just be careful with it, if it gets really bad you won't be able to play guitar either

Well it's my right hand and to play guitar all I need over there is a hook. Not that I want a hook mind you but it would still get the job done.

I think I understand now. So it feels dead, like someone else is polishing your rocket.

Here's the solution to your arm problems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l16uRD6qFL0

Get two bottles of water (about one liter each, but 1.5 liters won't hurt either) and then, from time to time lift them like weights. It's not about how much you lift, but how often. Humans are built for movement and all those modern diseases are coming from being stationary all the time, it's unnatural.

Also, invest in good office furniture, a graphics card will be outdated in a few years, spending that money on a good chair is a much better investment. I used to get by on cheap office chairs, and it was a real strain on my spine and shoulders. Never again.

Finally, you have to work out. If you can't afford going to the gym get something to lift at home, could be even a bag full of sand, but your muscles have to work. Get a Wii and play motion controlled games, even that is better than being stationary. I had a lot of pain in my shoulders and arms and I thought I needed more rest, but it got worse and worse. Of course you mustn't overdo it either, so don't rush to the gym and try to lift 50 kilograms at once.

But the computer is in my room.

I can't possibly put office furniture into a bedroom. For the love of god, we aren't savages!

Sorry, as one of the misunderstanders. However that's because it's really not such a small issue. My hands were totally screwed because of RSI. Don't take it as a little thing, the early warning signs are in fact, whats known as "early warning signs".

Oh.
OH!
Shit, thanks for the heads up then.

Just adopt the basic life philosophy of "fuck it!" and see how much easier things become in general.

I have severe arm pain caused by carpal tunnel and extensive nerve damage after a car accident. So I'm a much more severe case than you, but the same principles apply, so I thought I'd share what I've done to help any other sufferers.The two most successful things I've done to reduce arm pain has been:

1. Get a neutral position resting splint for your wrist while you sleep. People with pain often jam their hands while sleeping, overextending and damaging the same areas you're trying to heal. This is a dirt cheap way ($30-40) to make a huge difference.

2. Get an ergonomic keyboard. I know, I know... it's a really tough thought, I personally hated ergonomic keyboards until I got the one I have now. The idea of having to switch to one really sucked, but now I'm used to it, and it really has helped with the pain.

With #2, make sure you get a real ergonomic keyboard... do your research. Lots of companies stamp the title 'ergonomic' on things that won't help you at all. If you're curious, this is the keyboard I eventually chose after tonnes of research: Kinesis Freestyle 2 with the VIP3 addon. The only complaint I have is the lack of the number pad (but that really helps with pain caused by constantly reaching over the numberpad from your mouse on a normal keyboard,) but you can get a USB number pad for next to nothing. Also, some of the keys are in different places than standard - the delete key for instance, but it's all supposed to be for a reason. It very noticeably helps though.

I also bought an ergonomic chair which is nice but I'm still unsure of, and a height adjustable desk that I'm setting up after I move in a month, so the jury is still out on those. My workstation looks like this, but with an all black chair and I'm much more dashing than the guy in the ad of course: Envelop Desk.

If you caught it early, as it seems you have by the fact that you can joke about it, you can keep it from progressing any further and even improve it greatly by taking the right steps. If gaming is a priority, then you might need to take steps to mitigate further damage. Trust me, you don't want it to get worse... but there's no need to panic, either.

Serious question then.
I'm looking at those special mouse pads and they seem just to be the pad with a 'pillow' for your wrist. Can I just use a regular pad with a rolled up hand towel?

AND near as I can tell there is a slight difference here. I've got numbness is my pinky and ring finger which from what I've read is different from CTS. Also it seems to be coming from a pitched nerve in my elbow, not my wrist. Unfortunately none of this tells me how to help ease this.

You could, if the towel was soft enough. If not it can compress down enough to constrict blood flow and actually make things worse. Also, I found the same problem with the towel as with the gel filled mouspad things: they're not too comfortable, don't help enough with the pain, and they can make your wrist all sweaty.

I use these: Allsop Comfortbeads. They're cheap, air can still flow throughout the rest so it doesn't make you sweaty, and they're very very comfortable. They could be more durable, I get about two years out of one before it needs replacement, but the relief is so worth $5 a year.

They were at my local drug store (London Drugs in Vancouver), so you can find them in stores.

Serious answer, they will help a little - best answer, move to your left (and that's not a political statement :)). Switch hands, it's so much more useful than anything else, give the hand time off.

More than that, make sure your elbows are above your desk, make sure your head is about looking at the top of your monitor.
Oh, and Golf, that's works really well.

I have the same sensations - numbness in fingers and it feels like it's coming from a pinched nerve in my elbow, not wrist. You can get an EMG test done to test the actual nerves in the arm for damage to get a precise diagnosis if you're concerned, and can afford it/have the coverage for it. As I said I have the same sensations and my diagnosis is carpal tunnel syndrome as well as extensive nerve damage in my neck. Its unlikely you have the neck damage (unless you've been hit by a truck recently), but carpal tunnel is a possibility. I'd mention your concerns about the fingers to your doctor though, they need to know all the information they can to make a proper diagnosis.

But if they've caught it early, you're lucky... it's definitely manageable, and you'll find as you learn to adapt to it the pain decreases over time. Whereas if you didn't know, you'd keep doing what you're doing and it would keep getting worse and worse, and you might end up needing surgery. So basically if you started taking steps tomorrow, then today would be your worst day, as the pain would be reduced somewhat due to the steps you've taken.