I took a little vacation from blogging....

I realize it's been over a month since my last post. After my nerve pain medicine kicked in and I could finally paint and make jewelry, the last thing I wanted to do was spend time on the computer. I have a slew of new paintings and jewelry listed and have even started working with fiber/fabric and leather. The good news is that my nerve pain is not related to an auto immune disease. We have finally figured that out. I've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Repetitive Strain Injury. I've been told I still need to get an MRI done of my arms. With RSI, all of the nerves in your arms (ulnar, median, radial) can be affected do to over use and swelling of the muscles/tendons in the affected area. I will have to remain on my medicine and work on strengthening exercises. It may go away, or it may be chronic.
The bad news, is that my meds aren't working as well as they did a few weeks ago, so I am getting less done. My painting style has had to be adjusted, my jewelry will no longer involve metal work or lots of wire wrapping, and I will be spending less time on the computer.
I look forward to sharing my new work with you! Thanks for checking in, and thank you everyone for the nice comments and prayers. They are very much appreciated!

Progress

After 2 months of being in severe pain, I am finally getting some relief. At the highest dosage one can take of my medicine, I can finally do some things I haven't been able to do in a while...like clean my own house and pick up my cats. Heck, I even opened a soup can yesterday without wincing in pain. I went and got a second opinion with my regular doctor, and he agrees with me that something is definitely going on that needs some more looking into. He believes I have some type of Collagen Vascular Disease (Sjogren's, Lupus, ect.) that is doing this to my nerves and causing a variety of other symptoms. So, I am headed to the Mayo Clinic next month for a nerve biopsy and 2 days of testing.
I have still found that being on the computer (the typing and the mouse) for extended periods will lead to pain, so I am limiting that. I believe that my painting style, which was very tightly rendered, will be taking a big turn in another direction. I am going to focus on abstract mixed media paintings. This week, I've been making my own mixed media papers to use in collages, just to get into the swing of things, and test what I can do as far as my pain level is concerned. I have not gotten back to jewelry making yet, but if and when that happens, it will also take a new direction. Right now, I am proceeding slowly, and just being grateful that I finally have some relief, and may get some answers in the near future as to what is going on in my body.
Thanks for checking in! I hope to share some new work with you next week!

Open for Business!

Finally, after 2 months of waiting, my medicine level has been increased and I am finally getting some relief from the nerve pain in my arms. I was able to clean my own house ( except vacuuming..that is now hubby's job) yesterday for the first time in a month. I had been using a gal I found online that did a super job and was a real sweetheart.
No exact cause has been found yet for my neuropathy, so more tests and visits are in order. The good news is that I finally reopened my Etsy stores this morning and hope to be back to painting soon. In fact, I may play around with some paint today. Using the computer for long periods of time is still causing me some pain though, so I will keep this short. Thanks for checking in! Hope everyone is having a good week! Try not to melt in this heat wave!

Diagnosis

So, this will be short, but just wanted to update. I had a Nerve Conduction Study and an EMG done on Tuesday. It turns out that I still may have carpal tunnel, but in addition, I've been told I have Peripheral Neuropathy. It is affecting both my arms now and after testing my legs and feet, it is there too. My nerves aren't firing as fast as they should for someone my age. So, I started on Cymbalta for the nerve pain in my arms, but it could take about 2 weeks for it to start to improve that. In the mean time, they will try to find the cause. More tests for me. I will still be meeting with a hand surgeon in August, but they want to do more tests first. I will keep you updated. I am itching to paint! I sadly, will not be going back to doing any of my metal work jewelry. The hammering and cutting of metal is just too much on my arms. Any pieces left in my jewelry store on Etsy that are this style, will be the last ones ever. Once it's gone, it's gone.
Hope everyone else had a nice 4th. Thanks for stopping by!