A plea

222808

Ok I accept I have OA ankle, knees hip but what has broken me this Christmas is my right hand. I can barely lift a cup, any contact with the first finger joints is explosively painful, hot and sore and I am here in tears on New Years Day just not sure how I am going to manage a classroom. I already use a walking stick but over the last two weeks I cannot even hold a pen. The pain in my knuckles especially the first two fingers joints has literally swamped my coping mechanisms and I am trying not to give into despair. Any help any advice would be hugely appreciated. Already taken 800mg Ibuprofen today but no relief. Lifting pans and cooking is a nightmare and I am only 56 not overweight and trying to hang onto a life. I am so down and today I have given into it - I am so sorry

[Deleted User]

Hello

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will find help, support, advice and light relief here.

I am one of the moderation tea, we all have one or two arthritis 'hanger ons' or look after family with the same.

If you need any help with the technicallities of the forums just get in touch with a private message,

Best wishes
CK Moderator

daffy2

Hello. I'm so very sorry to hear about your painful hands, what a rotten start to the new year. I too have problems like this with my hands, although not as bad as yours sound to be at present. Does warmth help? - putting in warm water as they are painful to touch and so a hot water bottle probably wouldn't be much help.I can't advise on pain relief, only suggest you try the GP out of hours service or the NHS 111 to see whether there's anything they can suggest would be OK to take on top of the ibuprufen you've already had.
I think you probably already know that with things this bad you'll need to see the GP asap to discuss what's going on and what needs to be done for pain relief/management.
There's never any need for apologies on here when things get on top of you - we've all been there and know how helpful it can be just getting it all off your chest. With it being holiday and then weekend the AC helpline(0808 800 4050) isn't available, but it's well worth getting in touch to chat with them when things are tough - they are good at listening, and providing support.

applerose

Hi there. Sorry to hear you are so down at the moment. Arthritis can be pretty awful at times. Could you maybe see your GP to get some help with the pain? For the time being, we are here to listen and give support. Maybe you could pop in to the cafe. A few of us hang around in there chatting, although it might be quiet at the moment.

stickywicket

You have not given in to it, 222808. Arthritis has clobbered you while it had you at your lowest and you have, very sensibly, looked to see if any help was available. Please don't apologise. It gets to us all at times and festive times can be the worst partly because they heap unreasonable demands on us and partly because we have them lined up, in advance, as periods of respite from the daily grind. When the respite fails to materialise that's when we wonder how on earth to get through it all.

I can sympathise and empathise. My worst 'hand days' (I have RA and OA) came many years ago when my children were young. Now, although they look horrible, I have very little pain there. Here's what I had to do:

Ensure all kitchen implements are user-friendly. That, for me, means light pans (maybe with two handles, and sliding them across surfaces rather than lifting), steaming a lot (both lighter to handle and healthier), knives etc with thick, easily graspable handles, electric jar and can openers, lightweight kettle and even, occasionally, when things are really tough, a lightweight, melamine mug or even a straw. Pens, for me, must be thick enough to grasp easily. Some are. Others can be adapted with stuff available from any decent Disability store including online ones. If your are not familiar with such stores have a look. They have ways of making so many tasks easier or even possible.

Maybe book in to see your GP. There are other anti-inflammatories better than ibuprofen. I'm fairly sure you could take painkillers alongside the anti-inflamms but please don't take my word for that. Check with your pharmacist. Many people on here find anti-depressives help. After all, we have much to be depressed about.

And keep talking to us as we do understand. In fact you might like a chat with our lovely Helpline people on the phone. A problem shared and all that.

dreamdaisy

I'm nineteen years in, I started with psoriatic arthritis then in 2011 OA was diagnosed in some useful joints. Over the years I have had to make many changes, especially in the kitchen - we inherited an induction hob when we moved in 2013 and what a boon that proved to be! No more lifting pans, just sliding them across the surface, easy-peasy. I veg. prep sitting down too, when things are really tough I ask the Spouse to drain veg etc. but I roast as much as I can because I find that easier to manhandle. I have an electric steamer which is a boon and prefer doing casseroles to 'bitty' meals. I now iron sitting down (which I dislike but it means I can do it, the Spouse requires a clean ironed shirt every day) and recently invested in a cordless vacuum - bliss. I do have plug pullers on various plugs but now just switch off at the mains rather than unplug - the same applies to table lamps because I can struggle with the switches. I retired a few years ago aged 53 but was fortunate in that I was self-employed tutor so could tailor things to my needs, not the 'outrageous' demands of healthy others.

I learned early on that I had to adjust rather than try to keep going - that only caused me further pain and frustration. Soaking your hands in warm water with some added Epsom salts may provide additional temporary relief, keep up with a small but regular dose of pain relief so that it has a cumulative effect and distract yourself from the pain as much as you can. Every move I make hurts something somewhere but I'm used to it and don't focus on that negative.

Keep in touch, please, we all know what it is like and what a challenge things can become, usually out-of-the-blue. You are talking to the initiated on here, all of us reluctantly initiated but initiated nonetheless. I wish you well. DD

barbara12

Please dont apologize for the moan , we have learned that talking can be a big help, I hope you can get some relief very soon..and dont forget we are always here to support one another..(())

dibdab

Hi there, so sorry to hear that you're struggling, pain becomes all encompassing and wears us down so please don't apologise for letting go here, it's the very best place to do so.

For pain relief I use anti-inflammatories interspersed with paracetamol (or cocodamol from GP when it's awful), they are 2 different groups of drugs and so you can take both to double the pain relief BUT.......make sure you check with your GP or the local pharmacist before you go down that route in case they interact with anything else you might be taking. Local pharmacists have great knowledge and may be able to make suggestions to help. Personally I find that warmth helps so often use a wheat pack heated in the microwave, or a hot water bottle.

I retired early from teaching at 55 due to a combination of Rheumatoid arthritis and lung disease, but certainly found the last few years painful. I taught little ones and found that they were keen to help with simple tasks (one little boy insisted on fastening my coat when we went outside because I had 'poorly bones'}, my TA's were amazingly supportive and did lots of practical stuff to help protect my hands. I spoke to the Head Teacher early on about the RA and she was understanding and supportive, so when my hands were particularly bad I was able to minimise written marking and use verbal feedback with stampers to record that......there are all sorts of useful comment stamps available.

As for home chores, others have offered lots of ideas, I'll just add that ironing really makes my hands and wrists ache so I take the necessary stuff to a local ironing shop and no longer attempt the bits that don't show .

Being honest and asking for help is an enormous step, but in my experience most folks are only too willing to step in when they can. If your GP would refer you to an Occupational Therapist they are experts in making suggestions and adaptations to help with everyday living. There are things out there to open jars and cans, turn keys in a lock and so much more......why not trawl the internet for ideas?

I really hope that your pain settles soon, and that as the new term begins you get some help and support to make an already demanding role a bit more accessible. Above all keep talking, we're always here to listen.

Deb x

dreamdaisy

Hello, we're a couple of days on since you posted - how are you feeling now? I hope it helped getting things off your chest. DD

222808

Dear DD I hope I have just managed to post a big thank you to all of you who helped me through these last few days. My right hand is still particularly painful but until I see GP I am only managing on ibuprofen and paracetamol but I feel so much stronger for realising that there is a community out there who understand. I am having to come to terms with limitations but the help and advice offered by yourself and so many others makes me realise that there is more I can do to help myself. Many thanks, from the bottom of my heart x

stickywicket

Arthritis can be very scary at times and fear, whether of pain or of an uncertain future, makes everything worse.

As you say, there are things we can do for ourselves but we don't have to do them alone. Here is where the forum comes into its own as we can, and do, support each other through the difficult times, the transitions from one med, one piece of equipment, one consultant etc to another.

The unknown is scary for everyone but even more so for us as every little extra loss of mobility or dexterity has many knock-on effects. However, exactly the same is true of the gains and I hope your GP will be able to give you some meds that work better for you. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

dreamdaisy

You are more than welcome, encouraging and supporting each other is, I think, the main role of the forum. There are between eight to ten million arthritics in the UK and the majority have OA: I reckon that's no surprise as we are living longer and maybe demand more of our younger bodies than other generations. We represent a very small cross-section of arthritics but we know how challenging things are and can be.

Stick with us, we know our stuff and thank you for the thank you. DD