Hello to anyone who may be reading my story; for those of you who make it to the end and provide me with support and advice you have my greatest thanks. I have been living with consistent hand pain for three years now. The pain encompasses the entirety of both of my hands as well as a tiny bit of both my forearms. The pain is mild, consisting of a mild burning feeling as well as a high level of stiffness and a consistent ache. The pain never resides, it is always present during all points of my waking hours. The pain worsens if I use my hands for various tasks, such as typing, clicking, biking, etc. The use of computers is my hobby and passion therefore this disability limits me from engaging in what I love.
The pain first started three years ago in my sophomore year of high school. It began as a dull pain in the upper right portion of my right hand. I did not think much of it and continued to use the computer. At this point in my life I was a very avid gamer, and was very dedicated to the game in which I played, therefore I did not even consider taking a break. The pain persisted into the next day and would get worse when I was doing writing for my school work. After arriving home the next day I decided to compensate and use my left hand to play my game. This went on for around four days; I would use my right hand at school and my left hand for gaming. By this point I was doing extensive research on repetitive strain injury and was beginning to worry more and more. The stories of people who would become permanently disabled from RSI stressed me out to no end because I did not want to live my life in pain. I was also speaking with my mother about the condition and she mentioned to me that RSI could potentially spread from the right hand to the left-hand. A day after this reveal I begin to experience a similar pain in my left hand after using it for gaming. At this point I was dumbfounded and did not know what to do. I did not want to stop gaming, nor could I stop using my right hand for school work. I had already missed too many days of school due to my consistent irritable bowel syndrome. I was not able to take days off or my mother would face legal trouble.
I cannot specifically say whether this was a stressful time in my life or not. I had suffered from anxiety, and severe OCD for many years prior to this occurrence. With that, and the fact that I was enrolled in very tasking classes meant that I was always stressed and had been for years. The pain after this point continued to get worse. When it first showed up I could alleviate it by resting my hands. Eventually after using my hands for quite some time it had come to a point where the burning and throbbing pain did not subside regardless of whether I was resting or not. After around two months of continuing to use my hands with the condition I had come to a point where I could actually take a break. I took about a two week break and noticed little to no change in my condition. After this I continued using my hands for the next year, noticing that my condition was set at a certain point. The pain did not get worse, nor did it get better. I took another one month break after this year of use and still noticed little to no change. I then begin using my hands again and have use them for another year bringing me to this point.
I first came across the subject of TMS early into my condition. From what I could tell, if I continued my activities without the fear of pain and without revolving my life around the pain that I could potentially cure my condition. This notion was the reason why I continued using my hands even though they were in pain; however even with this approach I noticed no change in my condition. I have read half of the mind-body prescription though I did not cover the treatment part. With this approach it seems my condition has gotten progressively worse which has worried me more as I may have furthered my RSI if that is what I have.
Because the condition shows little signs of response to rest, and somehow managed to overtake my left hand within a week of originating I truly believe that it is TMS. Not only this, but I also suffer and have been suffering from anxiety, OCD, and irritable bowel syndrome for the better portion of my life; which seems to be consistent among TMS sufferers. I'm also very much a perfectionist and always have been. Even though I am completely convinced that my condition is likely TMS, the lack of results from the TMS approach and increasing pain in my hands and forearms has weakened my will. The approach I have applied is continuing the use of the affected part without the fear of pain and without revolving my life around the pain. I have also done mental conditioning as mentioned in the mind-body prescription. I feel as though I am missing a key component of the healing process for TMS. I'd like to reach out to everyone on this forum as I'm in desperate need of help regarding my situation. It has come to a point where I'm not sure whether I suffer from TMS or RSI; or what to even do at this point. If anyone can provide insight I would be greatly appreciative. If you need any more information let me know. Currently I'm treating the condition as repetitive strain injury after the TMS approach had no effect for a year, I'm writing this thread with voice software and avoid using my hands as much as possible. I'll be quite interested and happy to hear your replies, thank you so much in advance!
The pain first started three years ago in my sophomore year of high school. It began as a dull pain in the upper right portion of my right hand. I did not think much of it and continued to use the computer. At this point in my life I was a very avid gamer, and was very dedicated to the game in which I played, therefore I did not even consider taking a break. The pain persisted into the next day and would get worse when I was doing writing for my school work. After arriving home the next day I decided to compensate and use my left hand to play my game. This went on for around four days; I would use my right hand at school and my left hand for gaming. By this point I was doing extensive research on repetitive strain injury and was beginning to worry more and more. The stories of people who would become permanently disabled from RSI stressed me out to no end because I did not want to live my life in pain. I was also speaking with my mother about the condition and she mentioned to me that RSI could potentially spread from the right hand to the left-hand. A day after this reveal I begin to experience a similar pain in my left hand after using it for gaming. At this point I was dumbfounded and did not know what to do. I did not want to stop gaming, nor could I stop using my right hand for school work. I had already missed too many days of school due to my consistent irritable bowel syndrome. I was not able to take days off or my mother would face legal trouble.
I cannot specifically say whether this was a stressful time in my life or not. I had suffered from anxiety, and severe OCD for many years prior to this occurrence. With that, and the fact that I was enrolled in very tasking classes meant that I was always stressed and had been for years. The pain after this point continued to get worse. When it first showed up I could alleviate it by resting my hands. Eventually after using my hands for quite some time it had come to a point where the burning and throbbing pain did not subside regardless of whether I was resting or not. After around two months of continuing to use my hands with the condition I had come to a point where I could actually take a break. I took about a two week break and noticed little to no change in my condition. After this I continued using my hands for the next year, noticing that my condition was set at a certain point. The pain did not get worse, nor did it get better. I took another one month break after this year of use and still noticed little to no change. I then begin using my hands again and have use them for another year bringing me to this point.
I first came across the subject of TMS early into my condition. From what I could tell, if I continued my activities without the fear of pain and without revolving my life around the pain that I could potentially cure my condition. This notion was the reason why I continued using my hands even though they were in pain; however even with this approach I noticed no change in my condition. I have read half of the mind-body prescription though I did not cover the treatment part. With this approach it seems my condition has gotten progressively worse which has worried me more as I may have furthered my RSI if that is what I have.
Because the condition shows little signs of response to rest, and somehow managed to overtake my left hand within a week of originating I truly believe that it is TMS. Not only this, but I also suffer and have been suffering from anxiety, OCD, and irritable bowel syndrome for the better portion of my life; which seems to be consistent among TMS sufferers. I'm also very much a perfectionist and always have been. Even though I am completely convinced that my condition is likely TMS, the lack of results from the TMS approach and increasing pain in my hands and forearms has weakened my will. The approach I have applied is continuing the use of the affected part without the fear of pain and without revolving my life around the pain. I have also done mental conditioning as mentioned in the mind-body prescription. I feel as though I am missing a key component of the healing process for TMS. I'd like to reach out to everyone on this forum as I'm in desperate need of help regarding my situation. It has come to a point where I'm not sure whether I suffer from TMS or RSI; or what to even do at this point. If anyone can provide insight I would be greatly appreciative. If you need any more information let me know. Currently I'm treating the condition as repetitive strain injury after the TMS approach had no effect for a year, I'm writing this thread with voice software and avoid using my hands as much as possible. I'll be quite interested and happy to hear your replies, thank you so much in advance!
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