Hi! Another quick update related to the wrist/arm thing. We saw the amazing wrist doctor again today. We weren't expecting much - it's just a followup to get our left elbow cast off - but I ended up hearing a fair bit.

He was happy to see me as usual, and excited to learn that the numbness in left fourth/fifth fingers is gone. I'd been suuuuuper anxious lately about what it could be - tendonitis is our leading theory! But I knew one of the #1 things you don't do as a patient is self-diagnose in front of your doctor. So I kept quiet.

He was happy to tell me as he took off our cast that... when he sees us again next week, he's going to send us to occupational therapy. Not physical therapy - occupational. We've been to OT once in like... 2017? 18? But we had untreated carpal/ulnar tunnel and CRPS, so none of it ever helped. But now that it's been treated... I have faith in this. Moreover, I told him about the physical therapy I went to for half a year or so. He told me that physical therapists don't know the full picture and diagnosis and he'd never send me there, only to someone who gets it.

But most reassuringly, he said in a passing comment that he thinks he already knows what's wrong with our wrists/tendons by the way I was moving. He also said, "you're like 90% treated from when you started seeing me, as far as I'm concerned, but like with building a house, the last 10% is the hardest."

Huge! Potentially huge! I felt so much relief hearing that. He really seemed to understand my concerns, and telling me he won't give up on me is enormous. Even though today was just a followup (and yes, left elbow is out of the cast now!) I got some reassurance...!

Also, after the appointment, I dropped by the eye doctor to see if my new glasses came in. I haven't been wearing my first pair since I was having intense headaches, and pain from the frames pressing on my head. I requested softer nose pads and FL-41 light sensitivity coating... and guess what? Literally today, they arrived, and I walked in the door not long before they were going to call me. I got to take them home! They're super pretty on me. It turns out the headaches are from the sinus headaches, unrelated. I'd still like to know if there's some way to get used to the frames pressing on my head though - it's extremely painful because of allodynia from our Fibro. Any tips?

But yeah, as we've been saying to our friends lately... This is gonna be extremely important to get treated. Sunny's been trying to do art lately, and when she tried the drawing tablet - which was an improvement - the tendon "snapping" happened, intense pain, etc. just from bending the elbow to use it, and pressing the buttons on the tablet. Huge hindrance. Our right arm/wrist having these problems threatens so much of our livelihood and interests. Sunny (and me) doing art, me doing code, either of us doing typing of any kind. PC gaming with a mouse and keyboard, or even just a keyboard. Picking up more than light objects. So... we need this done and dealt with. It's so long overdue. I can't even hope to pick up Figura commissions again until then, but even that is the least of my concerns.

Our biggest fear through all of this is just... being "let off easy", being handed off to an OT who doesn't or can't resolve the issue, or having the issues otherwise ignored or not completely treated. The wrist doctor had also mentioned today that Fibro and other neurological conditions definitely don't help, but since he said he knows what my problem might be, I don't think he'll just say "it's Fibro" and dismiss me, like another doctor or two has already.