Site Update – State Of The MegaZone

Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 by MegaZone

You may have noticed a lack of blogging from me since CES. While I was at CES I developed a problem with my left hand; my pinky and ring finger are numb, and I’ve lost grip strength and some coordination. Obviously a nerve issue, which was confirmed by my doctor on Friday. Preliminary diagnosis is that it could be some kind of carpal tunnel issue or perhaps the ulnar nerve. I’m wearing a wrist brace as a precaution while I wait for additional tests (currently scheduled for late February, which I’m not at all happy about, I’m going to try to get them to move that up) just in case it is a carpal tunnel issue.

So typing is difficult, frustrating, and at times painful. Since I have to do a lot of typing for work, and work is more important (sorry, but it pays the bills), I’ve been focused mainly on that and not doing a lot of additional typing. I do have additional items from CES I want to cover, for example I talked to HAVA on the last day, and I will try to get to it soon. I’m slowly getting a bit better at typing with my gimpy left hand as I get more practice.

As far as I know I didn’t do anything to cause this. It just happened all of a sudden the Wednesday before CES opened. Maybe I slept on it wrong or something, I have no idea. It wasn’t as bad at first and I thought it might go away, but the more I tried to keep working normally the more it seemed to be aggravated.

So my apologies for the lack of posts lately, I’m hoping to get back to normal once this is fixed. Presuming it can be fixed of course and isn’t permanent, which I’m rather hoping it isn’t.

About MegaZone

MegaZone is the Editor of Gizmo Lovers and the chief contributor. He's been online since 1989 and active in several generations of 'social media' - mailing lists, USENet groups, web forums, and since 2003, blogging.    MegaZone has a presence on several social platforms: Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / LiveJournal / Web.    You can also follow Gizmo Lovers on other sites: Blog / Google+ / Facebook / Twitter.
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  • Saugar Maripuri

    Hey MegaZone, hope you feel better. Just FYI (I’m a doctor), the ulnar nerve (which innervated the ring and pinky fingers) does not run through the carpal tunnel… it runs outside of it. So the problem may be located at the elbow or neck. Hopefully they’re getting an EMG which can help figure out what is going on. Just wanted to make sure a doctor doesn’t tell you its a carpal tunnel problem, because that’s impossible.

  • http://www.gizmolovers.com/ MegaZone

    Actually it was the docs who said it could be some kind of carpal issue or the ulnar nerve, or both, based on the symptoms and preliminary exam. The EMG is what is currently scheduled for over a month from now. Based on what they told me I think the ulnar is the prime suspect but until they have the tests they’re covering all the bases.

  • http://www.tivoblog.com Alex

    Take your time getting better. We sure do miss you….

  • http://www.zatznotfunny.com Dave Zatz

    Sorry to hear it, man. Maybe it’s time for that Dragon speech recognition software. And Jaquet doesn’t want your reporting on Hava. ;)

    Wonder if what you have is contagious… Since CES, my left thigh goes numb when I stand or walk for more than a minute or so and often also hurts. Think it must be a pinched nerve in my lower back. (I’m not a doctor, have no idea. Suppose I should see one.)

  • Tim

    That blows Mega, get well.

  • http://www.cubital-tunnel.com Timm

    From your brief description, it sounds like you have cubital tunnel syndrome. Cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS) is a repetitive stress injury (RSI) that can result in moderate to severe pain and numbness in the elbow and ring & little fingers. Untreated, CuTS can result in extreme pain, surgery or an unusable hand.

    If you are interested, please come visit our cubital tunnel forums where you can share your experiences, ask questions, and get answers about your CuTS. The most important thing you can do is find an arm surgeon or neurologist who has direct experience with CuTS. Good luck!

  • http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Gryphon

    Given that it happened in Vegas, I have my own theory:

    Then eighteen hours later
    When he finally came to
    He tried to pick himself up off the floor
    But his limbs they would not move, ’cause he
    Slept on his arms last night
    He has no feeling in his left arm or his right ’cause he
    Slept on his arms last night
    Wishes he hadn’t drank so much

  • bobharp

    I hope it clears up.
    Have you thought of voice dictation software? Nate Anderson over at Ars has a number of posts on the subject as well as reviews.

    http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/dragon-naturally-speaking-10-review.ars

  • Glenn Connery

    Sorry to hear it. From what I’ve heard, sometimes even a small change can help with this sort of thing. I know that Paul Therrot has talked about having issues with carpal tunnel (which may be different, hey, I’m not a doctor) and how it flares up when he’s using certain keyboards. Others, like the Microsoft Natural keyboards, work better for him. YMMV of course. But you might try changing the mouse you’re using or the keyboard you’re using or the position of your arms or whatever. I use a big desk pad to keep my elbows from getting sore from contact with the desk myself.

    Anyway, take all the time you need to resolve this. We’ll be here when you get back.

  • Scott

    There haven’t been any updates in a while, just checking in to see if how everything is going with the “State Of The MegaZone”.

  • rbiro

    I hope you get better. (Selfishly because I’m going through Tivo – I mean GizmoLovers withdrawal)

    What about Gryphon?

  • http://www.gizmolovers.com/ MegaZone

    Thanks, I’ll probably start posting again soon. My hand is still pretty much the same, but I’m kind of getting used to it. Still frustrating, but I’m adjusting. I had some major bad news this week which has kept me preoccupied and frankly not much in the mood for blogging, or much of anything else, but I’ll have to get back into things at some point.

    Gryphon is still around, he just posts now and then as he wants.

  • http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Gryphon

    Unfortunately, I’m not out there on the cutting edge of gizmodom, so I don’t generally have much in the way of interesting news to relate; my posts tend to be a lot less frequent because they’re not usually industry news so much as me reflecting about something or other. I mean, I could review my bluetooth headset, but that’s so 2005. :)

  • Robm

    I miss your great blog posts Megazone! Hope all is well.