I didn't mean to go so long without posting, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. Yesterday I was off getting a MRI on my wrist. That was quite an experience. Even with the headphones and music, it was really loud. I get to see the doctor on Friday to see if anything turns up in the MRI to help diagnose my wrist problems. What is up with the wrist anyway? Well...

In January I was wrestling with my oldest daughter (5 at the time). We were on the bed and I was on my back, she kind of launched herself at me and I put my hands up to catch her. (She has a long history of smacking me in the nose with her head. I've learned to defend my face at all times with her & frankly, I don't know how I've survived 6 years with her without having a broken nose.) My arms were at a 90 degree angle to my body & my palms were facing the ceiling when she landed on me. My right wrist bent back further than was comfortable and pain shot up through my index and middle fingers as well as up my arm towards my elbow. I thought I'd sprained it, but I didn't notice any swelling in the wrist, limited movement & everything did move, so I figured I hadn't broken anything. Weeks passed and I was working on the Big Sack Sweater (from SnB) and I noticed that my wrist was getting really tired when I was knitting. I thought it was just the weight of the sweater, up to that point I'd only been knitting scarves and hats, and I worked to keep the weight distributed more evenly to avoid the strain. I did notice that I did not feel the same strain in my left wrist, but I didn't tie it to my injury. In March I noticed that I was developing limited range of motion in that wrist, but it was all centered on the back of the hand/wrist, not underneath where carpal tunnel would be. Then one day I noticed that if I bent my hand down (fingers pointing down) that I had a really weird and angular lump on my wrist. Freaky.

I made an appointment with my GP and he said it looked like a ganglier cyst. A common thing that used to be treated by dropping very heavy books on them to pop them. Being a librarian, I found this particularly funny. However, they are now treated by aspiration (a needle to remove the fluid, but they usually come back) or by surgery (MUCH more effective). My doctor sent me to a hand surgeon, whom I did not like. The hand surgeon agreed that it looked like a cyst and sent to have an ultrasound and aspiration. If the aspiration did not work he said he'd do surgery. I'm not all excited about being cut into, so I was fine with trying the aspiration. Neither doctor seemed to think my injury was related to the problem. The doctor who did the ultrasound could not find a cyst, so he sent me to a rheumatologist. The rheumatologist performed a huge number of tests for arthritis which ALL CAME BACK NEGATIVE OR NORMAL, and decided that I need to be treated for arthritis anyway. I will add that she is the first of the four doctors I've seen to have any X-rays done on my wrist A life-long course of nasty medication that needs constant monitoring, might I add. I did do a course of prednizone, to which I had some very bad reactions, and I told this doctor that I was not confvinced that this was a proper course of treatment for my wrist. She offered an MRI, which I jumped on, and if nothing conclusive comes out of that I will be seeking a second opinion. I feel that she's trying to make my problem fit her specialty because I'm in her office, not because it makes the most sense. We'll see how it goes on Friday.