New Mothers and Their Syndrome

I just got back from seeing an Orthoepedic. I had made an appointment because what started out as carpal tunnel in my hands in the last few weeks of pregnancy had turned into a sharp pain on the inside of my wrist. I was convinced that I no longer had carpal tunnel but something more serious. I tried to think what could have happened between delivery and nine weeks later...I didn't fall, I hadn't been at the gym lifting weights. I thought perhaps it was caused by the nurse putting the IV needle into my body and perhaps aggravating a bone/tendon?! All I knew was that this pain was getting more serious by the day.

It impacted just about everything I did from picking up the boys, to feeding them (the way I was cradling them, their little elbows would jab into my injured wrist), to something as simple as putting my hair in a ponytail or closing my bra hooks. I made an appointment with an orthoepedic to see what was going on. I was convinced that after taking x-rays, he would see a hairline fracture or even a bone spur, whatever that was.

Turns out I've got De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. I sat in the doctor's office for 30 minutes. The doctor saw me for three minutes and declared I had tenosynovitis, or in lamens terms, Nursing Mother's syndrome. One problem - I'm not nursing nor have I been nursing for five weeks. But Nursing Mother's syndrome was just the general term. It's a pain on the side of the wrist and base of the thumb due to inflammation of one or two tendon sheaths or a strain of these tendon sheaths, the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) or abductor pollicis longus (APL). Again, lamens terms - pain in the inner wrist that goes up to the thumb that causes internal inflammation in your hand. For me, it was probably brought on by picking the boys up and doing it in a 'scooping' motion where my thumbs come out when I go pick them up.

It's treatable and should go away in about two weeks - I had the option of getting a shot for the pain or anti-inflammatory medication. I took the meds because the thought of another needle in my body wasn't too appealing. I also have to wear a splint on my hand/wrist for two weeks - I look like a left-handed professional bowler. It sure makes typing hard because of the limited movement I have in the wrist.

So just as an FYI - if you're experiencing the same irritation that I had, chances are you have Nursing Mother's Syndrome, which isn't exclusively reserved for nursing mothers.