I’m right handed and over the last couple of months (pretty much while I was recuperating from pneumonia this winter) I started having problems with my hand and wrist. My wrist started bothering me a little bit at first and then over a couple of day period my little finger went completely numb. Then the muscles in my hand started to waste away (muscle atrophy).

Anyway, I finally got into see the doctor who referred me to a neurologist. I’ve tentatively been diagnosed with Ulnar Nerve Damage. Chances are it may have occurred while I was house bound this winter and spending way too much time on the computer (probably the way I was holding my hand and bending my elbow). The kicker is it will probably be a month before I can get the tests to confirm the diagnosis and will probably require surgery on my elbow to correct.

So far I’ve lost probably 40% of the strength in my right hand along with a lot of the dexterity….the bad news is it’s slowly getting worse and from what I’m reading and the indications from the neurologist are that the damage to the hand may be permanent.

The Doctors suggestion was to baby the hand as much as possible…..a lot easier said than done short of planting my butt in a chair all day long. Oh well I know it’s not the end of the world, but it sure is aggravating. Whoever said the golden years were so great LIED.


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