Hello All - I would like to ask a question about a new pain that i've developed recently.
A little while ago I posted this thread detailing my experience with TMS in my wrist, going on for 2 years. While the pain has always been in my wrist, over the past 6 months or so I've been noticing that im getting pain in my fingers a lot as well. I am an artist, both as a job and as a hobby, so my pain is always triggered by drawing, and always in my left hand.
Of course, my first thought is that the pain from my wrist has just 'moved' to my fingers because i'm doing my best to ignore my wrist and believe its TMS. However, the pain in my fingers its not the same. Its more of a stiff ache in my joints. My finger joints feel sore and click a lot, and the pain is worse when I flex/bend them. I never get pain at the base of my thumb, but often in the last joint of the thumb, before the tip. Right now my middle finger is sore and feels swollen, but there is no visible swelling. I also get pain in my knuckles and over the back of my hand. This can sometimes be visibly red and feel hot to the touch.
This pain seems to happen after drawing for a while, and feels like its the result of gripping the pen too hard? It is NOT caused by typing, only by drawing or writing (holding a pen, basically). I cannot write for 10 minutes with a biro without getting fatigue and aching in my fingers. I can go for a bit longer with a fineliner, but ultimately I have to stop when the pain is too much. Needless to say, this has made journalling difficult when trying to do the SEP.
I do grip the pen hard, and im trying my best to resolve this. However, it seems ridiculous that my fingers ache so much after 10 minutes of using a pen, when I used to be able to write essays and essays by hand at school, for exams and the like. I am 25 so school was not that long ago. I have been tested for arthritis, but at the time of being tested, I had not experience finger pain. I know its bad but I cant help but worry that I might have some kind of arthritis in my fingers because it feels swollen and does respond to heat and ice (unlike my itchy wrist pain).
So back to my question: Has anyone else experienced finger ache / possible arthritic pain in their finger joints as a symptom of TMS? Do you/did you have trouble writing by hand for long amounts of time? I cant tell if this is TMS or if I really am gripping the pen too hard and I'm doing damage.
It should be noted that a couple of weeks ago, I had a really positive period of no pain for about 2/3 weeks. I seem to be very prone to relapse and havent figured out how to be pain free yet, but I have a lot of reason to believe my wrist is fine. I'm just concerned about my fingers at this stage. Arthritis seems so scary for an artist!
thanks so much~
A little while ago I posted this thread detailing my experience with TMS in my wrist, going on for 2 years. While the pain has always been in my wrist, over the past 6 months or so I've been noticing that im getting pain in my fingers a lot as well. I am an artist, both as a job and as a hobby, so my pain is always triggered by drawing, and always in my left hand.
Of course, my first thought is that the pain from my wrist has just 'moved' to my fingers because i'm doing my best to ignore my wrist and believe its TMS. However, the pain in my fingers its not the same. Its more of a stiff ache in my joints. My finger joints feel sore and click a lot, and the pain is worse when I flex/bend them. I never get pain at the base of my thumb, but often in the last joint of the thumb, before the tip. Right now my middle finger is sore and feels swollen, but there is no visible swelling. I also get pain in my knuckles and over the back of my hand. This can sometimes be visibly red and feel hot to the touch.
This pain seems to happen after drawing for a while, and feels like its the result of gripping the pen too hard? It is NOT caused by typing, only by drawing or writing (holding a pen, basically). I cannot write for 10 minutes with a biro without getting fatigue and aching in my fingers. I can go for a bit longer with a fineliner, but ultimately I have to stop when the pain is too much. Needless to say, this has made journalling difficult when trying to do the SEP.
I do grip the pen hard, and im trying my best to resolve this. However, it seems ridiculous that my fingers ache so much after 10 minutes of using a pen, when I used to be able to write essays and essays by hand at school, for exams and the like. I am 25 so school was not that long ago. I have been tested for arthritis, but at the time of being tested, I had not experience finger pain. I know its bad but I cant help but worry that I might have some kind of arthritis in my fingers because it feels swollen and does respond to heat and ice (unlike my itchy wrist pain).
So back to my question: Has anyone else experienced finger ache / possible arthritic pain in their finger joints as a symptom of TMS? Do you/did you have trouble writing by hand for long amounts of time? I cant tell if this is TMS or if I really am gripping the pen too hard and I'm doing damage.
It should be noted that a couple of weeks ago, I had a really positive period of no pain for about 2/3 weeks. I seem to be very prone to relapse and havent figured out how to be pain free yet, but I have a lot of reason to believe my wrist is fine. I'm just concerned about my fingers at this stage. Arthritis seems so scary for an artist!
thanks so much~
However, it may be relevant. Fear is slippery, and tends to avoid 'tackles'. Perhaps you might try an alternative approach. I do not go after the fear directly. Instead, I flood my my mind with power statements (I am strong, I am powerful, I am Light, I am ... [fill in]). Whenever I feel fear, I interrupt those thoughts and insert the power thoughts. Fear, because it becomes disjointed and neglected, begins to wither from the lack of attention. For me, giving the fear too much attention tends to make it swell. Just like people do not like to be ignored, fear seems to follow that pattern.
