Drawing of arm with red dots showing where pain is

A Very Unfortunate Blogging Hiatus

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by Vicki

Ever wonder how someone with so many arm injuries managed to do a post with a ton of drawings? The answer is, it really came back to bite me in the ass.

Besides overdoing the drawing, I was typing on my iPad because my voice software wasn’t working well. (It’s old.)

And I scrunched myself over in decidedly non-ergonomic positions, slacked off on my strengthening exercises, and forgot to ice after extended activity. I forget my body when I’m feeling creative.

Anyway, you get the idea. My arm is toast. I’m wearing a carpal tunnel brace and two tendinitis braces. I look like I have a robot arm. I also, once again, have a close personal relationship with my ice pack collection. And I’m doing these special exercises called nerve glides.

My arm with a carpal tunnel brace and two tendinitis braces
My Robot Arm (I was going for Cylon from Battlestar Galactica but didn’t quite get the look down.)

I’m running around town doing acupuncture, massage, and hand therapy, and tomorrow I’m getting a treatment called prolotherapy, which involves injecting an injured tendon or ligament with an irritant, allowing it to heal more strongly around the injection site.

Prolotherapy helped twice before. If it doesn’t help now I’m going to try cold laser.

I ordered a new computer complete with an ergonomic mouse and the latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, my voice recognition software. I’m just waiting for the ergonomic mouse to arrive to set it up.

It’s too upsetting to think that I will have to abandon this blog. Blogging made me feel like I was actually doing something other than constantly going to the doctor. What I might do are text-only posts when my new voice software comes, or maybe do very simple drawings like the one above. I never used those services that provide free photos for bloggers, so if you can recommend any good ones, that might help. I’m not sure whether looking for good photos will be hard on my arms.

I know that some of you are occupational therapists or know about physical therapy (cough cough, ahem, Jenny from The Lyme Road, Victoria from Lemons ‘n’ Lyme, and I may have forgotten someone). And if anyone else, therapist or not, has any recommendations, please let me know.

I know I owe a few text-only guest posts, so those might happen once I get my new software.

It might take me days, weeks, or months to heal. I’m not sure, but please wish me luck and send me healing thoughts.

I hope everyone had a good Hanukkah and Christmas.

Published by

Vicki

Hi! I'm Vicki. My blog is called "Miss Diagnoses" because I have too many diagnoses and because my Lyme disease was misdiagnosed for many years. In addition to being a professional patient, I'm a compulsive reader and doodler. Sadly, my writing and drawing are limited by repetitive strain injury and neuropathy. I use assistive technology, but I can't post as often as I'd like. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and I have two short cartoon videos on YouTube. Twitter and Instagram: @miss_diagnoses Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube: @MissDiagnoses

29 thoughts on “A Very Unfortunate Blogging Hiatus”

  1. NOO you can’t abandon your blog. We will think of this as just a break until you are all healed up. Eek nerve glides can be rough! But I hope they help! You do look like a robot arm :). but it’s all for the best! Sending healing your way!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. OUCHIES! :’-(
    I hope you can stay off of your arm until it heals, and that you find the right help to heal it quickly, and that your new computer and tools are awesomely easy for you to use, and that you find other painless ways to keep blogging.

    Re free photos, Microsoft used to have one but they shut it down earlier this year, and I haven’t figured out how to use the other ones yet. Some you have to register for, and you have to be able to figure out the Creative Commons stuff and credits, which so far have been too complicated for me to deal with. I am still trying to figure things out, probably need a tutorial from somewhere.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Aww! I am so so sorry. I know how much you love blogging. I appreciate your Christmas wishes via twitter and now I appreciate them even more. I didn’t know it was this bad. Hope it heals up very fast. As for pictures, I use compfight. Hope this help there is also pixabay and more, I will send you the blog post. Rest up love, you will be back to normal in no time.

    Liked by 1 person

      2. Actually Jan has it but the spouse has it too. Thanks for the message I think I will do some Lymericks. Would you like me to post them on your blog?

        Liked by 1 person

  10. I know that feeling of overdoing it all too well, I’m afraid! I don’t think it will be necessary for you to abandon your blog. It sounds to me like your arm was actually feeling better for awhile so you got out of the habit of doing the things that were actually helping to keep the pain in check. It happens to the best of us and now you know in order to keep your hand/arm functional, you must maintain your at-home program. I think you have a very comprehensive treatment plan right now and I do think in a few more weeks, it should be feeling even better. I really think you will get this back on track. I heart nerve glides and do them often too. For free pics, I just use flickr’s Creative Commons (or take my own). The selection is not always the best, but I make it work. BTW, your “simple” drawings are still way more advanced than the rest of us!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Wishing you a Happy New Year and a speedy recovery! I know all of us will miss your wonderful illustrations and super witty blogs. Sending lots of love and hugs! ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

      1. happy New year

        Lyme is a nasty disease
        you feel like you’ve run into trees
        the pills make you worse
        and steal from your purse
        and you’re well in three weeks?— Oh Please

        Liked by 2 people

      5. We now use alenia to crack
        Those cysts that are in my back
        Let’s bust them wide open
        I’m tired of just cop’n
        I want to get life back on track

        Liked by 2 people

  13. Setbacks suck. But I am absolutely confident that this is a hiatus not an end to your blog – no matter how long it takes, we’ll be here! And don’t respond crazy girl- save that arm for therapy!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Miss Diagnoses!! Sending you positive thoughts! Love your humor, always despite the challenges! 🙂 Instead of “robot” in your brace let’s call you a mighty Transformer, like Optimus Prime! If you still love my humor 🙂 perhaps you’d consider helping me spread the word on my new book by sharing it with your blog followers in a new blog post, as we are both in the arena of “raising lyme awareness”! The book can be found at: http://lymewhisperer.com/lyme-whisperer-book/ and here is a quick excerpt from “Chapter 3: The Lean Mean Lyme Fighting Machine” that you can share (since we are on the topic of Transformers):

    “The Blood Sugar Solution, Borrelia. It’s the most recent New York Times best-seller by Mark Hyman, MD. Great information on the book, a healthy lifestyle and more can be found at the website BloodSugarSolution.com.

    …What follows are the seven steps for regaining health as outlined by Dr. Hyman. I’ve chosen to embellish some of the points myself, with the Lymie in mind. What follows, if you ask me, are the 7 steps for creating a lean mean Lyme-fighting machine—an Optimus Prime for Lyme, if you will…”

    Don’t feel obligated or pressured to share or even to approve or keep this message here! I just wanted to reach out in case you can help spread the word and I couldn’t find a way to message you more privately 🙂

    Hoping you are feeling more well and wishing you nothing but the best in 2015!!

    Liked by 1 person

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