Thursday, October 20, 2005

The Verdict Is...

I have irritated the heck out my ulnar nerve, just as I suspected.

The doctor was a young man, probably younger than I am, but he seemed knowledgeable. He told me that if I had a really serious problem, I would have yelped in pain when he did certain magical things, instead of just feeling uncomfortable like I did. He said the problem is that I am putting pressure on that nerve when I bend my elbow. Apparently the problem is exacerbated by the fact that I am extremely flexible and my elbows are double-jointed. He was impressed how far on my back I can reach with my arms.

He told me that his prescription was to give it a rest. Since it's nerve damage, there's no physical therapy or excercise for rehabilitation. I just need to use it as little as possible. I told him that my work required me to write and all that other stuff, so resting was not much of an option. He gave me a prescription for a special elbow cradle pad, which needs to be filled at a medical supply place of some sort. I'm still not sure where to go for that. But I will figure it out soon, because if he thinks that this thing will help me, I'm all over that.

This morning I went to the dentist for the first time in I can't remember how long. I am pleased to report that my teeth are clean and pearly now, still cavity-free, and that I have no wisdom teeth whatsoever. I was concerned that I might have them, because Rachel and I were both told that we had no wisdom teeth, and then it turned out that Rachel had one. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have no wisdom teeth at all! Perhaps it is unwise of me to brag about this fact.

3 comments:

Laura said...

I'm so glad a real live professional can tell you what's up with your hand and arm! And I hope the elbow cradle helps. Does it strap-on for violin use, too? Or will you be stuck only playing open strings? :-)

Congrats on the teeth, too. I always knew you were low on wisdom. haha.

Anonymous said...

Well, try to get all better by December -- Byron's gonna want to hear your Vy-Yin!

Kal said...

Oh, I wouldn't worry about observations regarding your wisdom. I *would* worry about your wisdom teeth hearing you say that and going "Wha? Uh? Oh! We slept in, c'mon boys! Up we go!"