I am going to send this same "THANK YOU!!!" to all 4 of you - Leesa, Jo*Mar, Dubious and Gatorhead ....

WOW!! I really, really appreciate you guys taking time to read my whole post ... And you were ALL very helpful to me! I was freaking out when I got home and read these - because as I said, the doctor showed me a few areas and said things about them, but the way he said things, it didn't sound so bad, yet the words of the entire reports sounded horrible - I actually gasped in horror - wondering how in the world I could have done that to myself!! I know the doctor sent me away with just pain meds the first time I went to see him (which was 3 weeks post-injury). He said to come back and see him in 2 weeks, unless I felt better, and he specifically stated that that I most likely won't need to see him again (he, too, was of the opinion that my own pulling on my own arm most likely couldn't have done much damage). Sure enough, I went back 2 weeks later because the pain was not gone (the pain in my elbow and wrist seemed "gone," but not the upper part of my arm - and that had been getting even worse and more frequent). That's when he put me on PT, then checked me 3 weeks later ... where, again, the pain had gotten worse, not better, and in fact it was during PT that the "nerve issue" seemed to have started (where I started getting the tingling and numbness, along with a shooting pain down my arm, and my thumb and index finger were going numb .. and actually, for about 4-5 weeks, the tip of my thumb was constantly 1/2 to 3/4 totally numb, all the time - but that has since resolved).

I did have an injury to my right elbow 3 yrs ago, where I slipped and fell while trying to walk down a wet, grassy slope, and hyper-extended my elbow. That took a year and 5 mos to completely heal. Also, the PT told me that my arm joints were all "very loose" - when I showed him how I can bend my fingers, because they're "double-jointed," he said, "Oh yeah - that would explain the loose joints." and he told me how having one extreme or the other (either joints that are too loose or joints that are too tight) can cause extended healing times.

My problem is that I am a typist/wordprocessor for a living - I have been off work for this since Sept. 17. I can type, but not "straight thru for 8 hours" like I'm used to doing - even typing these things up in the forum causes my arm/shoulder to have pain, and eventually tingling/numbness - I have to keep stopping and resting in between typing. But there are days I do not go on my laptop at all - in an attempt to "rest" my arm/shoulder and help it heal. But so far that has not worked - at least not yet. I'm worried about how long I will have to remain off work - I do get 2/3 of my pay through my Long Term Disability, and my employer pays "my part" of the cost for our Blue Cross/Blue Shield medical (that normally comes out of my pay checks, and they then pay the rest - I forget what that is called - it's in addition to my office co-pays and annual deductible) - but they will only do that for 6 months ... if I hit 6 months off, I have a choice to get COBRA - but that's way too much for me to afford. I know there's SSD, or medical retirement, but I haven't even looked into either one of those, because I never, ever thought I'd even be off work THIS long!!

So you can see why I was freaking out about the MRI reports - because I'm not sure what they mean, and if they are things that will "get better" soon or not, and if I need to start looking into other options as far as "work" is concerned, etc. So I thank you all SO MUCH for your replies and helping me understand a little bit more - you've definitely given me other things I need to "search for" in this website's forums, as well as other things on the web. God bless you all ... I can't express my thanks and gratitude enough!!!

Right now, I almost can't do anything with my right arm without excruciating pain (and yes, I'm right-handed) especially movements where I bend down and forward - like getting something out of the fridge that's on the bottom shelf, or leaning forward to open/close blinds on windows - and it doesn't matter if I lean on my left hand/arm and reach with my right, or vice-versa. And once I've "aggravated or irritated it," it will literally take HOURS of taking pain pills and using my ice pack and heating pad. Some days I suffer all day long with the pain, because it won't go away, and I've had many nights where I can't sleep all night because of it.