My Hands
I don't know how many of my friends I have told about my hands, I suspect not very many. In about May I started getting pain and stiffness in my elbows and knees. Then in July my hands and wrists developed pain and stiffness. I thought it was due to the extra workload after having started working 35 hours which involved extra work using the computer mouse. Then my ankles started swelling, and I knew there was something else involved and decided to see the doctor. By this time both my hands were swollen and extremely painful. My GP initially diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and sent me to have blood tests. The indicator for rheumatoid didn't show in my blood tests and my thyroid blood test was also not right, so after taking an increased does of Oroxine and also taking Mobic, Glucosamine, fish oil and Caltrate and Panamax for six weeks I returned for a second blood test. In the meantime my doctor made an appointment with a rheumatologist. Although the indicator for rheumatoid arthritis didn't show up again the rheumatologist said it was obvious that I had an inflammatory arthritis (or rheumatoid arthritis) and prescribed me Prednisone (together with a few base line tests to monitor for side effects).
Now, before I started taking Prednisone I was in constant pain and I found it difficult and painful to do even the most normal things, such as washing and drying my hands, as my fingers were permanently bent. Not to mention washing up, driving, using cooking and eating utensils, even putting on shoes. Of course the list was endless. I also developed carpal tunnel syndrome because the swelling was restricting nerves to my fingers. Plus it was really upsetting me that it was so painful to knit and spin. Steven was having to help me more and more with farm things. Although with pain killers and just putting up with pain, I was able to manage. But the pain was getting me down.
Prednisone has taken all the swelling away, and although I do have pain occasionally, it is nothing like before. The problem is I can only be on Prednisone for six months, as it is a strong medication with side effects, and then I have to be weaned onto another medication called Methotrexate. I sure hope it does as good a job as Prednisone, and that I don't develop any of the long list of side effects, because apparently I will have to take this medication for ever and I guess my hands will never be the same again.
You just never know when things like this will come along. Although they don't know what causes rheumatoid arthritis, stress combined with my thyroid being out of whack may have contributed. I realise this isn't strictly related to farm news or my craft activities, but it has consumed me for four months. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, I just hope I don't have to go back there again.