Keeping Chickens When You Have Arthritis.

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Busy or not, sleep is still hard to get for me. Once I'm there in okay, it's just falling asleep that's getting harder and harder. I can't do pills due to my diabetes. I need to wake up if my blood sugars fall in the middle of the night. I have come to hate going to bed.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I understand BF is diabetic I usually cook according to what will be good for him as want him healthy he is older but in good health otherwise

 

[SW31]

This is an excellent thread. Many of us here sadly have aches and pains as well as severe chronic pain - peculiarly, it’s nice to know we’re not alone!
I have arthritis from literally top to toe, big toe as well and I think my hip is now starting to go as well. I’ve had lots of cortisone injections in spinal areas and joints which really have helped. I don’t like having to have steroids but as a severe asthmatic I know that’s the reality. By the way, watch out for severe mood swings with steroids - it’s not often mentioned. I’m as high as a kite when I take them but others can suffer from such severe depression it has caused suicide so be careful and watch your moods.

A few things have helped with looking after my ‘girls’. I have a largish bench seat in the run so stuff I regularly need can be stored in the bench and I can sit down as well. I keep the food in a large lockable box in the barn but use a smaller lockable container to take food from the barn to the benchseat. I love the hoses that expand, they’re very light to move and carry. I also have another bench seat fairly close to the run for other misc chicken stuff, not food. My Omlet stuff is very easy to clean

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to thread there @SW31 happy to have you join us we do understand
about chronic pain I only just dull mine cold brings it out wet does worse I am on Washington State Western side

 

[Kfults]

I have to update! I have been dealing with inflammatory arthritis for 18mo ( probably longer) for the past 18 mo my CRP would not come below 22 despite taking prednisone and methotrexate! Nothing seemed to be helping! I had to get off meds due to infection. I read healing arthritis by Susan Blum and started anti-inflammatory supplements and an elimination diet. Gluten was found to cause GI distress ( I have been having IBS symptoms too) and severe joint pain. I have been on supplements for 1 month and off Gluten for a week and my CRP reduced to 14!!! Lowest we have seen! It was 45 three months ago with meds! I am beginning to feel better and my small joints do not throb and burn all day everyday! Praise God! I think I am on the right path to healing!!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Steroids are at fault for osteo arthritis in us had to use it because of Graves disease gave me plaque psoriasis horribly and it wanted me to go blind it did stop before totally blind never quite know why but told God he was in charge

 

[SW31]

Very true, the list of side effects from steroids is awful. What is worst is the doctors didn’t tell me up front. I developed a hump on my back just from the water retention. Doctor said that’s normal so I started to read up on what else is ‘normal’, what a shocker. My eyesight always changes even with short term use.

It’s a gorgeous warm sunny day here and I’m sitting outside in the sun with the hens hiding beneath a canna plant for shade so aches and pains are better today. I’ve just had an X-ray that confirms some arthritis in the hip but worse, the last two discs in the spine are sitting extremely close to each other so that explains the weakened leg!

 

[pennyJo1960]

We are in the midst of a cold snap prefer that to rain

 

[microchick]

Hi everyone! I can't believe how long it's been since I updated. Sorry. Winter here was hard, trying and frustrating to say the least as we lost two of our 4 dogs, 1 to degenerative myelopathy and the other to old age a month later.

What I've learned is I've made things easier on myself but need to strive to make them even easier. DH bought a small garden wagon for me to use, easier to pull than the big wagon although it won't handle much more than one bag of feed before I have to stop and take a break with it. We heat with wood so the big wagon is used to haul wood from the barn to the house.

I highly recommend getting a wagon if you don't have one. Mine makes tending my birds 75% easier.

One of my two coops is outside, freestanding, and what I learned most of all is that I REALLY REALLY HATE standing out in the frigid cold taking care of the birds in that little coop. Even with two layers of gloves and rubber gloves over them, my fingertips were so numb I had to go into the main coop with the bantams in order to get warm before charging out to finish up. True, Missouri had a colder and snowier than usual winter but I need to figure out what to do for next winter or whether or not I even want to continue on with that coop. I do need to decrease my flock size at this point in time. I have old girls that should go to freezer camp and I did butcher my first rooster last month but making that decision is just so darned hard when it comes to who stays and who goes.

I was also diagnosed with Gout last month. Sigh. What can I say, my parents gave me great genes.....not. My PA who works with my rheumy, is trying to tell me as gently as possible that steroids are my friend. My response to that is basically to hold up two sticks to make a cross like I'm warding off vampires. I told her I didn't lose 30 pounds to gain it all back thanks to steroids.

Hope everyone is hanging in there. Wanted to see if we could breathe some life into this thread and get it going again.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

I think I might be suffering from chronic pains myself, though I think it mainly has to do with being lazy. But sometimes my body aches all over for no reason at all, and I've had a bad back since I can remember. I'm not too old but my body feels like twice my age, when you're young you don't really think about all the aches and pains later in life and then suddenly it starts creeping up on you. I should have taken care of myself better in my younger years but I've no time machine here, so maybe I'll use my aches and pain coupled with a bad back to score some pain killers. At least I'll be smiling while I'm hurting.