I’ve got a bible cyst on my left wrist. No kidding. It’s not quite as funny as it sounds. Almost as funny.

The ganglion cyst on my left wrist has been a nuisance for a year or so. Today, I recategorized it as a problem I have to address ASAP. I’ve had carpal tunnel problems for a long time, but didn’t feel like dealing with them. The cyst wasn’t a big deal. Just annoying. It came and went (typical behavior for cysts) and made it impossible to wear a watch, but could hardly be classified as a medical emergency. Until last night.

It blew up last night. Why? Probably too much typing. It hurts a lot when I move the wrist. Since I have bursitis in both hips making it hard to walk and my back is permanently on the fritz  — which is why I have bursitis in my hips — the idea of losing the use of another body part is unacceptable.

I’ve already talked to the doctor about it and we agree I need to address the cyst and the carpel nerve issue.

The surgery for carpal tunnel is routine and low-risk surgery. The cyst may not even require surgery. But I need to move my timeline up. I was planning to get to it eventually. Now, I need to deal with it sooner rather than later. With a little luck, the cyst will go away by itself. It has before. Or be drainable with a needle.

For the meantime, I have to limit typing. That translates to less writing. I’ll post more reruns and short new pieces. I’ve got almost 1200 posts in the archives. I think that’s enough material to keep me going for a while. Bear with me and don’t worry. As medical crises go, this is nothing.

What makes it a Bible Cyst? Entertaining historical (hysterical) note.

Ganglion cysts, typically located on wrists (though sometimes on knees, fingers or toes) are known as “bible cysts,” alternatively as  “Gideon’s disease.” Why you ask?

I’m glad you asked. Because in the good old days, the treatment for ganglion cysts was to give them a very hard whack with a really heavy book, thus breaking the cyst and draining it. Since the bible was usually the heaviest book in the house … well, you get the connection, right? I don’t know about you-all, but I’m just as happy we are not living in the good old days.

Somehow, getting whacked on the cyst with a heavy book seems a solution I’d sooner skip. I’ll got with the doctor, Novocaine, and all the new-fangled folderol.

Ironically, the old “whack the cyst with the bible” apparently worked every bit as well as surgery and the cysts thus whacked rarely came back. My suspicion is that the whackee would never tell anyone if it did recur. I bet one bible whacking is enough for any wrist.

It gives a whole new meaning to “bible thumper”!

Categories: #Blogging, #Health, #Writing, Humor

Tags: #Health, Carpal tunnel, Cyst, humor, postaday, Surgery, Wrist