Evoluent BetaTest

Hey all. I've been selected by Evoluent to BetaTest one of their new wireless mice. No picture here as I haven't yet seen the device myself. Anyway, attached is the email I received this morning requesting that I BetaTest the mouse for them. Yep... I ponied up the $200 and look forward to my new free wireless mouse.

Dear Evoluent user,

Evoluent is about to introduce the VerticalMouse 4 Wireless. We need your help to test preproduction samples and report back.

15 test samples are available. If you are interested, please do this:
1. Go to www.evoluent.com and click Online Store.
2. Click the bottom item TEST. There is no image of the item.
3. Buy the refundable item, use it daily for a week and reply to this message with a clear description of any problems.

IMPORTANT: The report must be filed within 14 days of the purchase date for a full refund including shipping. You can keep the sample after the test. No refund will be given if the report is filed late.

The reason for asking you to buy it for a high price, then refunding it is to encourage you to file the report.

We look forward to your feedback on this exciting new product.

Best regards,
Evoluent

Relaxation Exercise

This video brings me back to the good ole days and just makes me feel good. And isn't that all we're really after anyway. Hope you enjoy...




YouTube

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Sex

You know Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is hitting main stream America when articles about CTS and sex make it to the google news page. Check out this article from edenfantasys I found on google news.

Live Chat on Treating Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Follow-up

I attended the live chat yesterday with Dr. Christo hosted by the Baltimore Sun and actually got one of my questions posted.  There was lot's of useful information given especially some stuff that's very hard to find with just a regular google search.  The most interesting thing I discovered, was that Botox and Blood Thinners appears to be a treatments for some people with TSO.  Here's the discussion of Blood Thinners from the chat.

12:17

Comment From Miram  I have had the diagnosis of TOS for approximately 20 years. Approximately 17 years ago, I had a partial right first rib resection. I am in my 50 now and after a head trauma/facial fractures; I have become symptomatic again. My symptoms are swelling and stiffness in hands and forearms upon awakening, weakness in both hands, no over head reaching without causing dizziness, pain at base of neck with headaches that run up the back of my neck into my scalp and forward to my temples and above my eyes. It has taken away my ability to do any kind of upper body exercise or carrying any sort of weight/ a few lbs or greater without pain. What are the recommendations when you have a major accident, like I had to move on with a quality of life. I have tried four separate physical therapist, two surgeons have recommended surgery, I have a neuologist that I have worked for and I have also had the brachial plexus study by Dr. Collins at UCLA and have been told my venous blood return is impinged.

12:26

drchristo:  Miram, if you have vascular TOS (venous blood flow impaired) then many patients will have a chest xray, duplex ultrasound, and even venography to further document and confirm the problem. A lot of patients will have arm pain with activity, arm and hand swelling, blue discoloration of the arm or hand, and dilated veins in the shoulder or chest area. You may be a candidate for repeat first rib resection and anterior scalenectomy. If you have a clot in the vein, then surgeons use blood thinners before and after surgery as part of treatment. I think surgery depends on how significant the bood flow reduction is, so have a frank discussion with one of the surgeons to determine likelihood of success and any problems you may encounter if you don’t have another surgery.

If you want to see the rest, as well as my question to Dr. Christo, please check the link.

Live Chat on Treating Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Today at 12 noon EST the Baltimore Sun will be hosting a live chat on treating thoracic outlet syndrome with Dr. Paul Christo of John Hopkins University School of Medicine. If you're a sufferer or know someone who is, this will probably be a great place to get answers that aren't so easy to find on the web.

Treating thoracic outlet syndrome

Australian Tax Office Searches for RSI Solution (iTnews.com.au)

They're calling RSI an epidemic in Australia.  Perhaps that means the medical and business communities will start focusing more attention on finding solutions to this problem.

ATO searches for solution to RSI epidemic







Image courtesy of Photostock

Jon Stewart vs Bill O'Reilly

Okay, so these videos have nothing really to do with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, but laughter and relaxation are always good for releasing tension.

Part 1

Part 2

A mouse to consider

So I'm always looking for a better mouse to make working on the computer less painful, especially since my job entails heavy computer use and a sick amount of mousing and clicking all day. I've recently been considering the Jupiter Mouse by Actbrise, a company no longer in business. It definitely looks like it could help with the pain I feel when using a computer. However, I'm not completely sold on the mouse just yet. Check out a vid of the mouse here. Very few places sell this gizmo, but if you're willing to shell out $200 or $300 bucks for this mouse, you can probably buy it online at Japanesetrendshop.com, Rynka.com and even Amazon.

P90X

If you aren't aware yet, it's very important to be in good shape, especially if you have Thoracic Outlet or some other repetitive strain type injury. I started doing P90X to get into shape but hit a snag and stopped doing it after about 4 weeks. Anyway, its about another 4 weeks later and I decided to give it another go. This is day 2 of the P90X program which calls for doing a routine called Plyo-X. That's jump training. It's a killer program and today I wasn't able to get through the warm up. Yep, only 5 minutes of warm up and I'm done. I certainly was able to do more the first time I tried P90X but I guess that's what 4 weeks off from exercise gets you.

Pork Salad

Today I had pork salad for lunch and dinner. What does that have to do with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, you ask? Well, I'm trying to lower the amount of carbs in my diet. My nutritionist says that a low carb diet helps reduce inflammation which may be part of the problem with Thoracic Outlet. Anyway, it's a great way to eat healthy and still have the yumminess of pork.

Made an Adventures in TSO hotline

The Sip/Puff Breeze

I don't think I've could have kept working the last two years if it wasn't for this little device. It's called the Breeze and it's made by Origin Instruments (www.orin.com). If you spend a lot of time on the computer and suffer from RSI, TSO, Carpal Tunnel or some other similar ailment, I highly recommend considering this gizmo. It can't move the mouse cursor, but it can do all the clicking for you. Set me back almost 3 bills, but not sure I could have gone to work without it. Origin has since discontinued making the Breeze, but they've told me that the Breeze II is in the works.

Hello World

My name is Pauly. About 2 years ago, I was told I had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. I've been doing everything in my power to get healthy, but it's been a bumpy road. I just thought I'd share my experience with the world as well as some of the very useful things I've learned along the way. Hope you enjoy the blog.