You are doing great and I love seeing you so upbeat! Slow and steady wins the race! Enjoy the beautiful day!
Great job on lucky number 13!! Keep up the fight and never, ever look back!
It's not easy! In ready to be off the Xanax for good!!!! If I could just get past the tingling fingers, swollen eyes, hazy look when I don't take then, it'd be a lot better! But... That's what drives me crazy.
You sound really great! Don't worry about the Xanax; just make sure you take it as prescribed.
I feel for you with the cold and arthritis. I have it very bad in most of my joints. I had an implant put in my left thumb because the whole joint was shattered from the arthritis. It's hereditary on both sides of my family. And it seems to hit the women worse and at a younger age. On my dad's side two of his sister's were crippled in their mid fifties with it; one was in a wheelchair and one had to use metal crutches. On my mom's side she and one of her sisters had it extremely bad. One of her sisters died at 19. She had arthritis very bad in her hips. She took a fall and broke her hip and died when anfection set in. My mom had to retire at 54 due to her arthritis. She was like me and had it very bad everywhere. Some of the men on both sides had it as well but not nearly as bad and they didn't get it as young.
Are you able to take ibuprofen? I find it helps more than Tylenol. And I think I'm the only one on the planet that gets sick to their stomach from Tylenol. Have you had any cortisone injections? You're limited to how many you can have but they do help.
Whereis the worst of your arthritis? And what kind of doctor do you see? My hands were the worst and Ihould have seen a hand specialist but I went to a general orthopedic doctor. I know a lot of people say ice is best for inflammation but I can't tolerate the cold. Winter is the worst for me for my arthritis and fibromyalgia. The RSD/CRPS doesn't seem to be affected by weather; it just hurts all the time.
I use a lot of little things to get some relief from
Ugh! My hands are so clumsy. I didn't mean to hit post.
I find if I piece together a bunch of things I can get a little relief. I love the ThermaCare products. They last six to eight hours. They can get pricey so I watch for xoupons and sales or get them at Costco. I also use Lidoderm patches, which are a prescription. Voltaren gel is another prescription and I alternate that with the lidoderm parches. My doctor also wrote a prescription for a compounding cream. I getit for the RSD but use it for the arthritis as well. Mine has Fentanyl, Baclofan, gabapentin and a few other drugs. I am sensitive to a lot of medications so this is a good alternative.
I have also done a bunch of procedures and some physical therapy and occupational therapy. I had been swimming, which helped a lot but I haven't been doing it for a while. I want to try acupuncture but my insurance won't cover it. Someone here suggested finding a school where the students do it but are overseen by a licensed acupuncturist.
I know this is a long post but I know how bad severe arthritis hurts and how much it can limit your life.
Mary, does the cortisone shots make you gain weight? The ones I used to get made me gain a Bunch!! But now I need to try it in my feet. No matter what. How long do they last?
Great job Mama !!! Keep it up friend ;)
I never experienced weight gain with the shots. You are only allowed to get so many either per year or lifetime, but I don't remember which. I did get some great relief but eventually the amount of time I had relief got shorter amd shorter.
I piece together a lot of things to help manage my pain. Some days it helps a lot and other days not so much. Lidoderm patches and Voltaren gel help as well.
PM me if you have other questions on other things that may help your pain.