For those of you not following my Instagram (which, why not?), I did get in to see the hand specialist on the 16th! It was much sooner than I expected to be able to see them.

After a physical exam and some x-rays, it was determined that my thumb is actually … okay. Well, it’s probably recurring tendonitis or something like that. He said I could do an MRI if I wanted, but since my thumb was starting to feel better already I figured it probably wouldn’t show anything (though the next time it flares up badly I’m going to request one). My other options were to do nothing, request specific occupational therapy or physical therapy, or steroid injections. I didn’t like any of those options so I was trying to be more specific about how I can’t even write because it hurts too much.

Then when I showed him how I have to hold a pen because of the pain, he realized what joint specifically seems to cause me the most pain: the joint where my thumb connects to my wrist. He said that even though the joint doesn’t feel particularly hypermobile or unstable, since I have a history of hypermobility, there is a brace I can try called a CMC brace. The CMC brace stabilizes just the CMC joint, which is where the carpal and metacarpal bones of the thumb connect.

So far, it’s actually been helping a lot. I haven’t done much writing, but it’s helped a lot with typing and other things. It’s taking getting used to, since it’s solid plastic, but it’s very helpful. I have really good range of motion still, and there are very few pressure points. It’s vastly more comfortable than my old brace!

Hopefully, this will allow me to start up blogging with more regularity again (it was hard to press the space bar), as well as general writing (by hand), and painting!