Crippled hands - no joke ....help please

[bargain]

It started about the first of January during the wintery blast in GA. I got hand lock ups, cramps and swelling and pain beyong belief.....from toting 100's of gallons of water to our flocks and working so hard each day....so I thought.

Well, I'm making the medical rounds and hearing what I do not like....

Osteo clinic said tendonitis, rhematoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and "crippled hands".....yes doc said that and to stop and decease all activity Right on a full time farm....So going to a rheumatologist clinic far out of town in 3 weeks.

Now, I need suggestions please on things I can do.

BTW, I'm in process of changing locks to be a lever - hook and eye lock, trying to type less, cooking less, cleaning house is gone, but that's okay. Dinner is too simple and less.

Ability to use a pencil is impaired so adapting pencils with large sponge balls so I can do this better...

Any other ideas.....

Any low cost speech recognition program that will type for me.

Tips on diet or whatever....

Ideas, thoughts and prayers are always welcome.....Please please don't tell me to sell the flocks, I'm not there yet.. Thanks so much friends and have a blessed day.

 

[Mahonri]

Prayers headed your way my friend.

Padded gloves?

Plumbing to your pens with autowaterers?

 

[DAFox]

Back in the early 90's I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis (an autoimmune disease -- and it is a weird one) and the Docs were talking steroids. I chose to go to a nutritionist. I don't know for sure if diet and vitamins actually did the trick, or my head thought diet and vitamins did the trick, or the disease ran its course -- but, I got better and without steroids. Try to boost your nutrition and see if your symptoms get any better.
I just read an article about dogs trained to assist farmers with disabilities. I'll look to see if I can find info for you.
Good luck.
Dale-Ann

 

[DAFox]

Well, the PHARM dog program is Missouri based and in its infancy, but I did find out that the sponsering program called AgrAbility is nationwide and found this link for Georgia:
http://www.farmagain.com/
I hope it can help.
Dale-Ann

 

[Goose and Fig]

I'm definately NOT a doctor- but sounds like a repetitive stress injury. I had something similar when I was working the sort at UPS. Maybe you can pick up 2 of those hand/wrist braces at the drug store, and just try wearing them for a few days. And take some anti-inflamatory like motrin (if it doesn't make you sick) That always helped me more than any Rx.

Hope you feel better!

 

[Reinbeau]

No, crippled hands are no joke. Mine aren't quite that bad yet, but they're arthritic, the damp cold really gets to me, especially the knuckles at the base of my index and second fingers. My grip strength is nil, too. It's usually worst around this time of year, and gradually recedes as the spring progresses. The best thing to do is keep them moving, and keep them warm. Wear mittens instead of gloves if it's really cold out there, with liners if you have to take your hands out. At least this works for me, we're all different!

 

[leenie]

Hope you feel better, get the swelling under control with some type anti-inflammatory right now.
yep on the hand/wrist braces. Try adding fish oil caplets(2-3 p/d) and DE (1-2 tbsp p/d) to your daily regiment . . . it knocks me close back to normal in a day or two. Sometimes I find myself slacking on taking those "extras" only to wake up one morning and sadly realize my mistake. I have a slew of script meds and find these help me feel better overall in the long run.
I'm not a doctor and can only offer what greatly helps me.

 

[greenpeeps]

Have you tried a paraffin dip?? You melt wax in the unit then dip your hands into the wax about 3 times. I then put my hands into plastic bags( I use walmart bags sometimes) then wrap a towl around each hand(or oven mitts). It's amazing how it can make arthric hands feel. I'm a hair dresser and after seeing 10-15 clients my hands are soar and tired. My husband even started using it. he says it makes his hands feel much better.

If you purchase one try walmarts, I think their around 25 bucks there. But if you have a Sallys beauty supply store buy 2 pkgs of wax there. I usually get on with Jhobba oil in it.

If you want to try before you buy, call some of the local salons, sorry I just couldn't bring mine over.

Best Wishes

 

[lalaland]

Well...everyone is different, but this is what happened to me: in the late 80's, I started having extreme problems with my hands and arms - lots of pain, got to the point where I couldn't: lift heavy pans (gave away my cast iron pans), wash my hair!!!! , pick up my daughter, pull laundry out of the washer...you get the picture. Was disagnosed with various autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid, lupus, etc. Could barely work. I was on ibuprofen 4 pills every 4 hours, 24/7. refused steroids and other drugs.

For totally unrelated reasons, I quit eating meat and started eating vegetarian and organic. After a couple of months, I started having good days, and within 18 months was off drugs entirely. Now, I eat meat because I can easily get organic or meat raised on small farms and not factory farmed - meat raised in a humane way. I believe, but can't prove, that the toxins in the meats and foods (all the additives, antibiotics, chemicals, pesticides/herbicides/fungicides, steroids, etc) in the american food system made me ill. To this day, if I start to eat too many restaurant meals, I start to experience the swelling and pain in my joints and have to cut back on factory food (read: anything produced in plant/factory).

If you are interested in trying this to see if it will help you, I would really recommend picking up a copy of Michael Pollan's 64 Rules for Food - it is on Amazon for about $6, or $11 bucks at your local bookstore. It is a short book, funny, but very serious. It isn't so much that you have to buy only organic food, just that you have to find a way to remove the non-food edible stuff that is in the food from your diet.


Goood luck.

 

[newnanchic]

Nancy,
I am sure praying for you. I hope your doctor visit goes well. All of those precious animals ... just give them your love and let Jacque do the best he can with them until you get better . Praying for you. Livia