Background Info: My cow crushed my left wrist back in august. I didn't go to the doctor initially because I thought it would just heal on it's own. In early December, I lost use of it (It hurt when I tried to do anything with it, even move it) and had to go to the doctor. No bones are/were broken. They don't know what is causing the pain. They made me stop working at my job and stop doing farm work for 2 weeks. Now I can move it up and down, but I can't lift anything, twist it, or put pressure on it (I can't do push ups). Also, I can't feel normal sensations in that wrist or hand. It just feels like pins and needles. They're doing an EMG in Jan, but until then I can't stay out of work (I didn't want to stay out of work the first two weeks). So now that I'm back to work, I'm also back to doing farm work.
So tonight I was out in the barn feeding the calves. I was trying to use my injured hand as little as possible, but I had to use both hands to tip a 5 gallon water bucket into the trough that the calves drink it out of. As soon as I tried to pick up the bucket with my injured hand, I had to drop it because it caused a sudden intense pain. Now it feels like my wrist is on fire! It's all red, but not swollen.
Anyways, I'm searching the house for Tylenol. I found 5 bottles of Tylenol and ALL of them are expired!!! Oh my god, seriously?! I also found 3 bottles of Ibuprofen and 4 bottles of Aleve, but both of those make me so nauseous that I'm up puking the rest of the night.
Ugh, anyone else having a bad night?
Maybe a chiropractor could help. If nothing is broken, maybe something is out of place and he/she could make adjustments to correct it.
If you haven;t taken the Tylenol then don't. Go into the bathroom, draw a nice bath and take a bottle of wine in there with you.
Or dump a bottle in a pan and put some mulling spices in it, then just heat it up.
Hope the doctor find out the issue. I have nerve damage in my foot. I broke it a long time ago and it still gives me fits sometimes.
So sorry! Expired Tylenol will not hurt you; it's just not as potent as the potency decreases over time. You can take one extra and will be just fine... This is per a doctor's advice once upon a time.
you must be, your typing is a bit confusing. Didnt know you hurt your hand till about 3 paragraphs down. I would take the tylenol even if expired. Wont hurt you, just might not be as effective.
Sounds like a pinched nerve, and tendon damage. I had a crushed toe from a horse and that always flares up if I step wrong.
lol I see you edited it now... better :) I hope you feel better
You can still take the Tylenol, even though it's expired. My doctor told me that it's perfectly safe. The company just will not guarantee it will be as effective after the expiration date.
So sorry you're dealing with this. Hope the doctors figure this out quickly so you can be on the road to recovery!
I have nerve damage from a slipped disk in my neck. Because I kept working and not listening to the doc I have little use in 2 fingers of each hand and a LOT of chronic neck and arm pain.
I can only tell you that your not doing what the doc said is setting yourself up for this to be a permanent injury. I understand that animals can't go to the barn and get the feed for themselves but you need to have someone to help you.
You also may need to just skip everyone and go directly to a neurologist or a different one. This is a serious injury and if you don't get it treated correctly you may end up with a hand that just hangs down and is not usable. Or lose the hand permanently.
If it were me, I would take the Tylenol.
Also, I would google what is better for our wrist: ice or heating pad & put
that on it.
Previous poster had a good idea that it might be carpel tunnel syndrome.
Don't worry, it will get better but in the meantime I would:
take something for it
ice or heat it
"baby" it....try not to use it much especially w/any kind of weight bearing
item
put a call into your dr. to see if you can be seen any earlier than Jan.
not p/u anything w/that hand
also, try googling "temporary relief for carpel tunnel syndrome" for something you can do at home until you are seen to help relieve the pain
So sorry you are going through this! Hang in there!
I hoping your joking....if you are not, get youself to the ER.
Blessings.....
Wow, so sorry you find yourself in this predicament. Nothing like intense pain to let you know you're alive, huh? And nerve pain is a special kind of hell.
I'd go ahead and use the expired medication. Mostly, they just weaken over time, so at worse, you just won't get as much effect. Aspirin is an exception, as it actually transforms gradually into ammonia. But it has to be REALLY expired to get there.
Just a note on something else that may help you: There are some homeopathic topical gels and under-the-tongue pellets that are known to help healing both tissue bruising (Arnica Montana and Rhus Tox) and nerve damage (Hypericum; also called St. John's Wort). I have had really amazing results over the years with a number of different injuries using these remedies.
About 20% of the population is not responsive to homeopathy, but it's a fairly inexpensive experiment to try, so you might want to give it a go. These are available at health food stores and many pharmacies. I wish you luck.
Try taking the ibuprofen with something like Malox (sp) to sooth your stomache. I think you need an anti-inflamation drug.
Ice the wrist at least 3 x a day more if possible.
Get a wrist brace--the carple tunnel brace though uncomfortable really help. I was told to wear mine at night and rest my arm on a pillow to sleep. But when I tried to wear the brace at night I would take it off and not remember doing it because it made my arm itch. So I wore mine during the day.
Good luck I hope it gets better.
sounds like possibly a pinched nerve or carpal tunnel syndrome. If you are still in pain, call your doc and he can probably give you something stronger to get you through.
have you taken the ibuprofin with food...that will help with nauseouness
There must be some INTERNAL swelling, some type of nerve compression. Have they checked to see if there is some type of infection going on? Maybe it would help to soak in Epsom salts.
Chiropractors can also work the wrist and hand in case something is out of place. Also Osteopathic Drs.
I have had to have my wrist "manipulated", adjusted, several times.
Compartment syndrome might be going on, can be very serious. Don't want to scare you, but you might need to go to ER, especially now that it is RED.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001224.htm
I'm sorry to hear about the pain you are going through. I had an EMG done about a month ago for a torn tendon in my big toe (fishing accident!) what a clutz I am! I tripped over a rock & really messed up my foot, but after having my a cast up to my knee and being told that the only way to fix it would be surgery........I had a miraculous recovery (not sure about the spelling on that one)! How outdated are the bottles of tyelonol? I wonder if they are like some things where they just anticipate an outdate but still have the same potency. I wish you the best of luck with things.
Not to totally scare you but I would ask for a referrel straight to a neurologist or an orthopedic - Before the end of the year if possible!
My concern with this new redness and swelling is RSD. Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy is when your sympathetic nervous system over reacts to an injury. The usual symptoms are excessive pain, redness, and swelling that are in overabundance to the injury. Most family doctors are not taught about this disease in medical school.
You will need a referral to be properly diagnosed and treated whether it is RSD or perhaps a carpal tunnel due to tendon swelling. And time is of the essence. You have already allowed more than three months slip by.
RSD needs to be treated within the first six months for the best chance for it to be beat. There are no guarantees with this awful disease. And in some rare cases RSD can spread beyond the injury point.
Carpal tunnel allowed to run unchecked can also lead to permanent damage and loss of use that cannot be restored.
Keep the limb elevated and keep it's use light. I was a farm girl - I get there is work to do. But if you think it's tough now - imagine it being worse and permanent.
Good luck, Merry Christmas, and may your New Year be so much brighter, more joyful and safe!
Agree with all who have suggested there may be a nerve problem and I strongly urge you to see a neurologist.
You may have some nerve damage...try using wrist braces...they tend to keep your wrist from bending and also aids in picking things up. I have been dealing with pinched syactic nerve since Jun. Finally get to see a specialist in Jan. I couldn't work if I wanted to...I can barely do everyday small tasks. Good luck.
