Actually paresthesias (tingling and prickling), pain and numbness in the palm side of the the thumb, the index finger and the ring finger and palm. The pain might radiate up into the arm. The neutral position splints worn at night work well to combat the repetitive motion/stress injury if you let it go that far. Carpenters get it too (whether they're geeks or not). Try taking NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen, VIOXX, CELEBREX, ALEVE etc. Ice works too. Surgery is the future if you let it go too far and from friends I've talked to doesn't always fix the problem. They cut open the tendon sheaths to release the tendon, don't go there. Sometimes injections of cortisone into the painful site.