What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type? • Hacker News Board

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#301

Post by neltnerb » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:27 AM UTC

korijn wrote: post #23

neltnerb wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this has happened to several family members in the US, though thankfully mine was diagnosed properly because I could point to family history. Initially they wanted to write it off to migraines (I can't blame them since it's more common and can have similar symptoms at first) and now nine years later it's painful to use my hands and I've mostly given up martial arts. It would almost certainly be worse if I hadn't…

What diagnosis did you end up receiving exactly?

I wouldn't worry if it's little stuff, migraines really are weird. Don't anxiety yourself or anything, I just have a propensity for immunological stuff. In my case it was early symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#302

Post by MsNifi4128 » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:28 AM UTC

I think that's pretty awesome!! I've been working on cp since preschool. I never took a computer class, but I tested out of computer class in 7th grade. So, I never learned to keyboard. I can peck fast, but I have been trying to get the money for Dragon, haven't yet. But I have been learning to code to not give away my app and software ideas away. I networked my high schools computers in San Diego when I was 12. So, I know quite a bit but this is Definitely the highlight of my the month. I will be checking you out. Maybe we can work together. I have a tremendous idea, just needs thoughtful spirits like this.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#303

Post by em-bee » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:31 AM UTC

pitaj wrote: post #300

em-bee wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i learned touch typing in school, but i never really picked up on it. it just felt uncomfortable. i could not get enough strength into my fingers to push down the typewriter keys we used and the wrist felt uncomfortable. i did get ergonomic keyboards when available, they definitely make a difference, but they were not always available. (i never even considered that, but i wouldn't have been able to carry them to scho…

I was supposed to learn touch-typing in school, but all I learned was how to game the system. To this day I still type with pretty much only index and middle fingers, even the space bar. I don't feel particularly restricted by my _maybe_ slower typing with more frequent mistakes due to looking at the keyboard. Like you said, my job is engineering, not typing.

right, i forgot about the looking at the keyboard part. that is a distraction, but in fact, i have been doing this for so long that i can type with just index fingers without looking at the keyboard. seriously, i am am trying this right now, and i am astonished how few mistakes i am making. it does feel awkward because i am not used to typing this way but apparently my muscle memory is good enough...

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#304

Post by neltnerb » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:32 AM UTC

nsaphra wrote: post #51

arkades wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the doctors took them seriously, did a biopsy, and gave them a diagnosis. They did not like their diagnosis because “idiopathic” means “we don’t know what causes this,” which the patient translated as “go the fuck away.” As if all human disease is deeply understood and an admission of ignorance is equivalent to laziness. They then continued going to additional doctors.

Hi, I wrote the post! I'm actually very grateful to my neurologist who gave me my idiopathic diagnosis, because he was the only doctor to figure out the mechanism of action. He's been enormously helpful. It doesn't change the fact that, as a patient, an idiopathic diagnosis is not a satisfying outcome if it doesn't point to a course of treatment. And it's certainly not something I view as a "final diagnosis" -- I'm p…

As a fellow patient -- accepting that sometimes life is uncontrollable can bring a lot of peace. Even if there is no treatment, acceptance does a lot for happiness.

Nonetheless, know that your post is appreciated. For now it's mostly handling small fasteners that gets me, typing is usually mostly okay. But since I do hardware prototyping I had to learn to ask for help a lot more than I was used to.

I also find it's sometimes helpful to wear a cloth around the more painful hand to kind of remind people that the pain isn't obvious... well, plus if it's a little wet it helps the pain a lot so it's functional too. But invisible pain means my coworkers frequently assume I'm feeling about how they are. And I feel bad saying no to stuff since technically I can still do it... it's just painful to do.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#305

Post by lutorm » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:38 AM UTC

corporealfunk wrote: post #281

When I was in college (almost 20 years ago), I was studying music (piano and electronic music/synthesis) which involved many hours at both a piano keyboard and computer keyboard. In my junior year I had intense pain in my wrists and had to ask my CS profs and music profs for extra time to complete assignments. They obliged, and it took about a year of visiting several PTs, doctors and finally a body worker trained in…

I thank "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" and the PT that recommended it to me for finally breaking the cycle and beginning my recovery after 6 years of severe RSI. Learning about trigger points have also helped me self-treat my chronic neck pain and various other aches and pains. I can't recommend it enough.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#306

Post by lutorm » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:48 AM UTC

There is a device that worked wonders for massaging my forearm muscles: The "Arm-Aid": https://armaid.com/

It was not a panacea by any means, but even though I'm fully recovered from my RSI today, I still pull out the arm-aid when I've typed a lot or done something else that has caused my arm muscles to tighten up. (It's apparently a big hit with climbers, too.)

You can also use it to massage your calf and shin muscles. Incredibly painful if you're anything like me, but very helpful. Use it in combination with the "Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" mentioned elsewhere.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#307

Post by lutorm » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 5:52 AM UTC

sterlind wrote: post #145

For anyone in a similar boat who can't get their doctor to take them seriously, ask for a referral to physical therapy. Doctors don't push back on that because it's not "drug seeking," and PTs and physiatrists are much more qualified to handle these types of issues than regular MDs. I started having this issue when my EDS led to Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which caused nerve pain down my hands, and only exercises to re…

I second going to a PT, but I went through a number of PTs before I found one that actually knew about referred pain and trigger points and specifically worked on treating those in addition to strengthening. Just doing strengthening only made the trigger points worse.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#308

Post by djsumdog » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 6:20 AM UTC

csallen wrote: post #25

This story resonates. A few years back I was dealing with mild pain while coding. I stupidly ignored it for months as it got significantly worse, to the point where it became impossible to type for extended periods. I tried lots of things. My doctor did a nerve conduction study, which apparently ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome, but he wasn't much help beyond that. He gave me some straps that I slept in and wore arou…

I started to have knee pain in my early 20s and my dad had both knees replaces sometime in his 60s. I was afraid I'd end up that way and went to a sports clinic (I do a lot of dancing). I had patilla bilat; basically the knee cap was off to the side instead of sitting squarely.

They said everything else on my knee looked good. Out of all the physically therapy exercises, the most significant was cycling. I started to do a lot of cycling after that, which builds the muscles on both sides of the knee and helps keep the kneecap centered.

I had a similar experience, where the knee pain would start to return if I slacked off on cycling. These days I cycle ~100km per week (12km per day to work and back and a bunch on the weekends) during the summer and still dance and haven't had the knee pain return in years.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#309

Post by mirimir » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 6:21 AM UTC

> My GP read the note and informed me: He would not prescribe me painkillers. He would not send me for a second opinion from a neurologist, or treatment from any other specialist. The only referral he would write would be to a psychologist to help me “resolve the underlying issues behind my pain”.

People like that deserve torture. Perhaps there's a hack to induce fibromyalgia or idiopathic small fiber neuropathy, and if there is, they deserve to acquire it.

If it were me, I'd likely be buying opioids from dark markets.

Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?

#310

Post by csallen » Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 6:31 AM UTC

GordonS wrote: post #73

csallen wrote: post #25

This story resonates. A few years back I was dealing with mild pain while coding. I stupidly ignored it for months as it got significantly worse, to the point where it became impossible to type for extended periods. I tried lots of things. My doctor did a nerve conduction study, which apparently ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome, but he wasn't much help beyond that. He gave me some straps that I slept in and wore arou…

Thanks for posting this. The article, and your post, also resonated with me. I have small fiber neuropathy in my arms and legs, which causes constant pain and a feeling of weakness. I've had this for a few years now, and I'm very aware that it's only got worse over that period, and that I may later get damage to the larger nerves used for motor control. Like you say, the pain and fear that coding (which is my livelih…

1. It was slower and I was frustrated, yes. I don't know about the newer Talon software, but with VoiceCode I spent a lot of overhead just configuring my setup and tweaking it, to say nothing of the slower coding speeds while using it. But once you get going, it's faster than you might think, and it feels vaguely futuristic. In fact I'd say some things are faster. I used a lot more macros, for example. Scrolling is slow. I often cheated and would type or use my mouse.

2. Honestly I can't remember the specifics of my setup. It was too long ago.

3. Above, I'm only really talking about dictating for code. You need a bunch of custom commands for that. Dictating for writing prose was pretty straightforward. If memory serves, VoiceCode had a different mode you could switch into for that.

4. Not sure. I believe I was using Atom at the time. I now use VS Code.