Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Aside from my sleep debt problem, another major medical issue I have had longer than I could remember is my CTS or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

CTS is condition wherein the median nerve which runs from the forearm to the hand is compressed at the wrist. The carpal tunnel is the passageway where this median nerve runs through. An irritation of the ligaments, tendons or bones at the carpal tunnel squeezes the median nerve which causes numbness, tingling sensation and in extreme cases, pain.

In 2001, five years after working in a bank and just barely two years after I gave birth to Joshua, now 10, I started to feel what I would describe in the Filipino lingo, "PASMO or PASMA". My fingers started to get numb and got worsed overtime. The numbness would extend to the forearm and my upper back. One night I woke up and couldn't feel anything on my right hand. I couldn't lift it and I thought I got paralyzed. I shouted to my sister for help and had cried hard because aside from the pain I felt, I had no idea what was happening then.

I consulted a doctor who diagnosed me of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I had undergone an electrodiagnostic test also which showed the CTS more prominent on the right hand but also present on the left.

I couldn't remember the number of times my mom scolded and blamed me for this condition. She said it was because I never listened to her when she warned me during my youth, not to overwork my hand.

"Pasma", a distinct Filipino illness marked by numbness, pain and tremors of the hands is so similar to CTS that I think people who have "pasma" may have CTS in reality and just don't realize it.

Treatments suggested for CTS include physical therapy and neuro-surgery, both I don't want to undertake because of the cost. In the surgery procedure, the transverse carpal ligament as shown in the picture below is cut to widen the passage and release the tension.

Recently, after moving to Singapore, my CTS had worsened. I inquired about the cost of surgery to check if there is a way I can afford it. One clinic responded that a micro-surgery which is more effective costs $4,500.00 or P145,000.00. My gosh, I could get about 500 hand massage and paraffin treatment with that amount. Worst, many articles over the net doesn't suggest surgery because there is no guarantee that CTS will not recur.

For now, my only option is to keep my hands rested (not possible, I know) and get regular hand massage (not very possible also).

Wait a minute, I gotta shake my hands, I have been on the computer for over three hours already.

Slept Debt Accumulating Fast!

Conservatively, since 2004 to date, I have accumulated no less than 3,600 hours of sleep debt already. And that's just computed based on 2 hours lack of sleep each night. A very conservative computation indeed as most nights I would sleep only for 4-6 hours.

This started when I worked in a call center on graveyard shift straight for the two years. Since then, my body clock seems to have been altered extensively that even if I got nothing to do anymore, my mind would keep me awake.

Surveys show that sleep deprivation has become increasingly common and affecting millions of people especially those from the more developed countries. Sleep debt is the difference in the number of hours one should be sleeping versus the number of hours one actually slept and the more you accumulate sleep debt, medical research said, the more you are prone to chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, or obesity.

Ouch, did I just say obesity? Yes, obesity is one of the long term effects of chronic deprivation. Ouch again, I am afraid I am a likely candidate. I haven’t been able to keep my weight down after I gave birth to my first child. Although, I never really exceed the pass mark of obesity, I am already overweight. Well, at least not yet obese. Just overweight, I repeat.

Just like any other debt, sleep debt can be paid. Taking a marathon sleep on weekends isn’t a better way to do it. Sleep doctors suggest that it is best repaid by taking in an extra hour or two each night. Go to bed when you are sleepy and tired and just allow your body to wake you up in the morning.

This may sound a little impossible for me to do. Whether I like it or not, I have to get up at 5AM to prepare breakfast for our bread winner. The only way for me to catch up some sleep is in the afternoon when I put my little boy to sleep. With an hour or two in the afternoon, I am not even sure if I can repay all that I owed my body for the past 5 years.

But still I won’t promise to go to bed early at night and sleep for eight hours. I don’t know, I just feel that sleep is a waste of time. Stubborn me!

Unionbank of the Philippines Scam

I got an email today supposedly from UnionBank customer service warning me of a recent activity in my account and prompting me to update my account. The email look very legitimate with a "from" address as customer.service@unionbankph.com.

Click on the picture to enlarge

However, if you hover at the "Click to update" link, you will get a different URL which points to angpinoy.org. Angpinoy.org is a Davao-based site of Filipino Catholic professionals. A legitimate site.

If you eventually click on the "Click here for Update button", it will lead you to a site which may appear to be a very legitimate Unionbank site. However, the URL tells us that it isn't.

click here to see the legitimate URL of the Eon login and see the difference.
The IP address of the scam UPB site traces to Indonesia.Whew, I wonder how much could they scam from doing these things? Good business for them.

Be vigilant! If you are not a Unionbank account holder, do not click on the link, what's the point anyway. If you are a cardholder, always check the URL (web address) of the link you are clicking on to check if it is a legitimate one. Better yet, if you really think your account has been compromised, go directly to the web page of your bank then sign in from there.

Don't worry, simply opening the email doesn't put your account at risk. Clicking the link and much more signing in to the scam page is.

UPDATE: The site has been closed for
web forgery already!

What My Kids Will Never Experience

Click on the picture to get a larger view.

Pardon my sketch, I'm not really an artist. I am just trying to draw the best I can what I and my friends and my aunts and my neighbors experienced during our childhood days that my kids will never experience anymore.

I've probably wrecked a couple of short pants doing this. I will soon post another version of this.. the group version.. or would somebody want to help me with my drawing, please?

Jobless and Loving it

I think I am weird. I am the only jobless person who's loving it.

Since I and the kids moved here in Singapore to join hubby, I am pressured to go back to work. Three years ago I already had fulfilled my dream of becoming a stay at home mom and the thought of going back to an 8-5 job makes me a little excited but sad.

Excited because I would be earning my own income again. Since I stopped baking, I haven't had a source of income except from hubby's pocket hehehe. Wattalife! Sad because it would mean having to leave the kids again and just see them a few hours a day and weekends.

I have sent several applications online but doesn't get any single response except auto-generated replies. I must admit, I am happy with that. Sounds downright wrong! I should be worried.

For now I have stopped sending applications. I am very pessimistic it is getting me nowhere. Somebody, please slap me in the face so I could wake up from this dreaming. Some are just unemployed because they choose it.

I'm Blogging Again

It's amazing that my first blog had just turned four years and two months already. I just realized it when I imported the contents of my old/secret blog to this new site. May 2005 when I started my first blog entry.

I guess it was my former supervisor who got me into this. Blogging was something very new to me at that time and upon seeing the blog of my office mate, I got hooked, though on and off. You see, I'm the type of person who loves to scribble anything which is why I love notebooks (ask my hubby). My usual problem with notepads though is the tendency to have my scribblings all mixed up, from list of bills to be paid, grocery list, to do's, and just about anything, including my kids' doodles. Online blogging proved to be a good solution also to store my notes infinitely. If blogging could have existed during the 80's then I wouldn't have lost that diary that has become my mom's favorite reading magazine everytime she uses the loo.

Now, I find myself blogging again with intentions of doing it seriously. Ahem, I thought so too in the past. Let's see what happens.