Comments | staxxy: an explaination of sorts -

staxxy

an explaination of sorts -

Feb 15, 2005 11:05

why is being in the cold *such* a big deal for me? Why do the weather changes matter that much to me? What exactly does it mean when I am having a "flare up"?

( Your answers are here, if you are interested in them )

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icprncs February 15 2005, 19:45:38 UTC

I believe (please correct me if I am mistaken, I would like to know for sure) that for arthritis sufferers that pain is only in the areas the arthritis affects

This is true, for osteoarthritis. (I can't speak about rheumatoid arthritis, which I am grateful about.) I have it bad in both thumbs (as does my mother, who is probably going to need joint replacement), and it's starting to creep into my other fingers, but it's *only* those joints that hurt. But, when it's the hands, that kinda limits a lot of things. Cold = not so good on the pain scale. Cold + wet = lotsa hurt, plus limited mobility. Cold + wet + falling barometer (as in, when it snows, which is one of the reasons I don't like the stuff) = my hands are close to useless. (It's become close to impossible for me to actually write on paper in cold weather--my hands can't take it.)

I know nothing I can say will make it better. When you hurt, you just hurt, and cope as best you can. But explaining it so people understand is good.

staxxy February 15 2005, 19:55:25 UTC

thanks for the heads up on arthritis. I appreciate this knowledge ( ... )

icprncs February 15 2005, 20:10:41 UTC

Yeah, keeping my hands warm helps quite a bit. I have a pair of black spandex "compression" gloves with the fingers cut out (so I can type or write) that I wear regularly in cold weather--I look like a refugee from a Dickens novel. :) They help insulate and support the cold joints. The largest problem the past couple of years has been that I haven't been able to afford to keep my apartment warm enough all the time, so my hands are stiff and sore much of the time. I can't realistically keep my hands under blankets all day long to keep them warm, so I just have to soldier through it. (I also have a chronic injury in my left arm, soft-tissue damage from an old skating accident that didn't get proper treatment, and that can often make the pain in my left hand worse. And guess what, I'm left-handed ( ... )

icprncs February 15 2005, 20:17:08 UTC

Oh, and as a somewhat interesting tangent--don't know if you remember when my kitty-boy had some weird apparently neurological thing going on back in December, but I'm fairly sure now that what he was having was a cold-induced nerve inflammation, similar to what CFS/FM people deal with. His autoimmune condition is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, which I hear is also affected like that by the cold, and this happened to him during one of those near-freezing-for-days snaps we had in December. I actually worried about taking him to his vet appointment this morning, because it meant taking him out in below-freezing temps, but he seems to have done okay.

staxxy February 15 2005, 20:35:37 UTC

that is interesting, and I am REALLY glad that he did okay going to the vet today. :)

staxxy February 15 2005, 20:20:13 UTC

yeah, I broke down and took 800mg of ibuprofen, because I know that any less won't touch my pain. Bleh.

It should kick in at about 12:40. only 20 more minutes.

It is good to know that keeping your hands warm does help. It certainly makes you much easier to get gifts for suddenly! I am thinking you need some microfiber yarn mittens for when you are *not* typing. :) Now I am wondering if they *make* them. *sigh*

wendolen February 15 2005, 22:33:40 UTC

They do make microfiber yarn, and you know knitters... :)

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