Brachial Plexus Injuries

I was recently in an ADHD Facebook group and venting about how tough things have been lately.

I got a lot of messages from well-meaning people saying “oh, it’s ok, it happens to your neurotypical coworkers too.”

I know these comments come from a good place, but they make me feel awful.

For me, the way it makes me feel is “well, if everyone else struggles with this too and they’re staying afloat, what’s my excuse?”

Similarly, I have a #BrachialPlexusInjuries that causes my left hand to not work well. I don’t expect myself to type as well as I did before. I don’t think anyone would. For me, it helps to remind myself “hey, of course I’m struggling, I’ve got these wonky things wrong with me, I can’t compare to others.”

It’s the same with my #ADHD as well. I like reminding myself “hey, I’m playing with one hand tied behind my back, of course I’m struggling sometimes.”

How do others feel about this?

#ADHDInGirls #Neurodiversity #Disability

Why am I like this?

My #nervepain is flared up. It’s not horrible, but it’s distracting and at the point where it’s affecting me.

But in a way I did it to myself. It had been getting worse anyway, but I pushed myself too hard at the gym and now it’s bad.

The thing is, it wasn’t an accident. I knew I was pushing myself too hard. I knew the smart thing would be to stop and rest. But I forced myself to do it. In part because I was having a good time. I like seeing how strong I’m becoming. But part of it was that I don’t want to use my chronic pain/permanent injury as an excuse. I would feel like a quitter if I let myself stop. I would feel like I was taking the easy way out and like my arm was a limitation.

I wish I could learn to accept myself and my limitations. I wish I could learn to see myself as just as worthy even if I let myself quit when it’s beneficial to me.

I also wish I could take a sick day without feeling weak.

#BrachialPlexusInjuries #Chronicpainwarrior #MentalHealth

I have a chronic pain issue with my left arm. The gist of it is that my shoulder is very tight. That sends #nervepain down my hand. There isn’t really a diagnosis on it, but it’s a form of a #BrachialPlexusInjuries

Anyway, I don’t know how to describe it. It’s not really an injury. That gives the implication that it was caused by one specific thing and that it’s temporary.

But it’s not truly a #Disability . It slows me down. My typing is a little slower. It’s tough to grip something too long. I work out a lot and my left side is measurably worse than my right. But there’s nothing I can’t do because of it. So I feel like I can’t use the term disability to describe it. I also know people who know me would be floored if I called myself disabled by it because again I’m not. There’s nothing I can’t do.

So what is it? It’s not even a fully diagnosed condition.

What advice do you have for nerve pain? I get some nerve pain in my hand because of a #BrachialPlexusInjuries It’s not very bad pain, but it sure is distracting.

I have both muscle pain and nerve pain, and, personally, the nerve pain is worse even though the muscle pain is more severe. I just find nerve pain so distracting.

Anyone else like this? #BackPain #BrachialPlexusInjuries

#BrachialPlexusInjuries
#JointHypermobilitySyndrome

I have #ChronicPain (#SpineProblem #BrachialPlexusInjuries and related stuff). For me, those things are made better by physical therapy exercises. Like, a lot better if I do it regularly over a long period of time.

I just can’t get in the habit of doing it. I almost wish my bad hand were my right. If my bad hand were my dominant hand, it would motivate me to actually stop being so lazy.

Anyone else struggle to do self care even if they know how important it is? I do have #ADHD so I know habits can be challenging. But maybe I’m just lazy?

Between my #SpeechImpediment my #Scoliosis (technically it’s not that but similar) my #ADHD and other related stuff, I describe myself as “God did a science experiment when He made me and got interesting results.”

When I describe my musculoskeletal system (wonky #SpineProblem #BrachialPlexusInjuries and #Nerve and joint pain #Jointpain ) I just say “my musculoskeletal system is a series of unfortunate events.”

Anyone else have a fun/creative way to describe their wonky body/brain?