wristy business

That post title is beneath me ... sorry: couldn't think of anything better.

So I've mentioned before about this uncharming ganglion cyst on my right wrist. It looked something like this, except excuse me, my hand must be ten years younger than that one, without the age spots and wrinkles. Ahem. In any case, this week I finally got to the doctor to complain that I'm too beautiful to have a hard, marble-sized lump sticking out of the back of my wrist, and might he do something about it.

And now I'm putting the rest in 'extended post' so that the squeamish can beg off. It's not that bad, but if you don't have a fascination for the clinical, I suggest you come back another day or read from the archives or something. *waving* bye-bye!

I suggested to the doctor that he try aspirating it, and he said, "Sure, we can try that! ... [slight frown, inquiring look] are you a nurse?" "Er, no ... I just know stuff like this ..." Well, he brought back in a prep, and the nurse, and they sprayed freezey stuff on the back of my hand, and I concentrated every dram of my attention and energy on looking away and remaining statue still while horrifyingly needle-tastic activities were happening in my peripheral vision.

After about a minute, the procedure was declared a resounding ... failure. Whatever was in there was too thick to aspirate with the needle he chose—the contents of the cyst clogged (ewwwwww) the inside of the needle. Apparently we were dealing with a lump of snot in my wrist. Nice. Unless we were prepared to repeat the procedure with a drinking straw and a shop vac, it wasn't going to work. So, I thanked him and his nurse for their efforts; they supplied me with the name of a hand specialist if I wanted to get an opinion on other options; and I left with a bandaid and a puncture mark.

And that, I thought, was that. The doctor kindly suggested that I might go the traditional route and find someone who was willing to whack it with a large book to rupture it, but Howie goes pale whenever I suggest it to him.

That night, when I was getting into bed, I happened to notice that the area of the cyst felt ... different. It was no longer localized and sharply defined—the area around it was a bit swollen. Massaging the cyst, it was immediately apparent that the needle had ruptured it. So the procedure was successful after all ... the next day, the cyst area was rather distended but not uncomfortable and the hard lump was gone; today the distension is significantly less. So I now have the comfortable awareness that my circulatory system is hard at work within the tissues of my hand, breaking up and sending a gob of snot off to my liver for processing and removal.

Thanks for letting me ruin whatever your next meal is. Bless you all.

Comments

[Jo]

That sounds pretty magical, in a PBS-special kind of way. Is it sick or sad that I hung on every word?

[Deborah]

Who DOESN'T want to hear about nasty medical procedures that don't involve the vagina? Thanks for sharing!

[Mir]

Personally I favor the ones with vaginal involvement, but this was good, too. ;)

[Amber]

*shudder* I spent the evening on the couch dosing in and out of a state of 'Oh my god I feel sick'. I was escorted to bed, but got up because 'Oh my god I feel sick'. Thought I would read a few blogs to distract me from the 'Oh my god I feel sick' feeling... I read this post and... 'OH MY GOD I FEEL SICK!!!' But you did warn me didn't you! :)

[jenB]

I had one years ago as well. Eventually it just went away. Your story is WAY BETTER!

[Victoria]

I've had a bump that looks to be very similar on th thick base of my thumb for several years now. How did you find out it was a ganglion cyst? (I've had those deep in my bones and they are not fun to deal with...) When I showed my primary my hand he just said I should see a dermatologist, which I have been putting off due to laziness. But since yours went so well, maybe I shall look into having this thing removed. At 20, I don't want to deal with this ugly thing, especialy as it hurts when pressure is applied. Thanks for the enlightenment!

[tam]

This past fall, I had one on the back of my hand at the wrist, and I was trying and trying to decide what to do about it. It's easy to become obsessed with a big, unsightly lump on the back of your wrist. One day I was (very unathletically) shooting hoops with my husband, and he passed me the ball with a lot of force, in a way that bent my hand back as I caught the ball. It hurt a bit, but I went on playing HORSE. When I got home I realized the cyst was *gone*. So now whenever I don't feel well, maybe the answer is to play HORSE?...

[kayla]

Hi! Im 14 yrs old and I have a pointy, painful, lump sticking out of my wrist( the palm up side) 1 inch under my hand. about 2 months ago( end of June 2007) I was having wrist pain for 2 weeks, and then one day I was lifting something I felt a pop, and a sting, and in about an hour, there was a swollen, soft lump on that spot. I went to the doctor that same day and he said it was tendonitis-but my wrist didn't hurt that much for it to be tendonitis. So the lump eventually went away. And then 2 weeks after it went away, it came back as a hard, painful, pointy, distinct lump raised out from under my skin on my wrist. It has been there for about 1 month. It is painful to do certain tasks with my right hand.
I DO NOT think that its a Ganglion Cyst because its NOT soft, and Ganglion Cysts usually aren't painful and have liquid inside. My lump, is HARD and BONY!
Please write back,if this has happened to you.
Im going to the doctor in 2 days

[kayla hartline]

hi!~ I went to the doctor and found out I have a ganglion cyst. But its a small one. I have to go to an Orthopedist to see what is going to be done with it.

[Do It Yourself Anti Aging Skin Care]

While a lot of negative things have been said against those people who try to prevent or slow down the aging process....