Hands

ouchpotato

Hello everyone, I hope the heat is helping at least some of you.

I just wanted to ask a question about hands if I may? Some of the joints in my hands are very painful; the joint nearest my nail on my right little finger is very sore and is bending in towards my ring finger. The ring finger on my left hand hurts the same way but no bending as yet. Thumb base in both hands etc. But it seems as if the whole hand hurts too - for instance when I am pushing a trolley in the supermarket the handle hurts all the base joints in both hands, if someone were to shake my hand and squeeze that hurts like hell too. With the joint in my finger hurting the pain seems to radiate throughout the whole finger, I can't cut vegetables or potatoes because having to push down on the knife kills my hand. Does anyone else have this 'whole hand' pain? Although my hands aren't the most painful parts of me they are the parts that upset me the most as I feel useless.

Thanks in anticipation.

jillyb1

Many of us have painful hands which makes life difficult . I would suggest you mention this to your O T ; mine was really helpful .
Jillyb

dreamdaisy

Yup. It's a nuisance isn't it? Are you taking an anti-inflammatory of any sort? I find that my diclofenac helps to ease matters but it doesn't take the hurt away. I find holding my crutches ouchy, the rollator handles too so I've perfected the art of not gripping whilst getting about. As for food prep I do it in stages, that helps to keep the ouch to a minimum. Soaking your hands in warm water may help to ease matters, add some Epsom salts too, that may help. DD

mike26

hi ouchpotato
yes arther in hands can be very restricting
and we tend to adapt to some extent(well try to )
my fingers prob like a lot of others are double there size,
and make life difficult and anoying.
my wrists have been giving me trouble so i thought
ide invest in a wrist brace and yes it does help .
im begining to now realize how important thay are(hands)
you know the things you used to do ,and now cant!
still at least ive still got um .
my fingers wont make fist anymore (cant shut um)
yes it does make me feel usless sometimes but
ive still got some use in them. :roll:
mike26.. hope they get better for all of us.

maria09

Hi
Mine drive me nuts and are getting so wonky which I can cope with but the pain is dreadful and makes writing, sewing etc an absolute nightmare
Always wanted acrylic nails but couldn't due to work now I can I can't as I think they will look silly
I know it sounds pathetic and I should be more concerned about the pain which I am and know down the line I may need surgery but have got hung up on the fake nails I'm an idiot Grrr!
Maria

Boomer13

Hi Ouchp.;

I have same; pain in joints/deformity in joints near nails (is characteristic of PsA) plus those next to, the entire hand & tendons on the back of, into wrists, smallest fingers are very crooked, tricky grip that lets go whenever. Aching throughout hands, pain along the joint margins such that I can't touch anything, all feel sprained after doing not much of anything. I have Raynaud's too and my hands go ice-cold when I use them (Thanks for giving me an excuse to whine; I'm miserable too right now). At night, unless I wear braces, they curl up by themselves into useless, stiffened fists.

Like DD I do things in kitchen/house in stages and carry/push things with my forearms if shoulders will allow. Frustrating isn't it?

This is something that happened first in my illness but still is what I struggle to get used to, even though I compensate unconsciously all of the time now. Occasionally, I have a day where I can hold a pen and write semi-normally, but those happen less & less frequently now. Using our hands is such a huge part of our life as humans so when we can't it's no wonder it's very distressing. I had some time when I could not use mine at all and it was a staggering eye-opener to realise how much I used mine without even thinking.

I was just reading about someone with PsA who would tape a pen to his hand to write. I am not that determined and instead just give in to the pain as I'm always afraid I'll make it worse.

It helps to hear of others having similar problems, but always makes me feels more depressed somehow. Sorry you are having difficulties.xx

Take care,
Anna

stickywicket

Hands are useful things, ouchpotato, but can be very painful. Some things that might help:

As jillyb1 says – check out an OT. They're good and helpful.

Experiment with doing things a different way ie try cutting veg eg carrots with a large knife and use both hands, one on the handle and the other on top of the end of the blade. Cut potatoes in half, place the flat bit on the chopping board and slice the peel off, again using both hands.

Try pushing the supermarket trolley at a different point of the handle eg corners or with a different bit of your hand.

Check out our 'Simple Ideas....' thread higher up the page. There's usually a different way of doing things.

We had a long thread once about how to deal with hearty handshakes. I think the consensus was to bite the bullet and ask people not to :roll: telling them why.

ouchpotato

Thankyou for all your replies and suggestions, you're all so lovely (and wise).

It's nice (and sad) to know others understand this. Even resting my hands against the laptop causes pain, and that's with no pressure at all.

At the moment I have no OT, no nothing really. I have my first rheumatology apt on Friday and am hoping that will be the first step towards a definitive diagnosis and treatment. At the moment my GP suspects ankylosing spondylitis, but PsA is also in the frame due to the damage to my toenails, and involvement of fingers and toes.

DD, I do not take any anti inflammatories at all, which really sucks as they really help. I was taken off all NSAIDs when I ended up in A&E after swapping to naproxen from diclofenac.

Mike, whilst the pain in my back and hips makes me grit my teeth, it's the hands that make me want to cry! Through frustration, self pity...I'm not sure.

Maria, why would they look silly? I can understand totally you getting more hung up on that than the pain. How about trying the ones you can buy in shops first...they usually last a few days and will give you an idea of how they will look. And why shouldn't we have pretty nails just because we have arthritis??? I say go for it. I am waiting til after my apt on Friday and will then possibly have them done again.

Anna, I think that given time my hands will also have curled up overnight unless I wear a splint. In the mornings they are so stiff and I have to make a conscious effort to stretch my fingers out one by one, as they are usually semi bent towards my palm. That really is determination, isn't it, taping a pen to his hand??? I would applaud that person if it didn't hurt so much!

Ah...I'm so sorry that so many lovely people are suffering so much. It's such a cruel disease.

Take care all of you

x

dreamdaisy

Are you not able to go back to the diclos? I found nap rubbish, my favourite was Celebrex (but that's expensive). Mention this to the rheumatologist because if he determines that you should have something your GPs surgery should oblige. If not, fight.

Another tip, put a hand towel on your lap and rest your hands on a covered bag of frozen peas (preferably petit pois because they're tiny). This will help to cool your hands and ease any swelling. DD

kellerman

Hands are the worst part I find. I have to put mine in cold water every morning before I attempt to do anything. Of course this doesn't help the pain it just means I can move them even if it is oh so slowly and still hurts like mad.

19smp59

Hi Maria

I would definitely get the nails done if that's what you want. I hate my hands, one of my fingers swelled up red and sore when by son was a baby, that's 22 years ago now, and that finger is now really badly bent and I feel really embarrassed about it. Other fingers are now quite swollen but even though I hate my hands I still wear nail polish. I think getting your nails done will make you feel much better - I'm sat here now putting my Illamasqua Speckle nail polish on!

dreamdaisy

Go for it, Maria. I have my nails manicured every three weeks, I have done so for years and always feel the better for it. I was watching Bargain Hunt earlier today and one of the contestants was visually impaired; her nails however? They were blinding. We should do what makes us feel better and brighter whilst thumbing our nose at what others may think. They are not us. End of. DD

maria09

Thank you Ladies
I'm definitely getting my nails done
Why not pamper myself for a change
Hope you are not suffering too much in this heat
Maria

ouchpotato

Maria

Yaaaayyy....I'm ridiculously pleased for you! Why be a shrinking violet? I think we should all be kinder to ourselves, treat ourselves, and shine. Never mind everyone else. Good for you!