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.