Did He Really Just Make that Hand Gesture?

The elevator doors open to the lobby of the orthopedic surgeon's office. The 80-year-old lady I shared the ride with says "go ahead...you can probably move a lot faster than I do." I'm thinking: "Ha! Barely!"

See, my joints feel like that of an old geez. It's because of the anti-estrogen meds I have to take...for the next four years! The aches started in my feet, then my knees, and now my hands. The pain has been quite severe lately and thus the visit to the doc.

I swear, I was the youngest person in the joint. Oh my, is this my future?

I meet with hand-doc and tell him that I had had cancer and about the Arimidex meds and how it makes this and that hurt. He looks at my hand, folds my thumb toward my palm, *wince*, and says "it's De Quervain's Tenosynovitis." Deep Core wha...?

Hand-doc explains that there are two small tendons that run through a sheath from the wrist to the thumb (stay with me here). When they become inflamed, the sheath can pinch the tendons, causing a sharp pain. To illustrate, hand-doc erects his pointer and middle fingers on one hand and makes an "o" shape with his thumb and pointer finger on his other hand (are you doing it too?). He then inserts his erect fingers into the "o" shape to show how the sheath grips the tendons when they move back and forth (got it?).

I'm dying. Jaw hits floor, holding in laughter, definitely blushing. I had to stop his demonstration immediately so I blurt out "just fix it!"

A quick shot of cortisone and I was out the door. But not before he mentions that the meds probably helped contribute to the inflammation but it was likely caused by lifting something over and over. Me: "Like a toddler?" Hand-doc's eyes get all wide like I was the one who just made the dirty hand gesture!

He said that he sees lots of moms with the same problem. Luckily, the cortisone seems to be working. I don't know if I could look hand-doc in the face again after that appointment!