead of them typing the usual 'LOL' or those other laugh commands, the microphone picked up the actual laughter and it came out "ha huh haha haaa ha" I got a real buzz from that, I thought it was great

Originally posted by Slayergrrl
I love the silly putty stuff. It doubles as a stress reliever. :)

Plus you can make copies of comics! :lol:

Originally posted by RetroMan
actually Rhelawen, I have chatted to someone using VRS before and the human element really comes though - for example when I made this person laugh, instead of them typing the usual 'LOL' or those other laugh commands, the microphone picked up the actual laughter and it came out "ha huh haha haaa ha" I got a real buzz from that, I thought it was great

Now that is kewl, Retro! :thumb: Makes me want to buy another mic and mess around on Dragon again. My damned cat chewed through the cord for my headset. :irked:

Yeah, that silly putty material is fun to muck around with!!! :lol: I haven't transfered the comics on it yet, but that's an idea! ;) I'll let everyone know how the therapy goes. So far, since I've been wearing the splints and not typing as much, I've been feeling better! Thanks again, everyone! :thumb:

I suppose there are worse things in life than CTS but i know it can be quite a problem.Hang in there and I'd cinsider using that mic.

And if things get too bad.You can always come here and mouth off.I know from experince that this is a good place to do so!:D

Bear