I refuse to get old

Internet doctors, diagnose me

The elbow thing I referred to earlier? I thought I’d get some photos of how weird it looks in case anyone else had had this happen and wants to pass along any knowledge for me to chew on between now and the day I can actually get in to see an orthopedic doctor (my mom’s suggestion; she doesn’t think, based on my symptoms, that it sounds quite like carpal tunnel, even though that runs in our family and both my mom and dad have had both hands operated on).

Check out this magnificently weird swelling action:

elbow troubles 3

elbow troubles 2   elbow troubles 1

I haven’t injured it in any way that I can recall. I have not, to my knowledge, wrestled anyone and done an elbow drop. It hasn’t been bruised or anything. But it’s getting progressively more uncomfortable (which could be just because now that I’ve noticed there’s a visible problem, I’m obsessing about it just a bit). Today as I was using my left hand to hold the phone to my ear while I typed with my right, I noticed my arm getting tingly and numb incredibly quickly. And now, even at rest, there are weird tingles and an odd sensitivity to my skin. Typing for long periods of time hurts.

Something bad is happening in there. I’ll get it straightened out soon enough. I have to! My left arm is, like, my second favorite arm.

7 thoughts on “Internet doctors, diagnose me”

  1. Could be repetitive stress on your elbow. I’d suggest ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and rearrange your work desk. You can look on OSHA’s website for guidance on how to adjust your workstation. I’d also switch your mouse to the opposite arm or get a trackpad or rollerball.

  2. A dude I know had a swollen elbow. It started to get red and painful, so he went to the emergency room, where he found out he had a staph infection. He also had a small cut on his elbow. You don’t have any cuts, do you? DO YOU?!

  3. Good old tendonitis most likely. I’ve had that happen to my elbow before. Swelling, soreness, no bruising, etc. It’s weird and out of the blue and it hurts like a bitch. Cold compress, ibuprofen and time are the most likely ways to deal with it.

    shit like this starts happening as you age and then parts start falling off. :)

  4. Yep – I concur with tendonitis. (“Do you concur? DO. YOU. CONCUR?!”)

    The swelling of the tendons could be causing pressure on nerves, causing the carpal-tunnel feeling. In addition to the cold-compress and ibuprofen, get a stress ball to squeeze when you’ve got a spare minute where you’re not using your left hand. Just don’t over-do it.

    I used to actually have this happen to me when I’d try to put a bra on too quickly. Try explaining THAT injury to a doctor.

  5. YOUR ELBOW SYNDROME IS ON AUTOMATIC PILOT FROM LONG TERM ASSAULTS FROM SITTING AND LEANING ON THAT ELBOW, IE, AT THE COMPUTER, ETC. MUST FIND A WAY TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT AT THE SITE OF INFLAMATION BY WHITTLEING DOWN THE INFLAMATORY PROCESS WHILE AVOIDING THE PREVIOUS CAUSATION.
    TRY DOING THIS: FIND A CONTAINER THAT WILL ACCOMODATE YOUR ELBOW TO BE SOAKING IN 50% WARM WATER AND 50 % HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND SMALL AMOUNT OF GOOD SALT.
    SOAK FOR AT LEAST HALF HOUR OR MORE….AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS.
    ALSO APPLY DAILY BIOGENICS MAGNESIUM LOTION FROM SELF HEALTH SYSTEMS 888-242-6105. i LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU…….PERCY

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