My TMS RSI Recover Journey

C

cdub

Peer Supporter
I've been dealing with an RSI since around June 2017. I've been diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel and Tendinitis RSI. Here are my current symptoms:

  • Tingling fingertips (1st three fingers - thumb to half of ring finger). Both hands. I get straight up tingling on the fingertips sometimes but usually some sensation there if I think about it. It's almost like I'm very aware of the surface of my skin there.
  • Forearm and wrist pain from time to time in both hands. Usually in pain after using the computer.
  • Burning pain back of hands near thumb from time to time after using computer. Mainly right hand.
  • Painful elbow from time to time.
  • Painful shoulders and top back and neck from time to time.
  • Painful side of shoulder from time to time. Side bicep... is that deltoid?
  • Crepitus of all my finger joints. It's not painful but I can feel the joints moving there and rubbing from time to time.
  • Sometimes when I hold something hard really tight like a pill bottle my fingertip surface will be slightly numb for a while.
  • Sometimes I wake up and my pinky and ring finger is numb or tingly. Usually when my arm is bent at night.
  • Sometimes I wake up with my median nerve fingers numb and tingly at night... but this happened even when wearing the carpal tunnel brace so it doesn't seem like it's from compression from the wrist.
  • Also my left shoulder will go numb at night if I sleep on my left side
I've tried everything from physical therapy to massage to stretching to anti-inflamitories. Even resting for 3 months. Nothing is working. Started full in on Sarno's principles on 10/29/2018. I'm rereading Healing Back Pain and the Mindbody Prescription. I think it could be TMS. Scheduled to see a TMS Doctor in December. (Dr. Schechter)

I just typed this whole thing on my desktop computer typing like normal and not hunting and pecking with one finger like I've been doing the past year. 20 minutes of typing straight. Haven't done that in a long time. I'm in pain but I'm working through it and reminding myself that TMS is harmless. I don't want to overdue it so I'll post my story timeline tomorrow or the day after.
 
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Welcome cdub,
Glad you're doing so well, and thanks for the post which will inspire others! I think you're on to the right approach here!
For tagging, go to top left of page, below the title of your post and click small blue text which says "add tags." Then type in a suggestion, and it will load similar available tags.
Andy B
 
Andy B said:
For tagging, go to top left of page, below the title of your post and click small blue text which says "add tags." Then type in a suggestion, and it will load similar available tags.
Andy B
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Yeah that's not there. It used to be before but not anymore. Maybe my user doesn't have the permissions.

Andy B said:
Glad you're doing so well,
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I wouldn't say I'm doing well just yet. Still having alot of pain from time to time. Hurt typing that last night. My left wrist hurt a lot while doing it with it hasn't in a while. I get worried sometimes that I'm making the problem worse when I do that. Trying to remind myself that I'll get better and there's nothing physically wrong (I hope). An MRI was done in my left wrist and it's basically normal. Haven't had an MRI on right hand.

Thanks for the welcome to the site.
 
cdub said:
I wouldn't say I'm doing well just yet.
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I am sorry to mis-state your experience. What I know from experience though is that challenging symptoms is very important in the process. You may already be closer to the end of this "healing" than you think!

cdub said:
I just typed this whole thing on my desktop computer typing like normal and not hunting and pecking with one finger like I've been doing the past year. 20 minutes of typing straight. Haven't done that in a long time.
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I gave your post some tags. Not sure why you don't see the blue tag text...
 
Also, I want to say this to you gently: The list of specific complaints above supports a TMS diagnosis for you. The specificity, tracking, naming, of sensations in the body is an indicator and symptom of TMS (and of our medical system). I recall being so happy when a sports medicine doctor (whom I had traveled by plane to see), upon his first examination stayed late after closing time, and finally confirmed that not only did I have plantar fasciitis and tarsal tunnel, but also "another 5 conditions." Now I was being taken care of, I thought.

Now I know that this kind of finding means there is only one condition!

I hope this helps support your process.
 
Used the computer today "normally" how I used it before RSI started a year ago. I had been resting my left hand for a while and primarily using right hand and foot pedals and autoclick since my problems started.

I'm a video editor and how I worked before RSI was to have my left hand work the keyboard and my right hand use the Wacom pen. Before today I used the right hand for almost everything so I could rest the left hand. I've been pretty much not using the left hand very much on the computer for a year besides having it hit modifier keys from time to time and when I hunt and peck to type. The only exception being my first post here where I typed like normal. Started to hurt a little when I did that.

But within less than a minute of using the computer my left wrist been to hurt a lot. This is from just hitting buttons on the keyboard here and there and not typing. All I'm doing is hitting the JKLIOVB keys from time to time to play and edit footage. I'm not typing or going too crazy. Pain from that doesn't really make sense if it's a purely physical reason. Even just resting my left hand on they keyboard with my fingertips touching keys caused some pain. Very strange. It's hard to believe after resting that hand for so long it'd hurt so quickly after not much activity.

Sometimes I feel like I can feel the tendons sticking together in that wrist when I move my fingers and that's why there's pain. But the MRI was supposedly normal. Also I use my hand for other activities without pain. Even move my fingers a lot doing exercise without pain. That makes me feel like it's psychologically based.

However the feeling of sticky tendons in the wrist makes me feel like it's physical though. My finger joints are sticky and creak too. No pain in finger joints though. Maybe I'll have the doc look at the MRI again. The finger creakiness could be benign. The doctors don't seem concerned by it.

Otherwise today was ok. Not too much pain in right hand like before. Usually I get burning on the back of my hand near thumb. Today was just primarily left hand pain. Not as much tingling either.

Also my left shoulder started hurting and my left toe started to feel tingly and weird. All very strange. Now at the end of the day I have some pain in my left wrist left over. It's strange it feels sore and strained but not tender to the touch. Another weird thing is that if I touch my left hand fingertips with my right hand I'll feel the pain in my left wrist. It's a very sharp tingly pain. The nerve! :)

Tomorrow's another day. Trying to keep in mind the daily reminders.

I see my workers comp doctor again after Thanksgiving and the TMS doctor early December.

"Typed" this all up on my phone. I like it's swipe to type keyboard. Hopeful I caught all the spelling mistakes that sometimes causes.
 
cdub said:
Not too much pain in right hand like before. Usually I get burning on the back of my hand near thumb. Today was just primarily left hand pain. Not as much tingling either.
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Wonderful! Keep focusing on this, and other (even small) periods of relief! Monitoring, inventorying, naming, cataloguing (stop me!) pain is a learned behavior and is not helpful. Notice moments of relief, and ignore the rest!
 
Well today was strange. Didn't use the computer too much... Only an hour and a half according to the RSI timer that tracks keyboard and mouse use.

Today my left hand didn't hurt much at all but my right hand had a lot of tingly nerve pain in the fingertips and wrist. Much more than usual. Some right arm pain too. It was bothering me so much that I switched back to vertical mouse and auto click for a bit. Don't want to over do it and scare myself with the pain.

Andy B said:
Monitoring, inventorying, naming, cataloguing (stop me!) pain is a learned behavior and is not helpful. Notice moments of relief, and ignore the rest!
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Wait I shouldn't be tracking my pain? That's what I've been doing since this began so I could track my "progress".
 
Hi Cdub,
You mentioned just resting your fingers on the keyboard causing pain, this is not unusual with TMS. I broke a bone in my foot and after months it still hurt, more Dr visits, physical therapy etc. Then I stumbled on a Dr. Sarno book. After doing the SEP my foot improved. In the meantime I had custom orthotics made and when I started using them they really bothered my foot. No matter how slowly I tried to introduce them. Finally I asked the practitioners on this site and they said it was conditioning. I could work on that aspect, or not wear them since my foot was fine doing all else. We're conditioned to have the pain in certain situations, but we can change that with the info in the books and educational programs provided here.

Also, I agree with Andy, your post sounds very much like TMS. You can get your life back!!
Lizzy
 
Lizzy said:
You mentioned just resting your fingers on the keyboard causing pain, this is not unusual with TMS.
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What's even more bizarre is just lightly rubbing my left hand fingertips with my right hand causes pain in my left wrist. Strange.
 
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