Arthritis?

[Bob_Skurka]

I'm only 27 and I get arthritis in my toes, fingers and sometimes wrists. I've been to the useless doctor, had xrays and blood tests.

xrays showed the joints are inflammed. Thanks, I already knew that!
Blood tests didn't show the cause

There is something else YOU can do. There are 2 broad types of Arthritis. Osteo and Rheumatoid. Rheumatiod is the type you do not want to get, and the type we have been discussing. It is much harder to treat and diagnose. I am not a doctor and am simply offering you some advice that won't hurt, I still would suggest you try to get into a Rheumatologist for a proper diagnosis.

However, in the absence of a diagnosis, you can begin to treat yourself with an over-the-counter known remedy for Osteoarthritis. The worst thing that will happen is that you spend some money taking some suppliments. The best thing is that you will stop suffering; if that happens then you know you have Osteo rather than Rheumatoid.

Any pharmacy and many discount stores sell the suppliments, they are known & proven to be effective. What you are looking for are 2 suppliments, they have become so popular that now they are often mixed and sold at places like GNC. Many companies now add a third suppliment MSM. These are known & PROVEN to work for osteoarthritis, so if you have osteo then this will fix you up, but you must continue to take it for it to be effective.

But the 2 you need are:

Glucosamine HCL 1500 mg*

Chondroitin Sulfate Sodium 1200 mg*​

 

[roxynoodle]

One thing that happens with RA is that it then causes OA. I have some OA in my knees now that the RA has relieved them of cartiledge. So it is probably safe to say try the supplements for the OA because you probably have some now anyhow, or will.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Roxynoodle, I have been living with RA since I was 20 and have not noticed any relief from Glucosamine & Condroitin suppliments, but then again, I've had my disease AGGRESSIVELY treated by a Rheumatologist for the past 26 years. I do have a neighbor who is a few years older than I am, he was recently diagnosed with RA and he said for him, that taking the Glucosamine and Condroitin suppliments are a big help in addition to his RA treatments. But then again, he was living with the disease and just complaining that he was getting old. It was not until he got to the point where he had a hard time getting out of bed that he went to seek out medical help. So, perhaps just like your case, he had damage to his joints that the suppliments are helping with and those might be Osteoarthritis related, layed on top of Rheumatoid arthritis???

What I do know is that the suppliments have been proven to work so they are worth trying.

 

[roxynoodle]

I haven't had any help from the supplements either, but others have said they do. It can't hurt anything to try them as long as your doctor doesn't think they would interfere with other medications you are on. It is possible I've tried them too late; maybe would have been more helpful if I still had some cartiledge. I didn't know it was gone though until I saw a rheumatologist. He says I have the straightest knees he's ever seen for someone with no cartiledge in them. I told him I work at it but he seemed to think I might be nuts. But, I do. I have lifted weights with them ever since having surgery on them due to problems I had initially with cartiledge falling apart. They told me after the surgery on my right knee that if it worked at all I'd get at most 5 years out of it. I'm on more than 13 now so I think it helps to keep those muscles tight to hold everything together. I am afraid of knee replacement, so I will keep lifting weights! Now if anyone has a good remedy for hand/finger/wrist pain, please pass it on. I have found soaking in hot water helps for a little while. That's the pain that hurts bad 24/7. My other joints I seem to live with a little easier as long as I'm not in a flare up.

 

[Nat]

Roxy. I'm with you on the hot water. I wash dishes often even though we have a dishwasher. If it's cold out and I've been working washing my hands for a long time in as hot a water as I can stand is almost as good as pulling your finger out of your eye.
As far as the hands go When my fingers ache at the finger joints I use a topical called Biofreeze. It comes in little tear open pouches, 100 in a box that my wife gets at the hospital where she works. It does seem to help but only on the finger joints, not on the knuckles or wrist, but what the hey, anywhere is a help. In Jan. of this year I had the carpal tunnel relief done on my wrist and I wouldn't have believed how much that helped. I didn't remember that your hands get cold or hot, and I don't have my hands skinned up as much now that I have some feeling in them.
The closest Rheumitoligst(sp) is about 40 miles away and is only part time there so I don't know how long it will be before I get to see him, but I'm going to try, maybe it will help.
Do you or Bob work a normal job? The reason I'm asking is because in 2000 I let my son have my business because I just couldn't take it anymore. I thought I'd take up Real Estate, seemed easier on the bones, but not enough money to make a living and with my background it seemed that more people wanted repairs or remodeling than paper work so it is still the same amount of physical stuff. I can work on an old tractor here in the shop and quit when something gets to hurting or let's me know it will hurt so I stop often, but again that doesn't pay much. Just wondering what others do. A freind of mine just retired on disability from RA and I didn't even know she had it. Later, Nat

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Nat, I work behind a desk, but I try to do physical work at home, landscaping, playing with tractors, restoring cars and tractors, etc. I find that I can't work for hours on end. I'm best if I can work for an hour or so, then rest, then work a while, then rest again. If I work for 4+ hours straight then the next day I am worthless. If I work for 60 to 90 minutes, then break, then work, then I can keep that up all day and actually accomplish things. But I find that working in my shop doing welding, grinding, or playing around is pretty much just as hard on me as planting landscape or laying stone for a path or a wall. I also find that I don't hurt to bad WHILE I am doing work, unless I go for 4+ hours. I hurt after the work. I also find that I hurt really bad if I have to go to the mall with my wife & daughter

As for the hot water, that is a blessing. I often soak my hands and arms in a deep sink in water hot enough to turn my skin bright red. And a "message" type head on the shower that pulses hot water is also a wonderful thing. We have a hot tub, but I rarely use it for therapy.

When it comes to work, I think my rule is MODERATION. Break the tasks into managable jobs. Allow extra time. But don't give up.

As for the 40 mile drive to the Rheumatologist . . . DO IT.

 

[roxynoodle]

I am a teacher, so I can work my job even when I feel horrible. I used to waitress part time but there is no way I could do that anymore. I would be limping pretty bad at the end of the night. I agree with Bob about taking breaks when doing physical work. I too tend to hurt bad the next day and not as much while I'm doing it. I take a break at least every hour. But, I do still do the physical work unless I'm just too sick. I have horses and an old house I'm always working on. I bought my tractor because of the RA. Now I can load manure in the FEL instead of carrying heavy muck tubs. I can have it dig post holes instead of doing them by hand. Right now I'm also using it to carry bags of cement from the barn where they are stored to the front of my house where I'm finally finishing my last outdoor wall in stone veneer. A few weeks ago after spending the entire day working on the stone veneer, I was so sick and in pain the next day I had to leave work. It was a rude reminder that I shouldn't do heavy work all day. But, I have found that when you give stuff up totally, you can get pretty depressed. I have always been an athletic and busy person and I need to stay one to whatever extent I can manage. I did manage a new roof and new siding on my house last year. A few years ago I did put up a pole barn. Some people complain that I work too slow, but I just blow it off. They don't have a clue how much pain I'm in. And I can't help but notice that the people who complain are among the laziest people I know and they have never done any projects like this. But, we all have days (or even weeks or months) when doing this kind of stuff is pretty much impossible. It is hard to rest and not get angry or depressed about it, but once I accepted that I had some limitations now, I felt better. Oh, and wear gloves if it is below 60 degrees out. Have a variety of workgloves for different temperatures. Also, keep your feet warm even if you have to change your socks and boots frequently. It will help. Sometimes wrapping a very painful joint in an Ace bandage (or vet wrap or using a brace) can help too.

 

[roxynoodle]

Oh, RA is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act for anyone who needs to have accomodations at work. I am lucky enough to be on the first floor of my building so only 3 stairs to get in and out of the basement where my room is. For some reason I have a harder time going down than up. Our school is currently being remodeled and the building I'm in will be torn down in 2 years. Since the new building will only be 2 floors I will probably be ok if I'm on the second floor. If I'm not, then I will probably have to disclose that I have RA and ask for a first floor room.

I have to say it would be hard to have to give up a job and lose your income. You may want to investigate disability with your doctor. Have you thought about having some kind of internet business or selling on ebay? I know a couple people who buy stuff cheap at garage sales and sell it on ebay and claim they make a lot of money doing so. There are probably certain internet businesses too you could run easily enough. Some people sell cabinet hardware or accessories for guitars like strings, tuners, etc and make a living. Maybe you could sell parts for tractors since that is something you know about. Just some ideas.

My rheumatologist is 40 miles away too. But, then again, so is my job. I live in the country and that's where the city is.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

But, we all have days (or even weeks or months) when doing this kind of stuff is pretty much impossible. It is hard to rest and not get angry or depressed about it

I totally agree, but on the flip side, if you are aggressively treating your RA it can go into remission, or at least something that is reasonably close to remission. I lead a pretty normal life in all respect right now. I do have periods when things are bad, they often last a month or two. But I mostly have very few limitations in normal life and very few aches and pains. That is why I so strongly urge people with RA to aggressively treat the disease, you can feel reasonably close to 'normal' for most of your time if you jump on this illness and treat it.

 

[utahmule]

Boy, is this thread close to home for me . I was diagnosed with RA about seven years ago, and I turned 40 this year. I was ?lucky? that it hit me like a ton of bricks, with near immobility from knees with ~10-20 degrees of motion tops, and hands so swollen that the doctor told me the skin might split.

I say lucky becuase even though I was negative to the blood test, the rest of the indicators were so severe that I got very aggressive treatment. That seems to have limited the joint destruction.

I can't echo strongly enough the calls for Rheumatologist visit. Mine was ~60 miles away, and worth every minute of pain from the car ride. Currently I'm on Enbrel, methotrexate, and Mobic, with pretty decent control.

Bob, did you ever get the whole "you're too young to have arthritis" thing from people? That drove me nuts .

Anyway, it's supportive to talk with people who can relate to the challenges that RA presents. Thanks for the kindred spirit.

Eric