Thursday, July 19, 2012

Once again I am in avoidance mode

I am not the brave patient all the time. Well not even most of the time. I have an inner wimp that comes out when faced with large crawly things, big growling dogs, and medical adventures that do not promise to be fun.

I have had tennis elbow for over a year and a half. More than 20 years ago I was told I have ulnar tunnel issues in my elbow. I also have tingling in my hand which is getting worse regardless of how much I wear my brace- all of this is in my right arm. (Which is a good thing if it was in my left arm they would not be able to do much of anything because of lymphedema.) Its not getting better after lots of watchful waiting (I hate that term) and brace wearing and exercises. Monday morning I am going to have an EMG to decide if its tennis elbow, ulnar tunnel, or carpal tunnel and basically decide how to fix this.

Have you ever had an EMG? Its not a fun test. They stick lots of needles in you and then put little electric jolts to see how your  nerves react. You don't feel the electricity - maybe a little tingling. But you do feel all the needle pricks.

I had an EMG five years ago when I was diagnosed with bursitis in my hip I got tingling in my lower left leg and foot. I had an EMG to see if there was anything bad going on and there wasn't and we weren't sure how to proceed. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer and that was put aside for now. I still have tingling in my lower leg and foot and bursitis.

I was told to allow 1-3 hours for my EMG. I can't wait. Three hours of needles in my arm? How fun! Not. I'll suck it up and whine a bit.

Then in August I have another fun test that I am not ready to discuss yet. I am focusing on Monday's fun in an effort to avoid thinking about the next one.

1 comment:

Marnie Clark said...

Hey Caroline - I'm also a breast cancer blogger and I cruise over here once in awhile to see what you're talking about. I am also a massage therapist and I happen to have several patients who HAD what you're describing and I was able to help them rehab much quicker with deep tissue massage. Not sure where you are or if it's readily available to you, but I highly recommend deep tissue massage for your sore arm. Let me know if you'd like any more info! You can find me at http://MarnieClark.com.
Love,
Marnie

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