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wrist injury, ever ending tendonitis & Lyme

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Posted 11/18/2015 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
I'm at a point now where I'm really, really frustrated and more than a little annoyed. Back in September, I hurt my wrist. We were putting up hay...I took a 50lb bale off the hay elevator and felt a painful 'pop' in my wrist as I swung the bale around. I finished stacking that round of hay and then I had to quit, since my wrist really hurt. I hoped it'd heal on my own, since I try to avoid doctors unless I have no other choice these days. But after a month of constant bracing, it wasn't getting better. So I went to see the orthopedist. I thought I was going to see the doctor, but I wound up seeing the PA. She didn't do as thorough an exam as the doctor would have. The only bright spots are I got to have X-rays done that day and got an MRI the next day. Nothing really showed up, except some random minor inflammation. By the time I got to this point, it was 2 months after the injury.

I had my first PT appointment last week, and it went well. Though it was mainly talking and showing me some exercises. I've been doing the exercises, and it feels like things got better. Then I had my appointment yesterday. Everything felt good at the time. Heat, massage and ultrasound. But it started killing me on the drive home. By the time I got home, I couldn't use my hand....couldn't even open the door to the house with it, and it was extremely painful. It felt ok after some ice. Then I got awakened by pain a couple times during the night. And its really sore today. Its like I'm back where I was that first week after I injured it.

And I can't even brace it, since the pressure of the brace hurts more. No matter what brace I try.

I did talk to my LLND, and she thinks it could be Lyme related. The injury gave the Lyme a chance to 'move in' and cause issues. And that's what I'm leaning towards now. I did a calcium bentonite clay wrap this morning, thinking that maybe detoxing my arm would help....and it did. I'm just not sure I should even go back to do PT. I'm waiting to hear back from the ortho and my LLND. Just really annoyed this has happened....since its my dominant hand.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Any ideas?
Posted 11/18/2015 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mike.

That's really interesting about your foot and the ultrasound. I had a little ultrasound last week, and it really hurt at first. Then they turned it down and it was ok. Its kinda strange, since I've had ultrasound for other injuries before and it felt good then.

Lyme and bart are mostly non-issues these days...at least as far as I can tell. Having a rough time with babesia right now, but I've made progress. Though some of the neuro stuff might be Lyme/bart...I think its mostly babesia.
Posted 11/18/2015 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hey sayyadina,

I have tendonitis in my upper arms & shoulders from Lyme. Before I was diagnosed, I saw an orthopedist & did PT for awhile for what they called "bicep tendonitis." I didn't really see improvement, and they agreed that it was strange that I hadn't had an injury which started it off.

Anyway, now that I'm treating, if I'm ever off abx, the pain comes back and flares like crazy, but when I'm on abx it's fine. It sounds to me like you have the lyme in your wrist. I feel for you! It sucks.
Posted 11/19/2015 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
I've definitely had a bunch of tendonitis that turned out to be all caused by Lyme. First in my hamstrings, then in my forearms/wrists, and then shoulders. I did a ton of PT over many months before I knew I had Lyme, and found it to be mostly ineffective. The one exception was this thing called Active Release Therapy which was painful but breaks up scar tissue in the area (possibly biofilm too?). That did help my hamstrings heal.

Eventually I started using essential oils and I would get these flare ups of die off / inflammation in the problem spots. Each area would feel like it was being worked over for about a month. After that all the problems went away, I'm completely amazed that even my wrists have healed as they were problematic for so long. I can even do daily yoga now with poses now that put a ton of weight on them with no issues. Keep focusing on your Lyme treatments and I think your tendon problems will probably resolve themselves.
Posted 11/19/2015 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
I have had tendonitis in my wrist for about 5 months now. I clean homes and offices for a living so just toughed my way through it. I now haven't worked since Oct 27 and it hasn't healed. I've been trying to ice it a few times per day and I wrap it at night. I heard a steroid shot right on the spot would help, it's a kind that's not systemic but don't want to deal with Doctor appointments right now. I am doing bee venom therapy and have stung on it a few times but still not getting better. I think it is Lyme related and is being tough.
Posted 11/19/2015 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
I just read on one of the Lyme fb pages that deep tissue massage is one of the worst things if you have Lyme so I'm thinking pt might also add insult to injury. Have you tried arnica gel. I swear by it for my Lyme joint pains.
Posted 11/19/2015 3:25 AM (GMT 0)
Oh sayyadina!

It was so great to see you post but certainly not for this reason!

Do you think Curcumin might help?

No matter what, hope you feel better soon!
Posted 11/19/2015 4:45 AM (GMT 0)
Were all different. Deep tissue work is the only thing that helps my hard tendons and muscle knots. nothing but positive results. I had some type of occupational PT first show me this on my wrists, forearms, upper arms and neck 10 years ago. Its was my only relief in years at the time. Nerve impingement from muscle knots anywhere from hands to neck can make hands go numb and / or hurt.

Trigger point release / pressure in most areas and active release in others. Never had issues with ultra sound, I even purchased one, it helps me.

Were all different in what works.

One year of four ABX only helped slightly with my body pain. Its not a magic bullet for all.
Posted 11/19/2015 10:43 AM (GMT 0)
I had a MRI diagnosed arthritis/bursitis in my shoulder after 6 months of pain that would not go away. It did not improve until I dropped my protein intake down to only once a week and decreased my fat intake as well. I basically ate spinach salads with a little olive oil every day all day for 4 weeks. I was able to change my GI flora by reducing my acid intake and I raised the pH of that joint which decreased pathogen replication. That was two years ago and I can now eat more normal, I just have to be careful with my acid load and water intake.
Posted 11/19/2015 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone.

I've been on fish oil and curcumin for a really long time. It does wonders for the Lyme arthritis, but it doesn't seem to be helping with this. I haven't changed my Lyme treatment herbs, and this is the first Lyme symptom I've had in a while.

I just heard back from my LLND and she thinks I should stop the PT, since she's found it can do more harm than help with Lyme. Now I just need to find the energy to call the ortho & PT to cancel my appointments. Had a bit of a rough night last night....yay babesia insomnia!

Its a real bummer this is most likely Lyme related. Guess it proves that I'll never get rid of these infections.
Posted 11/19/2015 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
project -

Which essential oils helped you with tendonitis?

thanks
Posted 11/19/2015 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Georgia Hunter-

Did you use any PH test strip paper to know how akalyzed you got?

I tried an akalyzing diet years ago.
Posted 11/19/2015 6:44 PM (GMT 0)
When my left knee (both knees have been sore - but no swelling or cracking for almost the entire time I've had LD) - flared - no swelling - but couldn't bend it...i used our little ultrasound device on it twice a day for several days - my knee got slowly better. It's been about two weeks now...and the pain is almost completely gone. The only time I feel it is when I'm laying in bed on my right side and my left knee is resting on my right. it aches a bit.
I can't say for sure it was the ultrasound - but it certainly didn't make it worse in my case.
Posted 11/19/2015 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
astroman > I used a 1:1 mix of Thyme Thujanol and Lavender Fine topically in a carrier oil for about 2 years and this combination resolved about 90% of my tendon issues. Like you I have found deep tissue work helpful, I actually got a deep tissue massage every week for about 3 years and I found it really helpful for mobilizing toxins and keeping my body fluid. I think I would have lost the will to live during that period if it weren't for those massages. I was also using the sauna pretty much daily then.

Over the past year the remaining tendon issues have vanished and my body actually feels better than it has in over 20 years. My neck stiffness has gone as well and I've stopped needing deep tissue work, I've only gone twice in the past year for a massage. I'm not exactly sure what contributed to this remaining healing, I suspect Artemisinin was mainly responsible for healing my neck based on the herx inflammation. I think my frequency treatments since the spring (Rife and Tesla Violet Ray) probably finished the job on my wrists as its only since starting them that I've been able to do daily yoga without wrist issues.

Post Edited (project) : 11/19/2015 12:22:28 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/19/2015 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
"1:1 mix of Thyme Thujanol and Lavender Fine topically in a carrier oil"

- sounds easy enough. Just so I dont smell like flowers LOL

I dont see how deep tissues could be bad. It gets fluids moving - helps healing and gets oxygen into "stuck" tissues, thus KILLING lyme itself. It can be painfull when starting though, need for baby steps.

If I did not do deep tissue work, I'd be unemployable like a severe case of MS.
Posted 11/19/2015 9:34 PM (GMT 0)

astroman said...
Georgia Hunter-

Did you use any PH test strip paper to know how akalyzed you got?

I tried an akalyzing diet years ago.

No, I just went by my symptoms as to how well I was doing. I don't think the alkalizing diet is the best thing, I think changing your GI flora is what is important. I just did it though eating alkalizing raw foods. People with high quinolinic acid levels may have too much ammonia build up to eat alkalizing foods. I believe the ammonia is produced by the body to decrease acid levels. Our body is nothing but chemical reactions and when one area is too acidic, the body does what it can to alkalize and that is through ammonia formation.
Posted 11/20/2015 1:44 AM (GMT 0)

astroman said...
"1:1 mix of Thyme Thujanol and Lavender Fine topically in a carrier oil"

- sounds easy enough. Just so I dont smell like flowers LOL

I dont see how deep tissues could be bad. It gets fluids moving - helps healing and gets oxygen into "stuck" tissues, thus KILLING lyme itself. It can be painfull when starting though, need for baby steps.

If I did not do deep tissue work, I'd be unemployable like a severe case of MS.

astroman, the fluid will get moving but it can be a case of too much too soon. I used to get massage and when people heard they would say "oh that must be wonderful." My response was I have never had so much pain as when I get a massage.

I read something recently that exercise is encouraged because it does get the muscles working and the fluid flowing so that the blood can be filtered and the toxins removed. But you still need to be careful about herxing.

Kim
Posted 11/20/2015 2:19 AM (GMT 0)
GK- yep, that why I mentioned baby steps in deep tissue work, with other people in mind.

I have a much higher pain tolerance that most people, as repeatedly noted by every active release and trigger point release practitioner whos worked on me. I seem to tolerate more pressure that anyone else they've worked on, pressure that sends normal people to the moon LOL. Thats just me I guess.

But in the past is if I didnt do this, I would lose function of that muscle area as it would tighten up. Lyme muscle rigidity gave me adult scoliosis, which was incredibly scary at the time, and not something many lymies experience happening. I have partially reversed it. Lyme Muscle tension is not just uncomfortable, it can have lasting effects. Whatever works for loosening muscles is good in my book.
Posted 11/20/2015 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
astroman, yep to all of the above. I think all of us have a higher pain tolerance. Some people think that means you just don't feel pain as severely, but it really means we can handle more pain than the average person.

I have two kids and when I went to LaMaze (it wasn't called that) they wrote a graph on a white board. They asked up to put a point on the graph that illustrated our pain level. So my point was in the max on the chart. They all looked at me like "your lying no one could have pain that severe". I did. With my first kid, I wasn't progressing and they put a monitor on me. We found that I was having one minute contractions but 7 in a row with the peaks 45 seconds apart. If you draw that out, what you see is an 8 minute contraction. The other thing we had to do was really funny. The instructor wanted to demonstrate to our spouses how well the breathing exercises worked at reducing pain. So she had us take a hold of our spouses knee and dig our fingers into the joint to the point to demonstrate the pain we had in labor. My husband shot up out of the chair. He said know way! I said yes way! It was too funny.

I agree that a massage helps. It gets those knots released for a bit anyway, but if you detox like crazy it will probably be ok. You just have to make sure you detox. When I had the massages the assumption was that the liver would take care of detoxing. Didn't know at the time that the liver couldn't keep up.

Thanks for the chat, Kim
Posted 11/20/2015 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
If I have tight muscles....couldn't that be my body's attempt to stabilize the injured area? And 'releasing' that could be why things hurt more after? I've had this happen before with other injuries, so I was wondering if maybe that could be the culprit this time. Especially with my old back injury and neck. Things get really bad if I do anything to mess with the tightness I have in both areas.

I went to see the ortho doctor yesterday. She didn't feel like I re-injured anything, which was what I was worried about. We talked a little about trying a couple more PT appointments and maybe TENS, but she seemed ok with me stopping if I didn't feel it was helping. She also seemed open to Lyme being a possible factor, but she doesn't know a lot about it.

I also wonder if I just couldn't feel that the massage or ultrasound were too much. I don't have great sensation in my hands, and its been quite a bit worse since the injury. So I wasn't able to feel that the massage was too much...which could be why deep tissue massage might be harmful in some cases.

gkmom- 8 minute contractions don't sound like fun at all! I agree that we Lymies have a higher pain tolerance than most people. Heck, I have to reach a 9-10/10 before pain really slows me down. I'm just so used to being in some amount of pain. 10+/10 days are really bad, 9-10/10 aren't much fun but I can still function, and 6-8/10 is normal. I feel strange when I have the rare days where nothing hurts!
Posted 11/21/2015 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
sayyadina- There are obviously variations in muscle tension. A gradual chronic tension which can increase is different than a sudden injury as far as pain. I've tinkered with both for years, so I have a good feel for it.

In a newly heightened affected area, I kind of poke and prod with finger tips and thumbs "reading " my pain level per pressure applied, then increase.

A severely effected tendon might benefit from cross friction or circular with fingers 30 sec to a minute first. This is not deep and gets fluid moving around the area but not so much IN it. Its a baby step to the real thing.

Frozen shoulder is what happens when people do nothing to a shoulder injury after injuring it and them keeping it immobile (the old school method; medical failure). After you get the fluid moving, then you can eventually move with less pain.

LOL- the pain thing.
This gets me when people I know say "smile".

My reply: "do you smile when your in pain?"
Them " of course not, .........your in pain?
Me: "yes , to some degree, all the time".......(as I remind them again)
Them: .....pause, scilence, "you dont look like it"
Me: "THATS WHY IM NOT SMILING, I HURT"

urrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 12/2/2015 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
So, just a quick update on the whole PT thing. I really don't understand why its being done the way it is. Last week, I was giving a couple isometric exercises to start doing. And I can only do 1 repetition of each at a time without pain. Now this week, all of a sudden I'm expected to start lifting a 1lb weight in 4 different exercises doing 15-20 repetitions of each. Which felt ok at the appointment....but then the pain started ramping up and my wrist turned to jelly....very floppy, weak and unstable feeling. I'm still recovering from that today, and I have another appointment tomorrow. It just seems that every time I go there, its made more and more difficult. And I told the therapist "I can only do 1 repetition of the tendon glides and isometric stuff before I feel pain".

I really wanted to pull the plug after the first disastrous appointment, but I decided to give it a couple more tries. Last week wasn't too bad (1/10 pain before to 3/10 pain after), so I thought things would be ok. But I really think I need to stop going, since this really isn't helping. On monday I was a 1/10 pain and 1/10 feeling of instability before and 6/10 pain and 10/10 feeling of instability after. I've been putting it off, but I did some hoof trimming on one horse today....and it was more difficult than last month. Which really isn't the direction this needs to go in.

So, I'm going to cancel the appointments I have left with the PT but keep the follow up with the ortho doc. And I get to talk to my LLND on friday. And I just got the email that Buhner's Lyme book update is shipping on December 9! Hoping that has some ideas. I probably will keep doing the tendon glides, stretching and isometric exercises...but that's it.
Posted 12/2/2015 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck with it all, sayyadina!!

And, beyond great news about Buhner's new Lyme book! I didn't get that email yet and I already donated to the cause :)
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