Keeping Chickens When You Have Arthritis.

[thepick4uchicks]

I just found a whole page of responses that I wasn't notified about and just found while back tracking. Apologies for not responding.

@thepick4uchicks I was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever in 1976. I was 26, and spent one month in the hospital and a total of 6 months total in bed. I contracted a strep throat while working as a nurse on a pediatric unit where germs ruled. It was a life changer for sure.

I have degenerative disc disease and stenosis in my cervical vetebrae along with a scoliosis and degenerative changes/osteoporosis/arthritis in my lumbar area. I also have serum negative RA that only responds to steroids during a flare.

@penny1960 I was wondering when you were going to drop in again, girl. Sorry to hear about the doc thinking he knows how bad that you are hurting and how the pain affects you. At best my pain is a 1-2. By the end of the day it is a 4-5 and when it goes acute it's a solid 7-9. The initial acute phase is when the pain is the worst and when that happens all I can do is hobble to the sofa with my husband's help with ice bags on my back and pain killers within reach.

It astounds me that any doctor would say, oh you aren't hurting that bad! The audacity! IMHO if I were in your shoes I would ask to be referred to a pain specialist and let them deal with your chronic pain so that he/she HAS to listen to them.

I am so glad that I have the MRI's, Rheumatologist reports and Dexa Scan reports on hand. One day my doctor was talking to me about my pain medication and I told him, don't worry, I don't and won't abuse it. His response was, that isn't my concern. I'm more worried that you aren't taking it when you need it.

That is the one big bit of advice that I can give to anybody dealing with chronic pain and degenerative joint diseases is make certain that you have your health care provider/hospitals etc, give you copies of all of your tests whether they are labs or radiology reports. They belong to you, not the hospital and you have a right to a copy for your own private records.

@ronott1 Sorry I missed the question about the 4 wheeler. What we would like to get is one of those little 4 wheel drive Kie Mini Trucks. Here in Missouri we can drive ATVs and Minis on the road without license plates. People drive them into town all the time plus people in town drive golf cars around. Our town is small, only 1300 people and we live on a gravel road approximately 8 miles from town.

As for the question about heating, no we only have wood heat. We bought a wood splitter 6 years ago and love it to pieces. We have approximately 24 acres of oak, hickory and Honey Locust timber. We harvest at least 10 cords of split wood on hand right now harvesting mainly dead standing wood. We know we won't be able to keep harvesting our own wood forever but that is one of those things where it's 'not yet'. Plus we have Amish around us that we can probably hire to harvest our wood for us when the time comes.

Microchick don’t you think it is simply amazing what blessings our careers were for us. They gave us such wonderful presents in the form of health problems themselves! Sometimes I could scream but they blessed me much more really. Your pain relief the Tramadol. - I couldn’t take that med for long. I tried. It’s the only one. It made me so nauseated that I couldn’t stand up. I can take any other narcotics with no problem and I switch around between hydrocodone and OxyContin depending on how many months it has been since the pain management folks have switched me around. I do have a pain management doctor who over sees my care and wouldn’t take anything for it. That way I don’t abuse or seen as one. I have never been one and don’t want to start. I don’t think I could be though. I never get a high feeling from any kinds of meds. But another point. About the pain scale. The true pain scale that nurses use is the one that pain management doctors use and that is really different than the one seen everywhere else. Far cry from each other.

 

[microchick]

Thats funny because last Christmas, I got two 100 ft contractor hoses from Mr. Claus. He knew just what I needed. Lol

Glad you joined us. Not so glad that it's pain that drew us all together.

I love it when Santa knows what we want and need!

@penny1960 you are far more generous than I would be under the same circumstances.

 

[microchick]

Microchick don’t you think it is simply amazing what blessings our careers were for us. They gave us such wonderful presents in the form of health problems themselves! Sometimes I could scream but they blessed me much more really. Your pain relief the Tramadol. - I couldn’t take that med for long. I tried. It’s the only one. It made me so nauseated that I couldn’t stand up. I can take any other narcotics with no problem and I switch around between hydrocodone and OxyContin depending on how many months it has been since the pain management folks have switched me around. I do have a pain management doctor who over sees my care and wouldn’t take anything for it. That way I don’t abuse or seen as one. I have never been one and don’t want to start. I don’t think I could be though. I never get a high feeling from any kinds of meds. But another point. About the pain scale. The true pain scale that nurses use is the one that pain management doctors use and that is really different than the one seen everywhere else. Far cry from each other.

Yep, loved my work...also wished many times the most important decision I had to make was remembering to ask the customer if they wanted to supersize their hamburger and fries. More than one night I would comment 'I hear McDonalds is hiring'.

Still, on the down side it really wrecked my health. I got my first strep throat and resulting knee pain while working in a doctors office. He didn't catch the connection. Second was 3 years later and it was the second one that got me.

Seems I was always sick even when I was able to go back to work. about 7 years ago the joint pain started. My husband and I were competitive cyclists at that time. I always competed in spite of the pain. It got worse while we were retiring and closing down our business and 'work' home. We had bought retirement property in Missouri where we live now and it meant literally combining three properties into one. Thankfully we have a big home with an attached shop and barn.

My doctor here in Missouri wasn't happy when I showed him the nodules I was getting on my fingers and the enlarged painful joints and two years ago referred me to a rheumy. My RA titres are normal but he suspects I have a Serum Negative form of RA. He suspected gout also until they did a Dexa Scan and the pain specialist ordered an cervical spine MRI due to the continued problems I was having with neck pain, lost of range of motion and muscles spasms. That is where the fun began and I started on sub q Prolia...which I hate more than I hated the Methotrexate but have to take.

I cannot take NSAIDS other than tylenol and enteric coated aspirin so the Voltaren was a godsend for me and @penny1960 turned me on to lidocaine rubs. Combined they really help my hands and feet.

I don't tolerate any pain meds well other than Tramadol. I told the doctor that I didn't understand the druggie mind set with it as all it does for me is make the pain go away so I can sleep and get things done around the house. Treatment for me is a balancing act. Plus I'm not one to face life lying on the sofa so undoubtedly I'm the source for at least one of my doc's ulcers...if he has them.

And yep, I heard the MOVE MOVE MOVE speech also. Not hard for me. I'm a body in motion unless I'm having a flare or the pain is too bad for me to be on my feet. Not your typical 67 year old at all.

The biggest thing for me was giving up riding my upright Trek Madone racing bike and my Yamaha and Honda dirt bikes. Yes, I ride a dirt bike. Nothing fancy, just trail riding but with the problems they found in my neck it is now a no no for me. I'm at too high a risk for a compression fracture or hip fracture to take the chance.

But chickens? I can do chickens!

 

[pennyJo1960]

okay made it back in all by my little self looks like we may hit 68 here today outside only 65 inside

 

[ronott1]

okay made it back in all by my little self looks like we may hit 68 here today outside only 65 inside

It is 98F here currently. 101F is the predicted high

 

[cmom]

After DH had his shoulder surgery. He did go to some therapy. His therapist gave him a sheet of exercises to do at home. We are always busy. He should have listen to his Dr.

 

[cmom]

I'm getting a lot of therapy, cleaning coops and moving birds around. I don't ask for any help and I get it done. One coop down and several more to go. I have to get it done so I can move the youngsters out of the chick/grow-out coop and put the fairly new hatches, two weeks old today, into the coop. We have a tractor with a bucket and everything goes into the compost. Almost time to go out and collect the eggs... Time goes fast.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Sure does boop it is 4 or 10 till been out to the coop like 5 times .. guys think I am nuts have a sweathshirt on but not that warm today actually nice day just cooler in my book .. Graves my auto immune does not let my body auto regulate temps

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Yep, loved my work...also wished many times the most important decision I had to make was remembering to ask the customer if they wanted to supersize their hamburger and fries. More than one night I would comment 'I hear McDonalds is hiring'.

Still, on the down side it really wrecked my health. I got my first strep throat and resulting knee pain while working in a doctors office. He didn't catch the connection. Second was 3 years later and it was the second one that got me.

Seems I was always sick even when I was able to go back to work. about 7 years ago the joint pain started. My husband and I were competitive cyclists at that time. I always competed in spite of the pain. It got worse while we were retiring and closing down our business and 'work' home. We had bought retirement property in Missouri where we live now and it meant literally combining three properties into one. Thankfully we have a big home with an attached shop and barn.

My doctor here in Missouri wasn't happy when I showed him the nodules I was getting on my fingers and the enlarged painful joints and two years ago referred me to a rheumy. My RA titres are normal but he suspects I have a Serum Negative form of RA. He suspected gout also until they did a Dexa Scan and the pain specialist ordered an cervical spine MRI due to the continued problems I was having with neck pain, lost of range of motion and muscles spasms. That is where the fun began and I started on sub q Prolia...which I hate more than I hated the Methotrexate but have to take.

I cannot take NSAIDS other than tylenol and enteric coated aspirin so the Voltaren was a godsend for me and @penny1960 turned me on to lidocaine rubs. Combined they really help my hands and feet.

I don't tolerate any pain meds well other than Tramadol. I told the doctor that I didn't understand the druggie mind set with it as all it does for me is make the pain go away so I can sleep and get things done around the house. Treatment for me is a balancing act. Plus I'm not one to face life lying on the sofa so undoubtedly I'm the source for at least one of my doc's ulcers...if he has them.

And yep, I heard the MOVE MOVE MOVE speech also. Not hard for me. I'm a body in motion unless I'm having a flare or the pain is too bad for me to be on my feet. Not your typical 67 year old at all.

The biggest thing for me was giving up riding my upright Trek Madone racing bike and my Yamaha and Honda dirt bikes. Yes, I ride a dirt bike. Nothing fancy, just trail riding but with the problems they found in my neck it is now a no no for me. I'm at too high a risk for a compression fracture or hip fracture to take the chance.

But chickens? I can do chickens!

Awesome! Simply awesome! But don’t you just want to cuss out yourself for what work life took out of ya! Just ticks me off what all I gave to making other folks well has made me almost a cripple at 43!some days. But Lord willing only some days. God love my chickens and what a blessing they are to me though!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I can't wait to read this thread! I plan on starting tonight after locking the chickens and ducks up. Seems like some very helpful information is being shared.