There was an awkward learning period, but now I can easily switch between Dvorak and Qwerty. You can make the change in the Control Panel in Windows. Don’t know about a Mac.

One thing I find really helps is massaging my hands, wrists, and forearms with Aspercreme or Tiger Balm (or any other similar thing, those just happen to be what I have in my house). I try to massage them until the rigid muscles relax. Good luck to everyone.

@kadavy – I’ll definitely check out AntiRSI.

I don’t use it much at the moment as I’m mostly locked into Windows for the speech recognition, but it’s excellent for Mac users.

I’ve been experimenting with Work Rave which does a similar thing for windows, but it doesn’t seem to play nice with the speech recognition. http://www.workrave.org/welcome/

Since then I’ve grown more independence and been more careful – though I somehow got into the habit of mousing with my left hand My biggest lifesaver is an app called AntiRSI: http://tech.inhelsinki.nl/antirsi/

It monitors my computer usage, and “makes” me take short breaks after a period of continuous use, and then makes me take 8-minute breaks every 90 minutes or so.

It sounds really inconvenient and annoying, but it’s actually great! It always seems to be when I start to get a little headache, or just have trouble thinking, that little “work break” box pops up. The breaks not only keep my hands healthy, they also keep me productive because I’m forced to step back and think about the bigger picture – or just take a walk or fix a cup of tea.

If you’re a Mac user, you’ve GOTTA try AntiRSI – I can’t recommend it enough.

I went to a doctor, chiropractor, massage therapist and acupuncturist. And like you, I bought Dragon, which
helped but wasn’t the solution I wanted.

I was panicked my career was over because I couldn’t type without severe pain.

The chiropractor sold me a Wrist Wand. At first, I thought it was the stupidest thing, a lightweight little bar you use to do some wrist stretches.

Even after it worked, I was sure that it was something else that cured me. It wasn’t. As soon as I stopped using the Wrist Wand, the pain returned.

The Wrist Wand, for less than $20, was the solution. I still use it daily, just a few minutes each day. And I have almost no wrist pain despite doing a ton of typing every day.

I’ve recommended it to others who’ve had the same results. Check it out. I have no interest in this company other than it saved me from a potentially career-ending disability. See link below.

http://www.wristwand.com/WhatRSI.html

Judy — thanks for the interesting suggestion. I’ve tried using a Wacom tablet with mixed results, but sometimes a little change can make a big difference.

For anyone also suffering from mouse-related RSI, I would also recommend an ergonomic mouse, which can make a big difference. After an excruciating episode a couple of years ago, I invested in a Perific mouse, which helped a lot. This mouse allows you to use it in several different positions, either as a traditional mouse, or held in your hand, so that you can relax into the chair and hold the mouse close to your body (great too, if you suffer from a bad back). It is by no means perfect, but does allow me to use a mouse for much longer with less pain. Another ergonomic pointing device worth checking out is a roller bar mouse, which is positioned in front of the keyboard, also avoiding the long reach. I have not tested a commercial version, but a DIY mock-up shows great promise.