About a year ago, in early 2008, I started having problems with my wrists. Most of the times, my wrists felt normal, but from time to time I would get sharp pains in my wrists. Both wrists experienced the problem, although my right wrist was worse with more often pain, and more severe as well.
For 6 months or so the problem persisted, but was manageable. Then, in early July I woke up one morning in severe pain. My right wrist was about as painful as it possibly could be. I tried all kinds of different ways to relieve the pain – tylenol, advil, ice, heat – none of them were all that effective. My first thought was that I was having experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome, since I am on the computer a lot, and using the keyboard heavily. I made the decision to cut back my keyboard use as much as possible, and that day I purchased a new laptop. My thinking on the laptop was that if I got a little more powerful machine, I would use voice recognition software and thus drastically reduce my use of the keyboard.
I kept using the voice recognition software for several weeks, but the pain continued. I decided that I better go see a doctor and get more professional advice. So, I had blood tests to rule out gout, and I also had x rays of my wrist to see what damage was there. The pain was so severe that I thought I may have broken a bone in the area.
What the tests showed, though, was that I had a build up of calcium in the wrist joint. It turns out that it was all due to Osteoarthritis in the joint. I started taking glucosamine to see if that would help, and I also got more serious about using ice on the wrist. In addition, I used a product called “Fastum Gel” on the wrist. Fastum is a non-steroidal anti inflammatory medication, and it is very effective, working in only seconds to relieve the pain. My only problem was that I am also diabetic, and NSAID drugs are not good for diabetics. So, I had to limit my use of the gel to a minimal amount, and only when the pain was unbearable.
It has been 6 months or so since I have learned what was wrong with my wrist, and I have learned a lot about how to effectively manage the pain since then. Unfortunately, in that time, my left wrist has also gotten worse, and is about the same as my right wrist now, so I really have to treat both wrists. Luckily, so far only one wrist at a time has been acting up, and that is a relief. If I had a severe attack in both wrists at once, I would practically be disabled.
Another thing I have learned is that it is not keyboard use that causes my problem. My right wrist is severely bothered by the use of a mouse, though, and I have had to use alternate input devices like a touchpad or graphic tablet instead to minimize the pain. But, I am back to using a keyboard for text input into my computer, and it does not cause me any wrist problems.
Overall, I have found that the most effective treatment for my wrists when I experience pain is to put ice on them. If one of my wrists is giving me pain, then the first thing I do every morning is to ice the wrist down for 30 minutes or so, then go about my normal routine for the day. It works well in managing the pain, and keeps me from getting into too much misery.
Osteoarthritis is one of the most painful types of arthritis out there. If you have osteoarthritis and have any additional tips on how to manage it, I would certainly be happy to hear from you.
Hi Bob, Sorry to hear about your wrists. This is such a big problem for so many people, especially people who must sit at a computer for many hours at a time. Have you ever tried chiropractic adjustment or accupuncture? I’m a big supporter of chiropractic and rely on adjustments to keep me feeling flexible and without pain. I’ve found a chiropractor in Cebu but I think in general they’re not always able to locate in many areas outside of Manila. As far as accupuncture, I have a Chinese accupuncture doctor that I can count on if I have a problem in the US, but have yet to find one in Cebu. Last year I slipped on some wet tiles at my house in Cebu and hurt my knee. I ended up consulting with the neighborhood hilot with some good results.
To sum all this up, maybe some alternative therapy could be of some help to you. I hope you’re feeling better.
Hi queeniebee – thanks for stopping by, nice to see you here. No, I have not tried acupuncture or chiropractic therapy. Thankfully, though, right now my wrists are doing pretty well, I’m happy to say. When I start to feel some pain coming on, I ice my wrists down for a couple of hours, and that usually clears up the pain pretty well. If I do that before the pain gets bad, I find that I can control the pain pretty well.
I am not adverse to trying alternative methods, though, if needed.
That’s good to hear Bob, I guess it’s good to nip pain in the bud when you first feel it. They say that you shouldn’t chase pain or it will be harder to control. Iceing is a regimen that works well for so many people.
Hi queeniebee – Yes, I agree, icing works very well. I want to stop from using medication as much as possible. Ice does the trick.
Hey Bob,
I, too used to have a wrist problem and osteopenia, and the doctor’s prognosis was carpal tunnel syndrome (he thinks it was). My arthritis is bad, especially when there is a weather changes, like low pressure. Before it even gets here, i could almost feel the pain…I was even given some cortisone shots to ease my excruciating pain ( but i only let them gave me 2x shots, after doing a thorough research thru-PUBMED.com (a doctor’s resource website)…i then throw away all medications that was prescribed to me by my health provider…i am a very hard headed person when it comes to taking prescribed medications…i don’t follow my doctor’s order (most of the time)…
But since i went full throttle to vegan, fruitarian diets and grains diets , my whole body changed tremendously. Don’t feel the joint or wrist pain anymore…After my accident with the 18 wheeler that was hauling construction backhoe, hit my vehicle while i was turning right…While the rigg was running to beat the red light traffic… he then hit my right back fender and demolished the whole back door of my van…which i suffered 2 vertebrae in the back of my neck (slightly off, thank God i was not completely disabled)…To my horror, after that accident, i felt a muscle pain or all sorts. scared that i would never be able to moved my neck…
I still do my walking and a light dancing or other light exercises…if you ask me now? I am feeling great and very healthy…no more pain, even my vision had improved. Just by eating RAW FOOD Diets.
Good luck Bob!
To follow through with the fruits: Don’t forget the Pinepple, include the core, since it is a good source potential anti-inflammatory and digestive benefits (like your inflammed wrist)…
Try this great website for informational purposes only:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=34
Bob, hope all this sharing information do really help you get rid of the culprit to you pain…example, you can’t just keep mending a broken pipe because someday it will burst or break and causing more damaged…same as our pain, we need to target the cause of the problem before it builds up and unable to correct it.
Hi megre3 – Thanks for the tips. I remember in 2008, Steve Pavilina (do you know him? He is a personal development blogger) wrote a lot about Raw Food Diet. I will ahve to check into this and see how it can do for me. I am glad that you came out OK after the accident!
Bob,
Thanks, yes I was too, glad i came out ok after the accident…Nope i don’t know Steve P…but glad someone out there is crusading the Raw Food Diet…We really need to educate a lot of people about the food we engest.
By the way, there is a place in Arizona that help people with health problems and came out free of Diabetes (from insulin dependent to obese ). I’ll check on that facilities once i get back from the Carribean, and share it with you. I have met people with severe health problems and they are now embracing the benefits to Raw Food Diet. Some of this people that i know was a close friend of mine. He almost gave it up while in the middle of the raw food diet treatment. His wife and family were very supportive of him, he went home, but went back because of the moral support he’s been getting from friends and families…if he had not done it, he would not be here today. tears is flowing my eyes as i typed this bloglog. I am so glad that i could share something very important to our health and beautiful life! ahead of us.
Hi megre3 – thanks for sharing.