I thought I would mention that so that I can get it "off my chest", as they say. I will whine about it once and perhaps I will never have to whine about it again. (No promises though.)
I have arthritis, in my hands and probably in other joints throughout my body. I haven't got the results back to rule out some of the more unusual types of arthritis, but it is likely the garden variety, osteoarthritis. 90% of people over the age of 55 will have some effects of arthritis, so I have lots of company.
Now there are some problems with that...arthritis is for old people and I certainly can't be old, because I have a child still in junior high and no grandchildren. In addition, that means that the pain/aches/swelling/ etc. that sent me to the doctor are now a part of my life and I really didn't want to hear that. (I was hoping for the "take 1 pill twice a day for 2 weeks and you will be great" visit.) The worse part is that he showed me the x-ray of my right hand (no need to do both--they are basically in the same shape.) and it had all the signs of arthritis, including the breaking down of the joint and the deposit of calcium along the bones. In addition, I am developing bone spurs along my finger tips....just the sound of it made my hands hurt, much less seeing it in black and white. Bone spurs are a common effect of arthritis.
There you have it...I am old (and if you are near or over my age you are too.)
4 comments:
Sorry to hear that. Sounds painful. Bone spurs on your fingertips?!
This makes me so sad! Be careful, and do everything the doctor says. You want to preserve your hands for as long as possible.
Love,
ANDrea
If it makes you feel even a little better, when I was having arthritis issues at age 23-24 I DEFINITELY was freaking out! Especially since we had decided to try and have a baby and then we couldn't because of the meds I got put on.
I honestly can feel your pain. It is the worst feeling, especially because by looking at you I'm sure you look just fine. They just can't understand. I remember not being able to brush my hair, put on my own clothes, or bathe myself. Paul was a great husband during those couple years for sure. I never officially got diagnosed with anything besides general arthritis pain, but blood work was done monthly to monitor my levels and look for specific indicators towards Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Luckily I was able to taper off the meds I was on so we could get pregnant. And wouldn't you know it I haven't had any issues since (knock on wood). After checking in with my rheumatologist when Audrey was 6 months she said I didn't need to come back unless I started having pain again. She also advised if I did get pain again, to get pregnant again because it seemed to work for me. ha!
All the meds are so scary though. Have you looked into essential oils? I would rather try anything natural first before going on prednisone and azulfidine (or something like that) that I was on before. This company http://www.doterra.com/us/ has an oil blend called Deep Blue that was recommended to me by my sil's friend who is with the company. Definitely something I'd try if I got issues again.
(Sorry so long, I should've just send you an email!)
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