Insane amounts of pain, loss of strength in hand...???

[ekguy]

I work constant labor at my job and I need my hands to work.

I have constant pain in my hand and seem to not have as much strength in it as I used to. Having a hard time lifting things with that hand...Been hurting for a couple months but it was quite tolerable before but now it's keeping me up at night, and making my job very difficult...

Before I go see a doctor would like to know if anyone has experienced anything like this?

I looked up carpel tunnel syndrome and don't think this is it. Stress fractures maybe? My job is rough on the hands a lot of the time...

[rob the knob]

go see a physio

[Graham_A_M]

Tendonitis. If you're doing repetitive work that typically requires you to grasp hard onto things, then thats likely what you have.

Back when I built pallets (one of my first jobs out of high school) I came down with severe tendonitis in both my hands & forearms, due to holding a 8pound nailgun in my hand, and using it to drive in about 1400 or so nails a day.
After about a month or two of that, it was extremely hard to use either hand, as it took about 45min to take a piss, since I couldn't even undo the zipper with one hand. Basically the only way to treat it is to make MASSIVE changes to your job, or just find a new one.
If you're set on keeping your job duties, then I'd seriously consider looking for extensive ways to change your lifting/holding habits. Your employer may help with that, or give you vastly different job duties, but dont let it progress, or you'll end up like I did. It honestly took a year for it to subside to the point where I was just about normal, and that was a year after quitting that stupid fucking job.
I still have it today, even though its pretty much gone, but its really hard to hold the gun of a pressure washer for any length of time, and the pain comes shooting back like it used to.

Tendonitis occurs when you have very repetitive strain, of which targets the same muscles, over and over and over again. It may not even be overly hard work, but eventually the "minor strain" wont be so minor anymore as what you're now experiencing.

If you're getting by doing some manual labor job, and its doing THIS to you, find another one. Seriously. There are just tons of those in Calgary, some that pay fairly well, and wont do this to you.

[bourge73]

Time for a nice, new, cushy, office job:bigpimp:

[Unknown303]

Kids are so soft these days.

[SpeedIllusion]

ekguy: hand slightly swollen and/or the knuckles white?

[ekguy]

No swelling, no white knuckles.

Cant quit job, worked hard to get to my position where i am and finally in oil and gas downtown. Will be in a different role there in about a year.

Will see about seeing a doctor. Graham's seems the likely problem...

[Graham_A_M]

^ dude, what the hell kind of "oil & gas work downtown" thats doing this to you? The only kind of work in that sector I can see happening DT is clerical office type work. Is that whats doing this to you?

What exactly are you doing or building? Seems really odd.

[topmade]

Go see physio asap. Happened to me a long time ago where my job required a lot of hand strength and carrying heaving things. My hands don't hurt anymore but they are not as strong as they used to be.

[ekguy]

I setup new offices for an oil company downtown. And make sure all our field offices receive all the appropriate equipment, furniture, etc. So alot of heavy lifting, alot of assembling, also constantly setting up new computers (some of them huge machines). Do a huge amount of different tasks, most of which involve at least some minor physical labor, alot of which end up being pretty labor intensive.

Foot in the door so cant quit. So only option is to fix my hand :D

[Graham_A_M]

^ You may want to ask for a temp worker as an assistant. Im sure they'd be a lot more willing considering the extra amount of work you can get done, and if you seriously even the work load (with the helper) then thats half the battle right there.
At least if you bring up whats happening to your arms & hands, they'd be a lot more open to it. Being a temp (or even so much as a FT company employed assistant). You can show off your management skills too while you're at it. :dunno:

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
..as it took about 45min to take a piss, since I couldn't even undo the zipper with one hand.
45 minutes?! WTF! :eek:

[Graham_A_M]

^ yeah man, it was getting incredibly bad. I had to plan it out for how long it would take so "bad things wouldn't happen" if I REALLY had to go. It was the worst when you really had to go, and you just couldn't get your hands to close at all to do much of anything useful.
I remember going camping with my parents, and standing outside for almost an hour trying to take a piss, freezing my fucking ass off. It was then that I knew I REALLY had to do something else. Absolutely brutal.

Like I said it took a full year to recover from that, but the first couple months were the worst since it very very slowly went away. After quitting that place, there weren't many jobs I could do that didn't require some use of my hands.
And I put myself through all that for the equivalent of a $10/hr job.
Good god. :facepalm:
Im quite certain that was the worst job I ever had or ever will do, and probably the same for everybody else that ever had the misfortune of doing that sort of work. Apparently most guys there dont even last a day, especially after they find out how little their making for what kind of work their doing. :nut:

[ekguy]

Well im gonna go talk to a doctor see if it's something that could be helped with physio or other methods...

All I know is that I'm about a year away from a new role within this company so I need to tough it out...

The pay hike alone will have me set for life if I tough it out.

[littledan]

when my dad graduated high school back in 1963, the first job he got was at a concrete factory. he literally shoveled rocks/sand for 8 hours a day by hand. he said every morning his hands would be clenched shut and it would take 15mins in the shower before he could open them. don't be such a nancy! :poosie: