A bit more than "ouch." I have had a touch of arthritis in my left thumb for years; it's painful at times, but I can live with it.
It was acting up yesterday, but I was mostly ignoring it. Holding on to things with that hand requires more attention -- that thumb will slack off if ignored -- but no big deal, right?
I was inveigling a long piece of what's essentially inch-and-a-half copper pipe out of a jackstraw tangle of similar and larger pieces, part of a now-obsolete assembly hanging from the eleven-foot-high ceiling up at the North Campus. It's tricky work that really should have two people to do it. One person with a couple of stepladders can manage, if they take things very slowly and plan every step.
On one of those steps, my thumb began to twinge, badly. Wasn't anything I could do about it, so I held on harder and kept working until the section of pipe was safely on the floor.
And as I did, my left wrist started to hurt, a long, nasty line of pain from my thumb back into that side of my wrist. So I worked one-handed until I had loose items secured, and found quieter tasks to finish the day -- it was about time to knock off the higher-risk jobs anyway.
The drive home wasn't fun; after decades of cars with manual transmissions, I routinely steer left-handed. I kept reverting to that, getting zapped and putting my right hand back on the wheel. Making dinner wasn't a lot of fun and left me crabby from the git-go.
At bedtime, I dosed up on acetaminophen and aspirin, put on the wrist braces I'm supposed to sleep in, and headed off to dreamland. My wrist seemed better this morning.
At first, that is. The relief didn't last. Blamed thing hurts worse than ever now. even after more OTC painkillers. Dammit.
Update
18 hours ago
8 comments:
Might be time to step up to Naproxen. I'm taking it twice a day now and while it doesn't eliminate my problems, it keeps me mobile.
Hope it gets better soon.
Oh, and COVID update; I ended my isolation period yesterday, CINCHOUSE back last weekend.
No major symptoms for either of us. O2 bottomed out at 91-92%.
I know I got lucky, but quite frankly, it was hard to tell the symptoms from the virus from my normal neuropathy and seasonal cold/allergy symptoms.
Hope everyone else stays safe and if they get their cases are as mild as ours were.
I hope your pain subsides.
If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were disassembling an analog TV transmitter installation. My boss and I keep thinking we will finish ours off, but hey what the hurry? It's only been 11 years since we converted two cabinets of that transmitter to DTV.
We do have quite the pile of 1 5/8" Myat fittings from the aural section.
You have to be careful with Naproxen and other NSAIDSs. It's a good way to an ulcer.
Not to sound too Californian (I'm from Ohio, HONEST!)but you ought to try a full-spectrum CBD. It's legal in Indiana as long as it's grown from hemp with less than 0.3 THC. I've been trying CBD for the last year or so with mixed results. I started taking this
https://www.pluscbdoil.com/cbd-products/softgels/cbdoilsoftgelsTPC.html
a few weeks ago, and am beginning to see some pain reduction (I have some hand, toe, and spinal arthritis). Most unexpectedly my mood is better too. It's hard to attribute the placebo effect to it because I did not expect that to happen. I wouldn't expect ANYTHING to improve my mood entering November. But YMMV.
If you are curious, here's a biased site on CBD legality in Indiana.
https://ilcbd.com/cbd-in-indiana-guide/
Antibubba, I can't. My prior experiences with cannibis products has been harrowingly negative -- and some CBD-oil products will result in a positive dug test, which would cause me to lose my job on the spot. (You can appeal if you blipped on a prescription drug, but not for pot.)
With stakes like that, I will continue my well-established NSAID use. I don't like Naproxen -- it doesn't work as well for me as the aspirin-acetaminophen combination, and there's no way to start small and add more if needed.
You might ask your doctor about a precription for Diclofenac. It's also a NSAID, it can be a lower ulcer risk. Also, look for Voltaren. It's a topical gel with Diclofenac in it. I haven't tried it tet.
I have tried them. Don't like them. There's no fine adjustment and they don't control the pain as well as OTC aspirin and acetaminophen. Take or use either one and I am cut off from my regular pain reliever for six hours or more. (Rub the Voltaren on, and you can't take any kind of pain pill -- well, I usually hurt more than one place. Chronic migraines, remember.)
I can start with two aspirin and one acetaminophen, take the same seven or right hours later and get through the day. If I need more, I can take more, especially the acetaminophen. Taking two a day means I can take one more any time I need to, and just mind the clock from there.
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