Tag: ulnar nerve

Is it half full, half empty, overflowing?

Life has give me lemons. And I am on the autoimmune protocol so can’t add any sugar to turn it into lemonade. So I’ll just have lemon water instead.

The chest has finally started behaving, so I cancelled the GP appointment. I had been complaining for a while to my husband, telling him my elbow was feeling wrong. The one that had the nerve release but not the complete procedure I’d booked for- the transposition part. Basically with cubital tunnel syndrome, you’re meant to move the nerve from where it’s stuck in the elbow, and move it elsewhere where it won’t get stuck. To a different place on the elbow- which my surgeon claimed he wanted to but I have no fat so the nerve would have a very thin layer over it, causing me a lot of pain forever. Or, as google and other surgeons say, you can move the nerve to lie on the muscle. He didn’t. He just released it from where it’s stuck..and put it right back.

And yes, even my hand surgeon was displeased.

And now I’m the one paying the price either for the surgeon’s laziness or for his lack of experience. My arm has never healed. I have numb areas, I have areas that feel pain. But now, the nerve has become trapped too. I had been complaining that it felt like it, I have started dropping things- which means my grip is getting weaker, and yesterday confirmed it.

I picked up my dumbbells, hoping to restart my AS exercises. I’d felt too sick to do most. But when I did a bicep curl, BOOM, SHRIEK, my nerve screamed. I tried lighter weights. Same thing. Bending my arm causes pain that I now cannot ignore. And the elbow pain has now begun waking me at night.

I’ve ordered a brace to wear at night. The conservative approach is to stop the movement causing the pain, wear a brace to keep my arm straight at night, take anti inflammatories (which I am on already for the AS) and wait and see a while. But every bit of lost movement cannot be regained. This is a condition that can cause paralysis of the hand.

And so, I wait. And tremble. Recovering from that surgery was BAD, and that was without the nerve fully being moved. I assume the next surgeon I find will do the full procedure. I couldn’t sleep for weeks! My nerve was in so much pain that even a sheet on it with my pyjama sleeve covering my arm, was excruciating. I looked for a doughnut to put my arm on so my elbow would rest on air. Talk about difficulty sleeping, but the thing I got was too hard. I’ll buy a breastfeeding circle pillow as soon as I know I will need the surgery.

So, the glass has water for this thirsty soul. My chest is getting better. But it also has so much lemon juice lemons that it grates my teeth- my nerve is in trouble and I hated the long recovery period. I’m scared of it… And I hated not being able to use my arm. And I don’t know where to find a GOOD surgeon.

And also, I’m going back to the Endodontist today. I had a crown done by a dentist. A bad dentist who didn’t believe me when I said the temporary crown was way too high. I went to a different dentist that evening because I was now experiencing jaw pain from not being able to bring my teeth together and he was in shock. I didn’t even have to bite on the paper thing they use to check your bite- my upper and lower teeth were clearly not close to each other.

Long story short, that crown fell off. Then part of my tooth broke. When I saw the Endodontist she said that if she had put it in, give it was less than a year since it was installed, she would have charged me nothing to replace her poor workmanship. Alas, the dentist not only charged me for the consultation to LOOK and see, but then told me they wouldn’t be able to replace the crown and I really would be fine without it 😏. And now, a further part of my tooth broke off and I’m going to the Endodontist to find out if there is anything she can do to save the rest of it. And get a quote for how much that will cost me. A crown costs a whole R6400… Gulp.

My glass has lemons. I will have to be off Enbrel for two weeks pre surgery and two weeks post surgery. I only restarted yesterday.

I read memoirs of holocaust survivors. Death camps and concentration camps where you had to find your own cup or bowl for the disgusting ‘water soup’ they received. A glass was a luxury they would tie to themselves so no other desperate prisoner would steal. Theirs was usually made of metal, a metal cup. It was the only way they could eat enough to keep their bones loving. And that was a minority. Many died even though they passed a cup.

I have a glass. It is not really half full in my estimation, but things could be worse. I could have no glass at all. So I’ll accept the AS lemons and daily struggles of life. I’ll go and hope my tooth can be fixed. And I will be grateful for a glass. At least I can drink my sour lemon water. It will keep my bones moving.