Keeping Chickens When You Have Arthritis.

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Welcome @oldhenlikesdogs! You sound a lot like me also Stubborn.

I spent way too many years pushing myself to act like a 'normal' person when in reality there isn't anything normal about me. Now with the new diagnosis of OA and RA I'm learning to slow down.

I have gotten a lot of good ideas here on this thread and implemented some of them already, things like moving my feed containers (garbage cans) to the coop so I'm not making so many trips back and forth to the shops feed room with buckets. I'm also asking DH to drive the feed bags from the feed room up to the coop with the tractor and he helps me unload them. Me asking for help has been the biggest habit to develope and hang on to.

Yes, I fall too at times. Mainly because I have birth defects in my feet that resulted in very crooked bones. I stumble a lot from that and from my bad back also and if I catch my toes right, down I go.

I too try to keep active and my ever growing flock of bantams helps me do that. Got plans for a new room in my coop as soon as we can get our Diesel fuel tank moved from the area I'm planning to convert. After 4 weeks on Methotrexate (oh goody, tomorrow is shot day) I'm beginning to see some improvement in my overall flexibility and pain control so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my Rheumy will increase my dosage next week and my side effects won't worsen.

One of my grandpa's had rheumatoid arthritis. Nasty stuff. For once I'm relieved to have regular arthritis. I cannot imagine what it's like to walk in your shoes. Unfortunately we have to take what life gives us and do our best with what we have.

I no longer try to be normal. I do stuff my way. I want this body to last a bit longer so I have stopped trying to do everything myself. I now ask for help when I need it. I have learned more patience waiting for help.

Getting everything set up correctly can help make stuff easier. I like when I figure it out. I feel so smart. Work smarter not harder is my motto these days.

I don't remember life before arthritis anymore. Every day is an adventure. You never know what's next. It this a productive day, or a leisurely day? These days I'm just happy I woke up.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I count that as a good yes I keep my 4 prong cane at the bedside ... I use walking sticks here at home .. bout time to head out put birds away 9 is the bewitching time here

 

[microchick]

One of my grandpa's had rheumatoid arthritis. Nasty stuff. For once I'm relieved to have regular arthritis. I cannot imagine what it's like to walk in your shoes. Unfortunately we have to take what life gives us and do our best with what we have.

I no longer try to be normal. I do stuff my way. I want this body to last a bit longer so I have stopped trying to do everything myself. I now ask for help when I need it. I have learned more patience waiting for help.

Getting everything set up correctly can help make stuff easier. I like when I figure it out. I feel so smart. Work smarter not harder is my motto these days.

I don't remember life before arthritis anymore. Every day is an adventure. You never know what's next. It this a productive day, or a leisurely day? These days I'm just happy I woke up.

I told my husband the other day that in a sense when I first was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever I died and was reborn into this new person that would spend the rest of her life dealing with joint pain.

I've always been determined....okay....stubborn. Probably did myself more harm than good doing that. Now at times I feel great and younger than I am and some days I just plain feel old and sore.

@penny1960 are you sure you weren't just a teeny bit tipsey? Just kidding. I don't think I could walk a straight line stone sober due to my feet and balance problems.

Maybe there is a card you can carry like diabetics have saying, I'm not drunk, I have Arthritis and don't walk well!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

As far as a few chicken keeping tips. I use plastic coffee cans for feeding. I was smart enough to save a bunch back when they had a nice thick handle which is easier to grip, and carry.

I also will use electric tape to bulk up bucket handles to make them easier to grip. My water bucket keeps getting smaller each year due to my back.

I use a cat litter scoop taped to a wooden handle to clean my turkey shed daily. No bending required. Husband dumps bucket before it gets too heavy for me.

I have my nestboxes at a comfortable height for me so egg collecting is easy and comfortable.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I told my husband the other day that in a sense when I first was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever I died and was reborn into this new person that would spend the rest of her life dealing with joint pain.

I've always been determined....okay....stubborn. Probably did myself more harm than good doing that. Now at times I feel great and younger than I am and some days I just plain feel old and sore.

@penny1960 are you sure you weren't just a teeny bit tipsey? Just kidding. I don't think I could walk a straight line stone sober due to my feet and balance problems.

Maybe there is a card you can carry like diabetics have saying, I'm not drunk, I have Arthritis and don't walk well!

My wallet is already full of medical cards.

I'm only gonna be 51 this year, but I feel like I'm 80 years old most days. Hence the old hen part of my name. I guess you can understand the feeling. Most don't.

 

[Kfults]

Today I took my first dose of the short run of steroids, embrel was approved and will be sent to me next week. I am always amazed how sick I have been feeling when I take that dose of prednisone. I no longer feel like i am walking around with the flu, no chills or fever symptoms, even pain went away! I can't stay on it, but I will take the short term gain while I get the embrel started. I had not sat at the chicken yard in a week, just feed- water and open and close the door,,,,, well my babies have fowl pow!!! going on week 2 and they are eating fine, running around fine, and only thing I noticed is egg production has slowed a little. The first pullet I seen that had the pox- she looked bad today not sick but her comb and waddle and face was covered. I noticed today after sitting with them awhile that one side had pox close to the eye and so at roost time I went out and put some antibiotic eye drops on both her eyes ( researched and you want to prevent secondary eye infection when they get close to the eye) Felt so good to sit and feed them a little watermelon and watch their antics. When I do not have the flu symptoms, I try to stay busy with the chickens and my container veggie garden. Pain has never been something to stop me- just slows me down a little. The flu feeling stops me dead in my tracks. I sure hope the embrel reduces the systemic inflammation that is causing that. Fingers crossed! They are mailing me the dose on Tue and I should start it on wed. BUT I agreed to ride with my BF to south texas (7 hr drive) she is having a gastroscope and had no one to drive her from clinic back to hotel. I am thinking I may wait to take that first dose on Sat when we return (I don't know what side effects it may cause) Methotrexate makes me tired and at first it made me queezy, I sure don't want to be on the road and get nauseated.
Biggest chore I need to do is clean out my 10x12 coup! I have used deep liter method but it needs to be changed! I should have already done it last week but I was the walking dead last week. I wear a respirator mask like you would if you paint to not breath any dust. I have read with these drugs we are at an increased risk for histoplasmosis a VERY ugly lung infection. Any of you cleaning chicken liter need to wear a mask if you are on immune suppression drugs! My DH gave me a great idea, I am going to rake the liter in 5 gallon buckets and haul them with my truck out to our bushes and small tree and mulch around them. In the past my DH would back up our small utility trailer to the coup door and I would rake into the trailer and he would drive it to where I wanted it and I would rake it out of the trailer, but that was VERY hard on my body. By filling these little buckets (liter not heavy) I can dump it much easier than trying to rake it out of the trailer!!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I am 58 this year but do not know it or act like it I dedicate that to my Ma god rest her soul I do miss her so .... I never was one to sit long BF teases me about sit a minute but he is 72 and does sit long either Doc is always astounded at what he is doing now .. We make one heck of a team

 

[Kfults]

@Kfults, I am so sorry you are going through this and having such a hard time.

I agree with Penny. Steroids give me relief also but they are just so bad for your body long term. Weight gain, bone thinning/osteoporosis, vision problems, organ damage to name a few of the adverse things that can happen to you.

Please make an appointment with your vision care provide as soon as you feel up to it and get your eyes checked. My husband is checking mine today. Of course I have the luxury and honor to be married to my vision care provider 'Doctor Honey'. But still you want to make sure there are no long term problems caused by your medicines.

I know how tired and frustrated you are. Pain and the physical manifestations of just not feeling well from the inflamadrags you down physically and mentally. But please don't give up. I saw my PCP yesterday. He told me that while they couldn't do anything to really help/cure the Osteoarthritis, they could help me feel better where the RA is concerned. He looked at my right hand and his reaction was 'whow, that finger looks bad' but I am not going to let this beat me and I don't want it to beat you. Hopefully the Pred will kick in and you will be feeling better and the insurance will approve the EMBEL for you and it will help make you feel better.

I'm keeping you in my prayers. If you ever just need to 'talk' you can PM me any time or post here on the arthritis thread. But let us know how you are doing and please remember that you aren not in this alone.

I had full vision done a few months ago. A CT of brain for pulsatile tinnitus showed my pituitary was flattened. That can be high spinal fluid pressure and cause optic nerve compression, while I waited to see the neurologist I had vision fields done, and an a bunch of vision tests. All normal (yea!) The neurologist said that was the first thing he would have ordered and was happy I took initiative. I had a bunch of hormone labs done and they were all normal too so the pituitary thing was incidental finding! He thinks the Pulsatile Tinnitus could be a vasculitis but my Rheumy said that would have to be proven with test results because it would take high dose prednisone. Will be going back to the ENT, I have noticed when I am on prednisone 20 the pulsatile tinnitus ( hearing heart beat in my left ear) It stops! Came back when I weaned off the prednisone. The neurologist things it is somehow connected to the autoimmune inflammatory disease. ENT said the next step would be cerebral angiogram,,,,,,,
I had bone density right before finding the high CRP and starting prednisone, will have it repeated this year. Will stay on top of that too!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I am mostly blind because of Graves I have 30 % in my left only, right sees light like a knife in it so I wear dark glasses after dark I am good I wear a ballcap at night to protect me from light and during the day at home keeping the hair out of my face and protect me more from sun

 

[Kfults]

Welcome @oldhenlikesdogs! You sound a lot like me also Stubborn.

I spent way too many years pushing myself to act like a 'normal' person when in reality there isn't anything normal about me. Now with the new diagnosis of OA and RA I'm learning to slow down.

I have gotten a lot of good ideas here on this thread and implemented some of them already, things like moving my feed containers (garbage cans) to the coop so I'm not making so many trips back and forth to the shops feed room with buckets. I'm also asking DH to drive the feed bags from the feed room up to the coop with the tractor and he helps me unload them. Me asking for help has been the biggest habit to develope and hang on to.

Yes, I fall too at times. Mainly because I have birth defects in my feet that resulted in very crooked bones. I stumble a lot from that and from my bad back also and if I catch my toes right, down I go.

I too try to keep active and my ever growing flock of bantams helps me do that. Got plans for a new room in my coop as soon as we can get our Diesel fuel tank moved from the area I'm planning to convert. After 4 weeks on Methotrexate (oh goody, tomorrow is shot day) I'm beginning to see some improvement in my overall flexibility and pain control so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my Rheumy will increase my dosage next week and my side effects won't worsen.

I am so glad the methotrexate is helping you! Every little bit of relief is so awesome!