And The Diagnosis Is:

(Me, not a happy camper at the doc's office today. Fabgrandpa said I looked like a prisoner. I told him I feel like a prisoner of my pain.)

Medial Epicondylitis. Dr. Radloff asked lots of questions, pushed and pulled on my arm, pushed on and felt of the swelled up part of my arm, took x-rays, and generally spent a lot of time with me during my appointment with her.

At one point, she said that to get the best treatment I would have to leave the North Rim, and I was very unhappy about that. But, she explained, that is because there are no medical facilities up here, and I really should do physical therapy.

So, other than physical therapy, she offered me two choices today:

1. Get a shot of cortisone in my elbow

2. Do exercises for "at home physical therapy", use ice for theinflamation and take Naproxen and Lortab for the inflamation and pain, and come back in a month to see if I am improving. If I don't improve, then she will go ahead with the shot of cortisone in my elbow.

I opted for number 2, only because I really don't want that shot in my elbow. I have heard other people talk about how painful that can be. I am already in pain, and have been for quite a while, so I am just going to do the exercised and see what happens. If I played golf, this would make sense to me, but I really can't think of what I am doing that would cause this to happen. Y'all think good thoughts for me, ok?

That Darn Palpable Mass!

Back during the winter when we were in Phoenix, working at the Christmas tree lot, I had that worrisome palpable mass on my arm. I went to the doctor a couple of times, and had an ultrasound done, and nothing happened. The doctor I saw said they didn't see anything wrong.

Well, my arm swells up and hurts if I use it. Try not using one of your arms for a day and see how frustrating THAT can be.

The day a couple weeks ago that I cut all the strips for the quilts I am making, I had to use my left arm to push down on the ruler and fabric to make sure it didn't move. That night, my arm hurt again, and swelled a little bit.

Then last Friday, when I was working at the entrance station, I had to "walk the line". That is where one of us goes out and walks down the line of cars, answering visitors' questions, checking ID's and passes, and handing out guides. I was holding a stack of guides in my left arm while doing this. That night, my arm was swollen and hurt like a toothache! I'm talking about a pain that a beer and two shots of tequila didn't touch! This is getting to be very bothersome.

So, I was referred to a doctor in Flagstaff and made an appointment for July 21. I will be taking my ultrasound pictures with me, and hope that this new doctor will be able to figure out what is causing this to happen.

I really am not worried about it being cancer, because if it was a cancerous tumor, it would be there all the time. I think it is a cyst, that flares up when I do something to irritate it, like USING MY ARM! So, stay tuned, for the continuing saga of The Palpable Mass.

Oh, My Aching Bones!

Yesterday was cold and wet. Out at the entrance station, the rain started just about the time I arrived at 6:45 a.m, and kept up until around noon. On my job, I have to stand out in the rain talking to people who are sitting in their cars, selling them their passes, checking ID's, answering their questions. Yes, I knew that when I took the job, and Yes, I still love my job. But it was still cold and wet and yucky out there yesterday.

We have a wood stove out there for heat. I had a fire going while I was out there, and it did help, and provided warmth when I stood next to it in between cars. But the cold and damp has really played havoc with my old bones. Yes, I did have on a raincoat, and a plastic cover on my hat, but those didn't help much with my hands.

Back when we had our house in Georgia, I suffered with pain in my hands and forearms in the cold winter months. But, since we have lived in mostly warm locations, I haven't had a problem with it much since then. Last night? I was awake much of the night, with a throbbing, toothache-like pain in my hands and arms up to about half way to my elbows. I know it was from standing out there in that cold rain yesterday.

When I woke up around 3:00 a.m, I thought I might get up and cut off both arms at the elbows. The only thing that stopped me from actually doing it was the thought that after I cut off the first one, I wouldn't be able to cut off the other one, and I would still be in pain as I slowly bled to death. Yeah. They hurt that bad.

So then, I started wondering about those extra strength pain relievers I took before I went to bed. Because I now hurt worse than I did before I took them, I started wondering if there was any wheat in them. I got up and read the ingredients label. Starch. It doesn't say what the source of the starch is, so I googled the manufacturer's name, and sent them an email asking what kind of starch is used to make their product. I'll let you know when I get a response. In the meantime, I am not going to take any more of them until I find out for sure.