Greetings all,
Thank you so very much for the kind thoughts & comments about my hand issues over recent months. Story goes: i was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both hands while pregnant with my son, i used splints instead of surgery & now, 8 years later, with hands getting worse, i sought out a confirmation diagnosis so i could have surgery. I'm not taking drugs, it's a dull throb not pill-popping-agony. I saw the neurlogist on Thursday. I was so excited - reconfirm the CTS & book me in for surgery, end my days of useless, clumsy hands & sleeping in metal hand splints . . . only . . . I don't have CTS. What?? Seriously??
So, back to square one. I am numb & disappointed. Was my initial diagnosis wrong?? I probably did have CTS, typical while pregnant, but why all the persistent symptoms since then?? RSI maybe?? Friday my hands were quite good, i started to wonder if i had hysterical CTS or was it psychosomatic?? Trying not to dwell, i'll keep resting my hands in the meantime. I was frustrated that the neurologist was there to confirm CTS ONLY, nothing else, fine point of the needle specialist attitude, no consultation or advice, just my $275 for 15 minutes in his office, thank you very much.
So, back to square one. I am numb & disappointed. Was my initial diagnosis wrong?? I probably did have CTS, typical while pregnant, but why all the persistent symptoms since then?? RSI maybe?? Friday my hands were quite good, i started to wonder if i had hysterical CTS or was it psychosomatic?? Trying not to dwell, i'll keep resting my hands in the meantime. I was frustrated that the neurologist was there to confirm CTS ONLY, nothing else, fine point of the needle specialist attitude, no consultation or advice, just my $275 for 15 minutes in his office, thank you very much.
This week i took each of my children to the optometrist. My son gets headaches & last year was squinting, so he had a thorough check (all good) & my 2 eldest girls were fine, then my 3rd girl had her appointment on Friday morning . . . cut a long story short, she is super far sighted & requires low script glasses.
Just to refresh your memory, this is my sensitive soul, my Nina, who skips through life & curls up on toadstools, she loathes that she has mild asthma & eczema, she likes her fashion style to be left of centre, not her health. When the sweet optometrist gently said she'll need glasses for 'reading & computer work' my daughter mouthed to me "i'll just stop reading", i could feel her freeze up. She held it together, we chose some cool blue Converse frames, $598 later (phew $280 back from private health insurance) we left & then the tears started rolling. I suggested her long distance eye sight was too good & made Six Million Dollar Man sound affects, she was not impressed.
Just to refresh your memory, this is my sensitive soul, my Nina, who skips through life & curls up on toadstools, she loathes that she has mild asthma & eczema, she likes her fashion style to be left of centre, not her health. When the sweet optometrist gently said she'll need glasses for 'reading & computer work' my daughter mouthed to me "i'll just stop reading", i could feel her freeze up. She held it together, we chose some cool blue Converse frames, $598 later (phew $280 back from private health insurance) we left & then the tears started rolling. I suggested her long distance eye sight was too good & made Six Million Dollar Man sound affects, she was not impressed.
I distracted her with a mini shopping spree at Seed. Ok, she won't wear fabulous designer frames which will benefit her eyes, but she'll wear cow glasses??
So i bought her a plastic gelato fan too, plus mini paint set, piggie bank, headband, sticky notes & bird whistle - you know, stocking fillers!!
My little lamb, or calf, she's certainly made my hand worries melt away. She's 10 years old, getting glasses is a HUGE deal. When i took her to school after her appointment i bumped into her cool-young-guitar-playing-gorgeous-maths-teacher who said she had to wear glasses as a child & she tried to forget/ lose/ leave them behind but soon reaslied glasses helped her & there was no escaping them. Then my son's pro-ice-hockey-teacher said his youngest daughter needs glasses & she can't wait to wear them. Of course i wear glasses but i don't count!! I saw all her friends crowd around her, saying how lovely she'll look in glasses, they are beautiful friends & she has many. Tania McCartney, the fantastic children's author, offered to write her a letter (email) & confessed that she too needed glasses when she was 10, she was nervous, then realised wearing glasses was special, made her feel smart & helped with her work. Then Tania said cute things like "if anyone can rock a quirky pair of glasses, it's you!!" She even attached images of celebrities who wear glasses, yay!!
So she's calmer now, still demanding she won't wear her glasses but also asking questions of how she'll care for them between classes. I smell a breakthrough, absolutely thanks to all the instant positive feedback. The glasses might only be required for a year, to prevent future eye issues & she has asked if she can bury them in the garden after 364 days (yes, one day shy of a year, that's my girl!!) She'll have them for the last week of school, then holiday light reading to get used to them. It's all about how you approach this situation, the atmosphere, the wording - i said "oh reading, & you know, craft, stitching, drawing & art" all the things she holds dear, or i would have lost her!! Last thing she heard as she fell asleep tonight was "i'm so proud of you". Bless her heart, i love how she always lets me know how she's feeling, internalise & implode otherwise.
Thanks Maxabella Loves, i'm grateful for medical advice, in all it's forms, love Posie
So she's calmer now, still demanding she won't wear her glasses but also asking questions of how she'll care for them between classes. I smell a breakthrough, absolutely thanks to all the instant positive feedback. The glasses might only be required for a year, to prevent future eye issues & she has asked if she can bury them in the garden after 364 days (yes, one day shy of a year, that's my girl!!) She'll have them for the last week of school, then holiday light reading to get used to them. It's all about how you approach this situation, the atmosphere, the wording - i said "oh reading, & you know, craft, stitching, drawing & art" all the things she holds dear, or i would have lost her!! Last thing she heard as she fell asleep tonight was "i'm so proud of you". Bless her heart, i love how she always lets me know how she's feeling, internalise & implode otherwise.
Thanks Maxabella Loves, i'm grateful for medical advice, in all it's forms, love Posie
30 comments:
I do hope you get some good medical advice about your hands soon - very soon.
I feel for your daughter - I remember when my brother got glasses at 9 - he was devastated - thought his sporting career was over. Took him all of 2 weeks to get used to them I think - even played soccer in them.
Cool converse ones sound just the thing - what a great mum you are.
What topsy-turvy, tumbling time.
I'm SO disappointed about your CT diagnosis - or lack thereof and frustrated about the lack of insight provided.
As for the glasses - love the way you have made this transition so much easier and I'm sure she really will be rocking them to the max.
Happy weekend, I hope it filled with long stretches of calm.
xx's
The story of your CTS diagnosis is frustrating, but hopefully now that you know that you don't have CTS things will fix themselves?
Have a fantastic weekend!
A big day, but will be fine.
damn that specialist - I would like to kick his behind for not steering you in a better direction than, sorry it isn't CTS! I think you are amazing how you handled your daughter - I am sure with such a sensitive supportive Mum she will settle in to them in no time and the last week at school will give her friends a chance to ooh and aah and the hols will give her a chance to get used to them. keep smiling!
I can totally empathise with her although I was younger and had to wear a brown patch over one of my eyes in kindergarten- not cool!! Luckily the 80's was in full swing and by the time I was 10 I had those awesome multicoloured rainbow glasses that became the envy of my classmates who were all rushing off to the optometrist for a hopeful diagnosis. She'll be fine! And I hope you get some answers soon.
Melxx
I hope that you can get your issues with your hands solved soon, I can only imagine how frustrated you would have been after that appointment.
My oldest wears glasses and has been for quite a few years now she's pretty good about wearing them but often forgets and because she didn't wear them enough her eyes have now got astigmatism. She chose the coolest purple pair last time so I think she likes wearing them a lot more. We're off to the optometrist on Monday to see how things are going after since she got the new glasses. It sounds like your sweet girl has coped really well when you think of the enormous change she's had all thanks to you being such a great Mum. Before she knows it they'll just become normal. Have a great weekend Jennie. xx
I can understand Nina's sentiments. I am wearing glasses myself (I am nearsighted) but I started wearing one when O graduated from college. Must be harder for your sweet little girl.
I do remember being devastated when I heard I had to get glasses - and I think I was 13 at the time. Good for her and bucking up!
Glad to hear that there were other patch wearer's out there in the eighties, I too had to wear a patch and really bad glasses (I mean terrible). My parents said I would look like a pirate and it would be really cool - it wasn't. I did learn to fight though; got to love inner Sydney public schools!
Mr P
i know your daughter will adapt. with such great encouraging souls around her. :)
but i am concerned you still don't know what's going on with your hands! ugh!
I have no doubt she will SHINE in those glasses. She is a treasure of a child and she CAN rock anything, even cow glasses! My heart goes out to her. It IS a big thing, but imagine the resilience she is building, and she's also honing her well-established ability to do things with style! xxx
Mucho annoying for you!
I'm another glasses wearer - and very cheap, pretty funky pairs check out zennioptical dot com
I've had excellent service from them - fast, accurate scripts, and rhinestones!
a blogger pal from the UK posted this today. i wanted to share it with you. i know you're not in England, but the sentiment is universal... :)
http://rambleswithacamera.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-song-by-wives-of-british.html
oh, your poor hands! Rejected by the surgeon... My mother (harbinger of all things medical), suggests it could also be arthritis - you might be referred next to a rheumatologist - very exotic!
How frustrating for you Posie. I hope you get to the bottom of your hand issues soon.
Miss 11 wears glasses for reading and she looks so cool in them. So much cooler than the ones around back in my day LOL
It's not CTS?? That's just crazy after all these years, Posie. And disappointing because you were finally ready to get that surgery... I just hope you get a proper $275 diagnosis soonest.
Glasses are a bit sucky, but she will make them her own ans soon realise they are her friend. x
How frustrating Posie! You just want it diagnosed and dealt with, don't you? I hope it happens soon.
Thank you for passing on the Christmas wishlist to me! I'm on to it. Have a lovely weekend x
Hmmm.
What do they intend to do about your hands then??
That's seriously frustrating.
When I was in splints/cortisone land etc it was DeQuervein's Syndrome (which is super similar to CTS).
I bet your gorgeous little lass will rock those specs.
x
You poor thing. I hope you get some relief soon. Glasses are so cool..... 'The Big Bang Theory' says so. My little son want to be a physicist and wear glasses now because of that show. I do feel for your little one though. A-M xx
My eldest started wearing glasses about a year ago, but she was the exact opposite, she was almost overjoyed! When she was younger she would wear her 'fake' glasses, (frames with no glass in them!)
She's grown up seeing me wearing glasses (since I was 12) and ever since she was little she would always ask me when would she get to wear them. I would always tell her with a bit of luck she would never need them but alas, it was not to be.
Now her little sister has taken to wearing the fake glasses as well, I'm thinking that she will grow up assuming that she too, will wear glasses one day.
Tell your little 'Nina' that only the most intelligent people wear glasses...come on, you know it's true! ;)
Sorry to hear about the issues you're having handwise, hope it all gets sorted out soon so you can get back to painlessly doing what you do best. xx
Ah, what a pity about your non-CTS... back to the drawing board....
I used to be desperate to get glasses when I was young, because they genuine do make you look more intelligent. I hope your wee lass will get used to them quickly.
What the? So what's wrong with your hands???
Glasses - they're cool - but yep and adjustment. Hope she "owns" them soon.
ah crap about your hands!! that must be so frustrating!!!
About your dear daughter's glasses. I am sure she looks beautiful in them.
My 10 year old has glasses, for reading and computer work too.
She got them in the last week of school when she was 8. They are beautiful and cost us in excess of $500 as well... fortunately she has had teachers ever since who also wear glasses and have been very encouraging and every day they come home from school in one piece!
We still have to remind her at home to wear them... but mostly she does pretty well with them..
Oh Posie how frustrating I hope you get some answers soon and relief.
My boy has been wearing glasses fulltime since he was 20 months old. I am glad he doesn't mind.
I was at the optometrist with my 10 year old daughter yesterday too! She also needs glasses and wasn't so keen but wants to be able to read without her persistent headaches, she has reached the point where she can't wait to have them now. Maybe a week or so and they'll be ready.
Hope you can sort out the issue with your hands. Maybe there are better answers which won't require surgery. A friend had surgery for CT last year and her right hand was damaged in the process, very sad.
Posie if there's one thing I now know about doctors.....it's that you go to them for an 'opinion'. Please get a second or even a third opinion if you need to. I know it's a hassle, but trust me Drs have been wrong lots of times before!(from personal experience here!!!)
What a lovely post...here's to spunky looking girls in glasses and a cure for hand issues. x
Jen, I hope that you can get those hands sorted ASAP. That sucks big-time.
I have had glasses since I was in grade 3. Coke bottles with 80s frames. The worse part of it for me is now looking back on photos and trying to remember that those frames were fashionable back then. I suspect that once the glasses are a done deal, it will be relatively smooth sailing. Your kidlets seem very resilient and ultimately very level headed.
Glasses are ready, wish me luck!! Love Posie
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