Wednesday, May 04, 2005

On Ganglion Cyst..

For months, I'm harboring a little lump on the back of my right hand palm (near the wrist). I was just ignoring it thinking that I might have just bumped my hand into something causing it to swell. Unnoticed, I was surprised that it got more prominent, though painless, as days passed. However, since I was quite conscious of its increasing size, can't help but wonder what's this?
The pain started yesterday morning when I woke up. It continued throughout the day and it got even more painful everytime I carry something or everytime I just move my hand sideways slowing me down at work. I need to pace up pa man din at work, otherwise, di mababawasan ang nakapila to pay their bills.
Bothered of its look and of the pain..I decided to file a sick leave today and went to see a doctor at Patient First Glorietta. Upon seeing and touching the lump on my hand, Dr. Cabreza immediately blurted out that it's a Ganglion cyst. At first..I got nervous of the word "cyst" thinking it might be cancerous or something. Seeing the worried look at my eyes, the doctor explained right away that it's harmless. He further explained that a ganglion is a fluid filled sac that grows out of a joint. This sac rises out of the connective tissues between bones and muscles and contains slippery fluid similar to the fluid in our joints. Because the fluid-filled sac puts pressure on the nerves that pass through the joint, some ganglion cysts may be painful.

ganglion


As to how it is formed? Doc said the cause of it is not completely understood. Since ganglia can occur when there is a small tear in the ligament..it may be due to injury, a degenerative process or just mere abnormality. It may also have something to do with activities applying pressure on wrists. (hala..hindi kaya lagi kasi nakababad sa computer...typing all day long? haha!)
As for the treatment, I could just ignore it lang daw since it's harmless naman. But then, I'm disturbed and bothered of the pain kaya sabi ni doc surgical excision daw. Ano daw? In layman's term..ooperahan. WaahhhH! Kahit na it's just an outpatient surgery...still, operasyon pa rin. It will remove the ganglion BUT it's not a guarantee daw that it will not recur. Anyway, i'll have it na rin kasi nga I'm not comfortable of the pain. I was supposed to schedule it this Friday but I could not because of our company overnight outing at Subic scheduled tomorrow. Besides, Paul's sister is acquainted with a surgeon that I might have the excision for free. So yun, we'll set an appointment first so i might have it next week. Hay! Good luck sakin :(

4 comments:

Aggie said...

Normal nga lang yan at supposedly di masakit, kaso since it is situated at a part most often used, nagagalaw...kung malaki sya super at pangit tingnan, patanggal mo na lang :D Di yan masakit, nag-assist na ako sa Dad ko magtanggal nyan, ung friend ko kasi tinubuan sa may hairline sa temple nya!

Maricel said...

hi mai! i had one too on my left wrist a couple of years back. it bothered me for a while, but when my aunt doctor told me that it's harmless and will eventually subside, plus the fact the a surgical excision is a guarantee that it not recur, i decided to ignore to. good thing, nawala naman siya. so, observe mo lang numa... take care.

Mai said...

thanks aggie and maricel. In as much as I want to disregard the lump, di pwede eh kasi super sakit siya pag nagagalaw at napwe-pwersa. I'm right-handed pa naman. Sabi pa ng doctor lumalaki sya pag naprepressure lagi at liliit pag rested na siya but since right-handed ko..most probably lalaki talaga siya. I'm even having na a hard time carrying heavy things or just twisting a bottle's cap. :( Baka sa Friday ko siya patanggal.

Maricel said...

np po. you take care now.