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!

A Special Thank You...

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have offered kind words, deeds, and prayers for me. I really appreciate it. My medicine dosage increased today, but it can still take a while, or a higher dosage for me to get relief for my nerve pain. So far, there's no change for the better. I have some days where I can do more and drive short distances, and then have parts of the day with horrible flare ups. The nerve pain in my arms is running a bit past my elbows now. I was told that iron has nothing to do with it, so it is still a mystery. As soon as I have more "better" days, I will open my Etsy stores back up. I hope I can soon return to painting...even if it is looser, more abstract work. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks again for caring.

Etsy vacation

Hey there,
You might have noticed all the empty boxes on my blog....they are where my Etsy store links used to be. For the time being, I have put all my Etsy shops into "vacation mode" until my arms start to feel better. My test results came back today for blood work, and everything looked normal, but the Dr. didn't check my iron. Anemia can be a cause of neuropathy, so that needs to be looked at yet. At least I don't have type 2 diabetes. I am grateful for that. So, until I can do more typing, writing, packing sold items, and driving them to the post office with less pain, I am closing up shop. I am sorry for any inconvenience!

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!

The descent into insanity....

Want to know how to push a creative person over the edge? Take away the use of both arms. Instead of getting better, I now have flare ups in both arms. I'm wearing a splint on each one. Tasks as simple as opening my toothpaste cap are becoming painful. I am typing this with one finger. Next week, I am being hooked up to Electrodes and having a nerve conduction test that lasts 1 1/2 hrs. I can't get a consult with a hand surgeon until August 4th. I don't know how I will last over a month like this. I am sorry to be a "Debbie Downer" but this just plain sucks. I am a busy body by nature, and not being able to use my computer much, write, paint, draw, do my hair, drive very far, etc is making me nutty. I feel like a prisoner in my own house. If it wasn't 95 degrees out, I could at least go for walks. I don't handle heat well, nor do my swollen arms. A lot of people seem to think that carpal tunnel is just numbness and some stiffness in the fingers. It can be that, but it can also be nerve pain in your forearms that feels similar to when you hit your "funny bone" on a wood table. I won't be doing much blog updating for a while, and have stopped using twitter. I will keep my Etsy stores open ( going to need surgery money!), but won't be adding new things anytime soon. I have some finished paintings, but don't think I can handle all the typing needed to do the Ebay listings. Too many pictured to resize, and html to write.
Thanks for listening. I hope you'll start visiting my blog again when my hands/arms are better and my creative life can resume. Take care friends!

The verdict...

I got back from the doctor today with a diagnosis of carpal tunnel AND tendonitis. I wasn't expecting both. He thinks I already had the carpal tunnel for a while and the tendonitis is making it worse, and most likely occurred from lifting heavy items (i.e luggage) while I was on vacation. That's when the pain started. So for now, he has me on a super-pack, one week dosage of Prednisone, Aleve for pain, and if that doesn't take care of it...off to the occupational therapist for shots or surgery. If I can get rid of the tendonitis and do the suggested exercises for the carpal tunnel, maybe I won't need surgery. I worry because my husband works long hours, and we don't have any family nearby to help me with daily stuff that requires 2 hands/my right hand. Right now, I am off to ice my arm and relax a bit. Have a nice weekend! I will check in next week.

Update on life in general....

I took some time off from blogging to rest my right arm, and learn to use the mouse with my left. It took about 2 days to master it. I can't really do much in Photoshop with my left hand though. I'm not THAT ambidextrous. I've scaled back on phone calls too. I've been trying to pick things up with my left hand and do other things, like vacuum and clean with my lefty. However, somethings...like putting on my makeup, getting dressed, shaving, doing my hair, and cooking are a wee bit too dangerous to attempt with my clumsy left hand. I have my Dr. appointment tomorrow morning. I don't know if there are any specific tests they will do. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
In the mean time, I was going stir crazy not creating ANYTHING. I decided to set aside my "tight" more detailed painting, and mess around with some collage mixed media work. I've been spending a small amount of time on a painting each day and just have a few finishing touches. It was fun to get a bit loose and take a break from painting faces. I have given up on my stamped jewelry all together for who knows how long. Hammering sends shooting pains up my wrist to my elbow.
So, that's what's going on in my corner of the world. I'm pretty much staying inside until this horrible heat wave weather in Florida is over with. I hate the summers down here as much as I hated the -20 degree weather in Minnesota. Our air conditioner is having a hard time keeping up with the 96 degree temps and hot sun beating down on our house. Ick!
I will check in later, when I have pics of the new painting. Take care!

Art and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Well, this is my fabulous new fashion accessory. It makes using the computer very difficult and painting pretty much impossible for now. While on vacation, I started waking up at night with numbness and tingling in my wrist and forearm. Then, the pain kicked in if I picked up anything over 6 pounds or moved my hand in a funny position. I had noticed stiffness in my fingers and hands after driving, long before we left, but figured it was just because it makes me tense. I've had tendonitis before and know the drill, so I started on Advil and got myself a wrist brace as soon as we got home. I can't get into the doctor's office until June 18th, so I will have to wait for a verdict. It sounds like Carpal Tunnel though. I was really depressed for the first few days, then looked up artists with carpal tunnel on google. I found blogs and other stories of artists being able to eventually return to their creating after surgery, so that gave me hope. I wish I would have been doing better arm exercises in the first place. If you create with your hands, I suggest looking into it now, rather than later. I may have ended up with it anyways. Women with a history of hypothyroidism and a small frame (both of which apply to me) are more likely to develop it. So, I will share pics of 2 paintings I finished prior to vacation. They may be all there is for a while. ) :