Re: Strange neurological symptoms, any advice before I see my Doc?
- From: Mary <imnotthere@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 16:46:21 -0800
Yes, especially keep in mind that if you have caused any damage, refraining from the damaging behavior will not result in immediate improvement. I once had carpal tunnel syndrome from writing on triplicate forms repeatedly during the day at work--one surgeon took only 8 minutes to perform cataract surgery, and my paperwork took longer, so I had a lot of frantic writing to do in very little time. But wearing a wrist brace for a time, and a change of jobs made the difference for me. The center that I work at now does not require triplicate forms, and besides that I've made "cheater" forms in which the nurses in the "eye room" only have to fill in the blanks, such as the amounts of drugs given, etc, instead of having to write in all the various drugs given. It's made a tremendous improvement for me.
Another example: I used to watch TV sitting with my hubby in his oversized Lazyboy, and each time I experienced restless leg syndrome. It took awhile for me to realize that this happened only when I sat with him. Apparently, it was from sitting a bit sideways, causing pinching of the nerves in my already damaged lumbar spine. When I don't sit in that position, I never experience the excited nerves in the lower legs (oh how miserable that was!).
I'm glad you understand that you must take a look at what you're doing, and the position you keep your body in. Just remember, if you have caused some harm, it will take at least an equal amount of time for the nerves to get back to normal. So patience is necessary.
However, if you don't get any relief, it won't hurt to get some testing done. It's just my personal opinion that too many people are unaware of the harm they are doing to their own bodies, especially in this age of computers, etc. My own step-son had a lot of tests done because of arm pain, but apparently it was caused by the many hours he spent on the computer (having fun and at work). He has no problems now, and has had no treatment.
I've started to think that I may have Raynaud's, because at work even though I'm dressed in scrubs, with an addition scrub jacket, when the temp in the rooms is below about 67 deg.(normal in an OR) my fingers get totally numb. It makes it very difficult to draw up drugs, etc. Also, I've noticed my fingers getting slightly blue at the time. It takes a couple hours to go away, after I've worked up a sweat while working. But I'm still not convinced, because it could be caused by my tightening my shoulder muscles (neck) due to the cold environment. I won't come to any conclusions until I've tested it out.
I hope you are able to figure out what's going on with you. There are so many things that can cause our rather delicate bodies, problems. Good luck!
Mary
Chris J. wrote:
On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 08:39:03 -0800, Mary <imnotthere@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I think a lot of people are jumping the gun here. A lot of nerve problems are just from poor body mechanics. You feel it when you lean on the arm of your chair, holding your head? That position alone will cause pressure on the ulnar nerve, not to mention the extra weight of your head. Also, you're leaning to the side to do that, which can cause impingement in your neck. As a nurse, I'm SO aware of proper body mechanics.
Thanks... I make a point of not leaning on my arms holding my head
since this thing began, so it's not that in itself.
I've taken the arms off of my desk chair (yesterday), so now my arms
hang at my sides when not typing.
I'm going to keep changing things around, ever other day or so, and
see if I find something that makes an impact.
If you become aware of keeping your spine aligned properly--have proper posture when sitting at your computer or any other activity that you spend a lot of time at, in some time the symptoms may disappear completely. When in bed, or sitting in the easy chair watching TV, or at other times during the day, take notice of the position of your head, neck, back, hips, feet.
I hardly ever watch TV, so I rarely sit in an easy chair except to
open the mail, which takes me less then ten minutes.
When in bed, asleep or trying to sleep, my position is all over the
place. I toss and turn constantly, and do indeed wake up in some bad
positions, such as my hand being numb because my knee was on my wrist
(I'm not exaggerating).
However, if it has taken some time for you to get a bit of nerve damage, it may not go away immediately either.
Very true... I'm just interested in preventing further damage. As this
is now, it's so minor that if I wasn't concerned about it as a
symptom, I would probably not notice it at all.
And as far as numb hands in cold weather, that's called normal. Now getting numb hands when properly clothed indoors when the temperature is 65 degrees--that's not normal.
I've been playing with the thermostat today, as an experiment. I've
found that I'm fine above 60 degrees, even sleeping (hands exposed)
with no cold hands. However, I do get cold fingers if the indoor temp
is in the low 50's, and I'm not active (say, reading). I can't
honestly recall if I'm more sensitive now than a few years ago, so I
don't know if this is normal for me or not.
Thanks, Mary, and I'll keep these things in mind...
.
- References:
- Re: A matter of compromise?
- From: Ma¢k
- Re: A matter of compromise?
- From: W . M . McKee
- Re: Strange neurological symptoms, any advice before I see my Doc?
- From: RK
- Re: Strange neurological symptoms, any advice before I see my Doc?
- From: Mary
- Re: A matter of compromise?
- Prev by Date: Re: OT: reply to wmmckee
- Next by Date: Article: if you aren't disgusted by this image, there's something fundamentally wrong with you
- Previous by thread: Re: Strange neurological symptoms, any advice before I see my Doc?
- Next by thread: Re: A matter of compromise?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
