Okay, right now, while you're using your mouse with your right hand, are you leaning on your left arm? DON'T!!
I learned this the hard way, and I gotta tell you, it's not worth it. Turns out the damage to my hand and arm are caused by a compressd nerve in my elbow, not in my neck. The good news is, I won't be having surgery on my neck. The bad news is, no type of surgery can fix it. I have damaged my ulnar nerve so badly that I have no feeling in my hand and have lost almost all use of my thumb and forefinger. The muscles in my hand have completely atrophied, my pinky and ring fingers are curling under and I have limited use of my arm. Being left-handed, this totally sucks. The only good news is that the middle finger is controlled by the median nerve, not the ulnar nerve, so I am flipping people off all of the time. There's something satisfying about that.
The worst part is that I can do no exercise whatsoever that involves my hand and arm. This includes holding onto handlebars of any kind, so my new rowing machine is in it's folded position, standing in the corner. No longer can I lift weights, use an elliptical machine or bike or anything else I'd like to do in the gym.
The nerve heals at the approximate rate of one inch per month and I have between 16 1/2 and 18 inches to heal. The ulnar nerve runs down the outside of your forearm and hand and then across your hand where it ends in the muscle between your thumb and forefinger. Whatever function I have left in a year and a half, is pretty much all I can expect. Because the damage is so severe, the nerve is not expected to heal all the way to the end and doctors do not expect me to regain full function of my thumb and forefinger. I am not allowed to bend my elbow, so I sleep with my arm Ace-bandaged to a splint. I'm having a brace made for my hand to prevent further contracture of my fingers.
So, unless you want to be a constant source of entertainment for your friends and family (they seem to get a kick out of the way I hold a fork), PLEASE keep your elbows off the table!
Postscript: Turns out there IS a surgery to fix it!
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5 comments:
I'm so sorry you're having so much trouble Chris! I can not even begin to imagine what you're going through. I'm gonna try to keep my elbow off the table too. :) Hope the healing begins and progresses at light speed for you.
Amy
Chris, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. And, to be quite honest, I thought you had a webcam on me as I started to read your post because I DID have my right hand on the mouse and my left elbow on the computer table! You sure opened my eyes.
Thank you for sharing your story and helping us so we can be aware of what our body is doing and what might happen to it!
My thoughts and prayers are with you for a better recovery than what is expected!
Heather (Feathers3)
Hi Chris. As I was reading your blog you caught me - I was sitting awkwardly with my left hand on the mouse and my right elbow on the armrest....the elbow that saved my right hand. I also had an ulnar nerve problem, but I had surgery in my 20's to correct it. I had a transposition of the ulnar nerve. It was extremely painful and recovery was about a year and it took about 15 years for the feeling to return to the surgical site, but I've had my hand back the whole time. It was worth it. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at notcart@bellsouth.net.
I also feel for you and your precious dog. I recently lost one and have another one on a strict Rx schedule for an enlarged heart and collapsing trachea (really cuts into a single girl's social life!), but I would never let her miss a dose for me. She'll be on meds the rest of her life. She just turned 11.
Linda Jo (BorNaSuSa on NS)
I feel sorry for Chris, but she needs an anatomy lesson on the path and functions of the ulnar nerve.
Bob
Hah, Bob! You think it's because I said I lost the use of my thumb and foregfinger, don't you? YOU ARE WRONG, though I'm sure you mean well. The ulnar nerve controls the ring and pinky fingers BUT there is an offshoot of that nerve that ends in the muscles between your thumb and forefinger. When the damage to the nerve is severe enough, it WILL leave you with muscle loss between said thumb and forefinger. YOU, I'm afraid need the lesson in anatomy!
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