My wrist is green, but it feels much better

Whenever you have something 'what ails ya' there's no need to go to a doctor and pay those hefty fees for visit, consultation tests and treatment.

There are at least two other options.

The first thing you can do is casually mention the problem to a few friends and sit back and wait for the remedies to start being suggested.

Chances are, they'll be numerous and varied.

A couple of months ago, my right wrist started aching a bit. Then my palm went numb. Next, a burning sensation started that felt like a hot poker was sticking me.

I was reluctant to mention it to anyone, but did do a Google search for wrist pain. After wading through a few of the thousands of Web sites the search produced I self-diagnosed my problem as carpal tunnel syndrome.

My symptoms were very close to those described on the various sites I visited. The one big difference was that carpal tunnel syndrome causes numbness in the fingers, not in the palm.

I finally broke down and consulted a doctor. I told him what I thought it was, and he politely said, "We'll see."

Don't you know doctors these days get fed up with patients who have already decided what the problem is and what treatment is necessary?

After a few motion tests and pokes and prods, he ordered some X-rays.

Turns out my diagnosis was wrong.

No carpal tunnel for me. Nope, arthritis is my problem. He pointed to the X-rays which showed very clearly (according to him) the problem.

His prescribed treatment was a shot of cortisone, a wrist brace to wear as much as possible and some exercises (which just happened to be the same as for carpal tunnel sufferers!).

"Don't play golf for a week," he suggested. "I'm not telling you that you CAN'T, but it would be wise to let it calm down some."

That was on a Monday. On Wednesday afternoon, one of my regular biweekly golf days, there I was on the first tee.

After all, I reasoned, he did not forbid me from playing, he just strongly suggested it. Besides, my wrist felt some better.

I had my brace on in hopes that I would get some sympathy from my golfing partners and maybe even a few shots (on the scorecard, not from a hypodermic) for the upcoming round.

All I got was a hard time and numerous suggestions as to how to treat my arthritis.

The golf that day was a mistake. Not only did I play badly, but the pain increased. For the next several days, I got even more advice when I was asked about the brace on my wrist. (I began wearing it full-time in hopes of lessening the pain.)

Advice included various over-the-counter pain relievers, creams, gels, salves and ointments, cold packs, hot packs, padded mouse pads, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, magnets and even a copper bracelet.

For some reason, I tried the copper bracelet idea. Probably because Cherokee National's pro, Danny Agapion, gave me one that had been gathering dust in a display case (that should have told me something). He was probably tired of keeping it on his inventory list.

After a couple of days, the burning sensation went away, the numbness lessened and the pain eased. Now after about a month, the burning has not returned, the numbness is practically nonexistent and I have no pain. The flexibility is almost back to normal as well.

My golf hasn't improved, but no one ever said the copper bracelet would make my swing better.

Now all of this could be a result of the cortisone shot. It worked well in the past on other ailments in other joints, but it had not helped a week after the injection, so I'm giving all the credit to the copper.

I'm not suggesting in any way, shape or form to forgo a doctor's visit when you have a problem, but sometimes when conventional treatment doesn't work, it doesn't hurt to give alternatives a try.

The second option to explore if advice from friends doesn't pan out is to watch a lot of TV. There are medical shows and commercials galore that provide details on how to solve any medical issue.

The problem with the commercials for miracle drugs is that they go into too much detail about all the possible side affects. "You could die if you take this pill."

Is that some new sales gimmick? I know laws probably dictate it, but time was the side effects message was as garbled as the financing fine print on automobile ads. Why try to get someone to try something by telling them all the bad things that could happen?

Oh wait, my friend who told me about the copper bracelet did warn me about my skin turning green.

Cody Sossamon (cody@gaffneyledger.com) is publishers of The Gaffney Ledger.