Wrist and depression issues

touille

Hi folks, I'm having some pretty depressing problems right now. Now on to the health issue...

I've been having wrist problems for some time now and it recently just got worse. To summarize the issue, my left wrist began hurting a few years ago and it basically translated to my whole articulation getting loose. And now my right wrist is also starting to have the same kind of issue. The pain is not unbearable but it is constant. This issue is driving me away from a lot of things I enjoyed and loved, namely video games and playing a musical instrument. This is leaving me feeling depressed, helpless and without any passion to try or do anything.

I've seen an orthopedist recently about the issue because it got worse(for reasons I will explain later in the post). What I've been told is basically to tough it out until osteoarthritis happens and then my wrists will be welded leaving me with very limited hand mobility. ( I'm canadian and I had to pay to see an orthopedist without a wait time of 6 months or more)

The problems got worse in the past months and I can only link this to my current job. I just graduated from college as a civil engineer and I'm currently working as an estimator/project manager which leaves me sitting in front of a computer 8 hours a day. Pretty much all the guys I know from college have the same kind of job as me and I don't see myself enduring this forever with the constant pain. I basically cannot really work on the field and being in front of a keyboard for long periods of time is excrutiating.

I've been thinking about getting my master's since getting back in class will leave me less time in front of a screen.. I was once an avid PC gamer but I've moved away from that. Just recently bought a console and at least I can play with limited pain for some time.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I basically need to forget about a lot of things I'm passionate about and there's nothing I can do about it. It just seems like I have nothing to really complain about in my life except this and I end up thinking that it could be worse but yeah.. depression is setting in and it is scaring me.

bowen

Sounds like carpel tunnel. The fact that you're in front of the computer 8 hours a day pretty much solidifies that in my mind. I doubt osteoarthritis will ever happen. Do you notice numbness? Do you wake up at night with a tingling finger or palm?

touille

It definetly isn't carpal tunnel, wasn't diagnosed as such. It ends up with the same kind of issues and I pretty much think I will end up with carpal tunnel eventually but no surgery can solve my condition. I wish I had only carpal tunnel actually...My problem isn't linked to tendons, it is more of a cartilage and bone issue. I can move the inside of my wrist around and I feel the cartilage and stuff rubbing together in bad ways when I bend my wrists.

NailbunnyPD

If its something you are just going to have to deal with, have you tried wrist braces? I found some that I use when my wrists bother me, and I can wear them while I work, game or sleep. They help by restricting movement, but they aren't very intrusive.

Futuro Reversible Splint Wrist Brace (I only got one since both wrists don't bother me at the same time.)

CelestialBadger

Sounds like you need to target hobbies and jobs that don't involve typing at a computer.

Instead of computer games, try board games or roleplaying.

Perhaps you could train as a lecturer or a teacher, or some job involving more talking than typing.

touille

I'll definetly try and order one of those braces. Won't solve anything but it can't hurt. How is it working for you when using a keyboard or gamepad?

I'm DMing a D&D game currently and this involves a lot of typing sadly ;-)
Too much of my activities seem to involve a keyboard or my hands and I've given up on most of them now which was quite hard and still is. Seeing my bass guitar sitting in the corner gathering dust is really the worst..especially since I had to stop playing just when I was getting more serious about it and started playing with friends. Couldn't bring myself to sell it yet..

I am considering going for the master's just so I can teach. It's something I've been thinking about for some time, even before the issues started. I should definetly start looking into that pretty fast since I don't see many other venues for a civil engineer that don't include long hours in front of a computer.

CelestialBadger

touille wrote: »

I'm DMing a D&D game currently and this involves a lot of typing sadly ;-)

You can DM with a lot of improvisation, instead of statting out things in detail and making beautiful maps beforehand. I do this through laziness. My dungeon maps look like the cat's been scratching, and my NPCs are all suspiciously similar. The players don't notice if every mid-level warrior mook they fight is statistically identical, if the story is fun. In fact, it improves the game as you can react quicker to the players rather than sticking to the adventure.

I also don't bother typing up games afterwards. Instead I go round the table at the start of the game and ask everyone to say what their character did last week, and award experience based on that. It has the advantage of getting everyone back into the game, and reminding me where we were!

NailbunnyPD

touille wrote: »

I'll definetly try and order one of those braces. Won't solve anything but it can't hurt. How is it working for you when using a keyboard or gamepad?

Using a keyboard and mouse just take a few minutes to adjust to. You obviously have less flexibility with the wrists, so you end up moving your arms around more. Also, there is a slight bulge at the wrist where the metal splint is, but this helps take some of the pressure off your palms, similar to a palm rest. That bulge makes using a gamepad a little more difficult. You won't be playing twitch fighters like a 14 year old, but its workable.

In my case, usually my right wrist decides to give in every 8-10 months, since I work and play using a mouse. I started using this wrist brace pretty much 24/7 when the issue came up last time, and it helped reduce pain by reducing flexibility and in turn, speeding up recovery since I am not agitating it with motion all the time. I started with a more sturdy and bulky brace (same manufacturer,) but it caused discomfort and made functioning more difficult. The one I linked was a good compromise allowing me to still function while wearing it.

touille

Most the typing is more scene/story oriented in my case. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Building up stats for NPCs and monsters from scratch isn't really a fun aspect of DMing in my opinion. I've given up pretty fast on writing up resumes of the games since half the players didn't bother reading them so I do the whole "What happened in the previous game?".. Gives a good idea of what the players notice the most.

Anyhow, this wrist issue is really hard to accept. Limiting what I can and cannot do and leaving me handicapped down the line.. Hands are really something you use a lot in pretty much everything you do and constant pain when doing really simple stuff makes you wanna just lay there and watch TV, which I'd rather avoid. I guess reading more should be an option.

Smoking marijuana has helped me think much less about my issue and forget about the pain so I've been smoking more recently. Not quite a good solution but it's helping me cope with the issue.. as long as it doesn't become another problem!

I'll be ordering on this very weekend Nailbunny, thanks for the info it's really appreciated.

LewieP's Mummy

I use Dragon Naturally Speaking both at work and at home, cos I have had carpal tunnel surgery twice in my right wrist, (don't have carpal nerve/tunnel and stuff in my left hand) and it works across all Office applications. Have you thought about using something like that so that you can rest your wrists?

tbloxham

As has been said here, wrist braces, speech recognition (it actually works really well in Vista and 7, you can do everything in the operating system with speech commands, and type too)

Also look into getting a 'posture correct chair' and making 100% sure your mouse is at the right height for you. Furthermore, take a 5 minute break from things EVERY 30 minutes, and do everything you can to minimize your use of the hand.

Wrist injuries, espescially from RSI, are awful things and I sympathize a lot. You just need accept that you will need to make lifestyle changes to avoid further injury and pain.

Delfina

Is the pain only in your wrists or is it anywhere else? Does ibuprofen or a gentle pain reliever help at all? How long has this been going on?

I've also seen special pads that help hold wrists at a comfortable angle when typing, so you don't have to hold up them up at all. Sometimes handheld ultrasound devices can help with pain relief. (I've been to a physical therapist who tried this when I started having pain in my own. It didn't help in my case, but it's worth trying.)

touille

I'm working in a rather small company ( We are 3 in the office not counting the administration) and my desk is second world war material basically. Supposed to move to a new building and a more decent office this spring but yeah I try to watch my posture. Definetly taking a few minutes of break regularly or I'd go insane :?
I don't know how effective ibuprofen would be, I'd rather not be on that stuff 24/7. The pain isn't keeping me from sleeping or anything like that yet.

The pain is mainly in the wrists but I'm afraid it will move elsewhere as you tend to compensate with elbows or shoulders what the wrists cannot do properly..This has been going on for maybe 2 years but it only got less manageable and more constant in the last months or basically as I started working after my token trip outside the country after finishing college. Pain is felt even if my wrists aren't bent. I can take two fingers and place them on both sides of my wrist and move the inside perpendicularly to the axis of my arm. Also, the small cartilage roundish thing on your wrist that is in line with the pinky finger, mine isn't attached to anything. It seems like I could grab it and turn it 180 degrees.
Not sure how clear my explanation is..

I'm quite skinny ( about 130lbs for 5'11) so my joints are pretty frail I'd say. I just think I am poorly fabricated! Still, only 23 years old so the future is looking pretty bad.