I need help

 Hi I hope every one is doing well.I have a question that I need to ask.

My hands all the way to my elbow's are giveing me a lot of pain and pain med's don't even come close to helping with the pain.

I have found some relife with hot wax and with the hottest water that I can stand.

Now my question does any one know of any thing else that I can try?They do it during the day but is much worse at night.I have crohns;RA,OA.

So any info wold be great.

Curley....

a.k.a.Mela........

Hi, I get pain similar to that. It is very painful and I find the pain meds do not help either. I do get some relief by taking far more advil than I should, with a little food, and one extra strength Tylenol. I also find sometimes slow release voltarin works. But i find I have to switch back and forth between voltarin, advil and motrin. I need to take almost 1200 mg of Advil to get relief but that is way over the recommended limit. It is dangerous to take that much, it could cause internal bleeding, or eat away the lining of your stomach, mess up your kidneys and liver. With the voltarin I take one 100 mg tablet which is what was prescribed for me, so I do not overuse that. I have also taken methotrexate since August which has helped.

Last mont I ran out of the methotrexate and I did not get around to refilling my prescription until three weeks later. I got motivated to finally get to the pharmacy when I bent down to get a diet coke and could not get back up because of the pain.

Because I had been off the methotrexate for so long the pharmacist said it would be completly out of my body and I should call my rheumatologist. I was afraid to do that. I figured the rheumy would be pretty disappointed with me and I was due to start taking humira. I did not want my procrastrination with refilling the methotrexate, prevent me from getting to start the humira. I have been waiting for humira since last August and now I finally have it in the refridgerator waiting for a demonstration on how to use, and waiting for me to get the tb test first.

The methotrexate has helped with this type of pain and iI am hoping that the humira will help even more.

The other things I do are;
1. I cut the bottom out of old socks and make a thumb hole. I put my whole hand into the sock and I find if I get the ribbed ones, they provide me with warmth in that area and also the ribbed socks act like a tensor bandage.

2. I use these patches that I get from a chinese store. they are called salonpas and are very cheap. They are menthol with a little bit of aspirin in them. If i cover the sore wrist and arm in these and then top it off with a sock, they stay in place and I get considerable relief.

3. I heat some camphorated oil in the bathroom sink and then once it is warm, I rub it into the affected area and again place the sock over it.

4. sometimes i will gently wrap a warm towel that i have heated in the dryer on my arms and wrists.

hope this helps. sometimes i have tried icing the area with frozen peas, but this does not seem to help me.

Take care and I hope you get some relief soon. sincerely, judy/effie

Thanks Erin,
I am sorry i do not know what the dosage is. It is in my refridgerator right now. I should be okay with the needles because I am an insulin dependent diabetic so I take 3 to 5 needles a day already. I just know I have to inject in the tummy. since I have a large scar from a c-section and gall bladder, I prefer not to give my insulin there. however just recently my diabetes went out of control and I was up to like 7 injections or more per day so I had to do tummy shots and they were not that bad. The nurse at the hospital will give me my first injection. I have to call her now because I did not get out today for my tb test. My husband has been unwell so I have been busy trying to support him. I have also returned to work as a volunteer just to check what my stamina would be like. I work in the field of education. I realize after volunteering that I will not be ready for full time work in September. I sure could use the money though. I do get 70% of my salary. However I recently remarried. My first husband was killed at work many years ago. We made some upgrades to the home to help my son adjust to having another person in the house, based on my salary at 100%. I was with no salary for almost 4 months. Now trying to catch up is tricky. 30% less of a six figure salary is a lot of money. I know I should be grateful that I have this disability insurance, but it is just never ending bills. I wish we could just sell the house and move somewhere smaller, but the house is such a mess from me bringing home 16 years of supplies etc that I do not know how I would ever get it ready for an appraisal or sale. I have spent thousands of dollars on books, games. professional literature, testing supplies and I would like to sell some of it, but I have no idea what position they will put me in when I finally do return so I have to hold on to it all until I know.

Well you sound a bit better. That is great. I will have to let Flopsie know. She and I both worry about you. I hope you have a peaceful night and get some good rest.

Sorry for venting about the money thing.

I have to call the rheumy doc now and explain about the tb test. I hope I can get through to the doc and not just the grouchy receptionist.

Take care, you are in my prayers always,
judy/effie

dear erin, you are so sweet. thank you for understanding and not judging me,

i have been thinking about my first husband who was tragically killed at work.

I think it must have been because of father's day and my son's depressopn.

If you look at my past few posts i am doing a lot of story telling.

I hope i get out of this mood soon.

I appreciate your suggestions and the information you have given me.

Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I hope you get the Humira soon and we can compare notes.

It was great to hear from you. I feel so honoured to have the opportunity to talk to such a smart lady.

May god bless you and keep you healthy and safe in his ever loving care.

sincerely,
judy/effie

it's my Girls! Flopsie & Effie. what a nice surprise to see the two posts one from each, following the other.   that made my nite.

Judy, such tragedy.....we will never understand why such things happen to good people.

how is your son doing?   does he confide in you? is he grown already? the one thing i love most in this life is listening to people. it's amazing how everyone is a novel! such unique lives and twists and turns.  that is why i love working (loved working rather) in medicine....just to hear what patients say and how they talk about their lives....especially the ones that are in their 80's and 90's and have lived through the depression and wars. a lot of sadness as well, but even that is beautiful if one looks back from it a little. i read these posts intently. the weird thing is...i'm new to this whole internet thing (only the past 6 months) and even though this site is like WIDE open TO THE PUBLIC, it kinda feels very private!

Flopsie, i liked that proverb from above. did you recieve my email? a little foggy with my memory today. lack of sleep. HAD THE BEST STEROID HALLUCINATION TODAY!!!!

was in the shower, and every time i would turn, all of these tiny, bubble, bursting, sparkly things were all up on the ceiling. my boyfriend had a good laugh about it when he called!

what's doin' for the fourth of july?

till later......take care all

erin

Hi Erin,

They have not gotten any worse the hot wax you can get at wal-mart.It is called hot parffin wax.It's works pretty good it does seem to ease the pain to were it is barable.I thank you for asking.

Curley....
a.k.a.Mela..........