I got a tube of topical antibiotics prescribed to me, Mupirocin, that I had to put up in each nostril for 10 days. That was it. The next joint replacement I tested negative again. I don't think MRSA causes problems for everyone. It's said to be everywhere, so I assume I had some immunity to it. I'm not in the medical field so I don't know all the specifics of it. I wasn't battling it, only carrying it I guess.
Hi. I am sorry to hear you are having issues with arthritis. I do really understand what you are feeling and dealing with. I am 51. I have been on disability since I was 43 from psoriatic arthritis , osteoarthritis in my knees, and back as well as degenerative disc disease that is very advanced in my back. I need total knee replacements I have had both knee caps relocated and both knees joint surfaces cleaned out completely from all the slug of arthritis and buildup of inflammation of psoriatic arthritis -each knee three times. I have been on several drugs via injections including steroids to the knees and backs including enbrel, methotrexate, and now I am on Humira. Live is very difficult. I have also have had four or maybe five back surgeries - my memory is cloudy today! Lol! I have a spinal cord stimulator in place to help manage my pain levels and use less narcotics. It does help. My knees are the worst after my back. That’s the OA damages. I played lots of sports and worked in healthcare on a concrete floor for years. Gardening and animals were my hobbies and I have a special needs child who was non ambulatory until he was about 8 years old and he is a big boy. So I have lifted a great deal in my life time and worn out my joints in several ways also. I will say this about the shots. I think they work and I think taking sugar out of your diet also helps when you can stand it. Staying active is very good and keeping as much weight off as hard as it is is the best you can do for your joints to help them. Also Voltaren Gel works well and you can take it by mouth but can’t do both at the same time but it’s a good drug as an anti inflammatory and pain reliever. Diclofenac is its generic name. I take 75mg twice a day and when my knees are real bad I rug the gel in twice daily but that is the maximum. I have had scripts for them both a long time. As to your birds I believe I would keep them as long as you can do it and do it well and keep them and you healthy and happy. As long as they are happy and healthy they will keep you healthier because you will be more active. You might consider not replacing their numbers when you lose a few of the fifty and keeping a smaller number that is a little easier to manage and not requiring such a large amount of feed and water and “hefting” or rather heavy lifting from you as I like to say. That way you can just enjoy them more. You can stay just as active but you don’t have to be so hard on yourself if you need a break etc. arthritis hurts and it requires some surgeries and rests sometimes or therapies which you need to give yourself. The older we get the harder it is on us but also the tougher we get - and we have learned to be some tough ole birds!
Hi. I am sorry to hear you are having issues with arthritis. I do really understand what you are feeling and dealing with. I am 51. I have been on disability since I was 43 from psoriatic arthritis , osteoarthritis in my knees, and back as well as degenerative disc disease that is very advanced in my back. I need total knee replacements I have had both knee caps relocated and both knees joint surfaces cleaned out completely from all the slug of arthritis and buildup of inflammation of psoriatic arthritis -each knee three times. I have been on several drugs via injections including steroids to the knees and backs including enbrel, methotrexate, and now I am on Humira. Live is very difficult. I have also have had four or maybe five back surgeries - my memory is cloudy today! Lol! I have a spinal cord stimulator in place to help manage my pain levels and use less narcotics. It does help. My knees are the worst after my back. That’s the OA damages. I played lots of sports and worked in healthcare on a concrete floor for years. Gardening and animals were my hobbies and I have a special needs child who was non ambulatory until he was about 8 years old and he is a big boy. So I have lifted a great deal in my life time and worn out my joints in several ways also. I will say this about the shots. I think they work and I think taking sugar out of your diet also helps when you can stand it. Staying active is very good and keeping as much weight off as hard as it is is the best you can do for your joints to help them. Also Voltaren Gel works well and you can take it by mouth but can’t do both at the same time but it’s a good drug as an anti inflammatory and pain reliever. Diclofenac is its generic name. I take 75mg twice a day and when my knees are real bad I rug the gel in twice daily but that is the maximum. I have had scripts for them both a long time. As to your birds I believe I would keep them as long as you can do it and do it well and keep them and you healthy and happy. As long as they are happy and healthy they will keep you healthier because you will be more active. You might consider not replacing their numbers when you lose a few of the fifty and keeping a smaller number that is a little easier to manage and not requiring such a large amount of feed and water and “hefting” or rather heavy lifting from you as I like to say. That way you can just enjoy them more. You can stay just as active but you don’t have to be so hard on yourself if you need a break etc. arthritis hurts and it requires some surgeries and rests sometimes or therapies which you need to give yourself. The older we get the harder it is on us but also the tougher we get - and we have learned to be some tough ole birds!
Feel free to message me anytime if you like. I hate to say it but having been in radiography for nearly 30 years and then after having about 8 different autoimmune conditions I feel like an expert on arthritis. Maybe I can help you out. If you like.
and welcome to the forum, @thepick4uchicks I'm so sorry that you have had to withstand so much.
Wow. Rheumatic fever at 26! That had to have been a tough one for you. Also a tough one for your doctor to diagnose I bet. I don’t know what decade that would have been in but just guessing based on treatment in the last fifty years that having that as a diagnosis would have been a stumper for your regular G. P. I believe my mother told me that I had something as a baby which is contributory to my autoimmune stuff also but her side of the family has a wide range of conditions and I seemed to have been blessed with all of them but RA. She had a sister with RA and childhood leukemia. She died when she was 14 so I was not able to learn any from her about the AI stuff.
Like you, I have had an active live that my joints have not liked. I also had Rheumatic Fever when I was 26 and it hit my joints hard. My rheumy thinks it has left me with Serum Negative RA along with the OA, Osteopenia and Osteoporosis. I too was on Methotrexate for about a year and had to stop it when I started having a lot of side effects.
As for the Voltaren, isn't that stuff great? It's the one thing the Rheumy gave me that really has helped me. I cannot take oral NSAIDS and between the Voltaren, Solonpas with Lidocaine and Tramadol I manage to get by.
My husband and I live on a 29 acre hobby farm. We heat with wood which means that we harvest our own firewood from our timber. It's one of the things we do to keep moving.
As far as my birds are concerned, there are days where I don't feel well, my back is killing me, my feet are killing me, my neck and shoulders hurt from the muscle spasms and I ask myself how much longer will it be before taking care of my birds is too much for me? So far the answer is....not today. My husband, our 7 dogs, 5 cats, farm and chickens are my inspiration to keep moving and not give up.
Oh, I realize that some day, probably soon I'll be having to make a decision about keeping my birds. I did reduce my stock to 35 last year but switched to bantams and Fayoumis. Right now I'm somewhere back to near 50 birds but when they are little it doesn't seem as much work, LOL. Plus I do love taking care of them and giving away eggs to service people and friends we do business with.
Yep, someday it will end, but not today and God willing, not tomorrow.
Feel free to pitch in with whatever tips you have employed to make things easier for you. We all need all the help we can get.
I am a list writer too and totally agree that lists save steps! I use one of these grabber tools also! Forgot to include this. Sorry forgot all about this little jewel! Use it more in the yard and laundry room. Don’t use it in the coop near the chickens.Ok, I got hooked
I personally don't have arthritis, but my wife has fibromyalgia. So I'm familiar with how things can affect everyday life.
The cart is a great addition. The larger the wheels the easier to move. Wider is better than taller. If it's home built would skis added for winter help or is the parh kept clear.
The main thing that I've seen that helps is being organized. The fewer steps in a task the easier and quicker it can be completed. Look at things and see what can be moved closer to where it's used. Placing frequently used items at waist to shoulder high so there's no bending or reaching to get them. One of the grabber tools is great for pick up of small items. View attachment 1506129Sometimes for me it's easier to write things out. I am forever creating lists. As I become more familiar I can start making the process more efficient. For example to me-
Water chickens
1 get waterer from coop
2 clean waterer
3 refill
4 replace in coop
I realized by writing it down that the hose was on the other side of the yard and I had to walk back and forth twice. My fix was get a second waterer and leave it by the hose. Now I fill the clean one on my way out and bring the older one back to clean when I'm done at the coop.
I know this sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, but in a week I've saved about a quarter mile of walking. Sorry for being long winded. My mind wanders and the keyboard follows. Hope at least some of this helps.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It helps a lotHi. I am sorry to hear you are having issues with arthritis. I do really understand what you are feeling and dealing with. I am 51. I have been on disability since I was 43 from psoriatic arthritis , osteoarthritis in my knees, and back as well as degenerative disc disease that is very advanced in my back. I need total knee replacements I have had both knee caps relocated and both knees joint surfaces cleaned out completely from all the slug of arthritis and buildup of inflammation of psoriatic arthritis -each knee three times. I have been on several drugs via injections including steroids to the knees and backs including enbrel, methotrexate, and now I am on Humira. Live is very difficult. I have also have had four or maybe five back surgeries - my memory is cloudy today! Lol! I have a spinal cord stimulator in place to help manage my pain levels and use less narcotics. It does help. My knees are the worst after my back. That’s the OA damages. I played lots of sports and worked in healthcare on a concrete floor for years. Gardening and animals were my hobbies and I have a special needs child who was non ambulatory until he was about 8 years old and he is a big boy. So I have lifted a great deal in my life time and worn out my joints in several ways also. I will say this about the shots. I think they work and I think taking sugar out of your diet also helps when you can stand it. Staying active is very good and keeping as much weight off as hard as it is is the best you can do for your joints to help them. Also Voltaren Gel works well and you can take it by mouth but can’t do both at the same time but it’s a good drug as an anti inflammatory and pain reliever. Diclofenac is its generic name. I take 75mg twice a day and when my knees are real bad I rug the gel in twice daily but that is the maximum. I have had scripts for them both a long time. As to your birds I believe I would keep them as long as you can do it and do it well and keep them and you healthy and happy. As long as they are happy and healthy they will keep you healthier because you will be more active. You might consider not replacing their numbers when you lose a few of the fifty and keeping a smaller number that is a little easier to manage and not requiring such a large amount of feed and water and “hefting” or rather heavy lifting from you as I like to say. That way you can just enjoy them more. You can stay just as active but you don’t have to be so hard on yourself if you need a break etc. arthritis hurts and it requires some surgeries and rests sometimes or therapies which you need to give yourself. The older we get the harder it is on us but also the tougher we get - and we have learned to be some tough ole birds!
Feel free to message me anytime if you like. I hate to say it but having been in radiography for nearly 30 years and then after having about 8 different autoimmune conditions I feel like an expert on arthritis. Maybe I can help you out. If you like.
Good point on moving as much as possible!
