Thursday, November 2, 2006

blogging will be light - the ER experience

I was cruising along last night, ready to post several more blog posts, making photo sheets of our New England vacation and the grandkids, and working on my Census Records presentation for next weekend.

And my upper right arm hurt - first painful, then almost unbearable. I couldn't lift my arm away from my side and didn't want to. I changed the angle of my mouse on the desk, but that didn't help. My wife came home and I told her what the problem was.

We called the health care nurse, and she recommended going to the ER. We got there about 8:30. I was on a gurney by 9:30 after an EKG and they drew blood. The EKG was normal, so there is no heart problem. Then it was off to a lab where they did an ultra-sound test on my neck, upper chest and both arms. The test showed no blood clots in the veins or arteries. Then we waited for the blood test results to come back - finally about 1 AM the doctor came and said he could find no indications in the blood test - and prescribed ibuprofen or naprosyn. We got home about 1:30 AM and sleep was difficult.

While on the gurney after the ultra-sound test, the pain in the arm lessened considerably and I could move it without wincing. It feels about the same today. It still hurst some, and the prescription is to "rest it and see if it gets better." I can type because my hands don't stress the arm, but I'm mousing with my left hand.

I feel that this is a cyst in the arm muscle or a nerve problem, like carpal tunnel syndrome. I am ecstatic that it is not a blood clot or stroke or heart problems.

Anyway, blogging, and genealogy work, will be light. I am going to try to listen to the podcasts and FGS 2006 lectures that I downloaded recently on my new iPod.

2 comments:

Jasia said...

Sorry to hear of your disability Randy. Take good care of yourself and I'll send some prayers out with your name on them.

Anonymous said...

Randy,

I suggest you find a good medical massage therapist in your area who is nationally certified and understands how to relieve carpal tunnel symdrome symptoms. [Pstt... he/she will probably focus on your arms, shoulders and neck].

J