Rhumitoid Arthritis

Lefty · From: Grayson, Ga.

I would like to see if anyone has dealt with this in their hands. I would like to see if there are exercises or natural remedies to help this problem.
There is quite a bit online, but most lead up to a new prescription medicine.
I have not been to a doctor yet. Years ago I had carpal tunnel syndrome in the same hand.
This was mainly due to not using a keyboard or mouse pad. I got rid of the carpal by using a glove at night that prevented wrist bending.

With the arthritis I have noticed it playing six string (my right, chording hand). For steel this is my bar hand.
I hate to give up six string and banjo, but at least steel and dobro are affected minimally.
Any information will be appreciated.
Lefty

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Have you looked at diet at all yet? There are two basic ideas. One is just an anti-inflammation diet, which is just cutting out things that are known to aggravate inflammation. White sugar, white flour, lunch meat with nitrates, etc:
http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/anti-inflammatory/anti-inflammatory-diet.php

There are some kind of wierd low-level allergies that can accidently trigger inflammation. Like there's a potato, green pepper, tomato allergy. If you just eat one of them nothing happens, but if you have, hash browns with breakfast, some tomatoes on a salad, then spaghetti sauce with dinner it might tip over. There's another diet called the "elimination diet" where you cut out certain foods entirely for several days, then cut out a different food group for another week. It's all over online, you can just get a calendar and write it out. they say it takes like 21 days, but if you want to add stuff back in and see, then cut them out again, it tales more like two months.

Did you have a big surgery lately? Because that alone can kick off kind of a hair-trigger inflammation, where your body just WAY overreacts to a minor cause. It's really bad for few years after an operation (I had my neck fused). Then it just gradually fades a bit, year by year. More than anything just losing some weight helped. But I'll still have to be careful about certain limits for the rest of my life.

Lefty · From: Grayson, Ga.

David,
I did have my galdbladder removed about 14 months ago.
It was in very bad condition.
I also had developed an ulcer due to reflux and all the over the counter painkillers that I had been using (Ibuprofin, aspirin).
Recovery was slow and I lost about 50lbs.
I will check out the information online.
Thank you,
Lefty

John Brock · From: Xenia, Ohio

I have it bad in my right hand middle finger...when it gets bad i us a topical called Voltaren Gel. Please see a physician as it is a inflamation and ca be relieved. Hope that helps
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Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

Lefty - Have you tried tart cherry? The liquid is best.
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Lefty · From: Grayson, Ga.

Thanks. After thinking about it more I believe it is the repetitive clicking of a mouse that caused it.
I am retired now, but may look into one of those roller-balls that you press down with your palm.
Some guys at work used these, and I guess I should have tried to get use to one.
regards,
Lefty

Gary Morgan · From: Maryland, USA

flax seed and fish oil it does work

Jim Fogarty · From: Phila, Pa, USA

Please get diagnosed. Rheumatoid Arthritis isn't caused by clicking a mouse, or playing an instrument. It's an auto-immune condition that, while it will never be "cured", can be effectively treated.

I lost most of a year (I'm a professional guitarist) with undiagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis (a similar condition). Even after having a good idea what it was, I tried just about every natural and alternative therapy out there. Some mitigated the worst of the pain, but it wasn't until my rheumatologist put me on Humira that things changed. Within a couple weeks, the swelling, stiffness and pain began rapidly subsiding. My life literally changed in weeks.

Anyway, my point is......don't assume you have a particular ailment, and attempt to treat it yourself. This is serious stuff.

BTW....more on topic......I actually began playing steel because I found it was easier on hands (before Humira) than armpit guitar, and was looking for a way to make music if I had to give up guitar (which seemed like a very real possibility at the time). Using a large, powder-coated bar helped me grip it better, too.

Good luck.

Steve Pawlak · From: Arizona, USA

I don't usually join in personal health discussions, but John's made some good points
I also have PA and for a couple of years could not close my hands thus couldn't play guitar
I got diagnosed and have been on a biologic for 10 years now and it has changed my life.
I play can regular 6 string and I also took up pedal steel as an alternative

Lefty · From: Grayson, Ga.

Thanks to all. I am going to get an appointment with a rheumatologist. Though I love pedal steel, I still love 6-string and 5 string as well.
Thanks again,
Lefty

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

My wife has had RA for quite a few years now.

Next to me, her rheumatologist is her best friend.

Rheumatoid Arthritis runs in her family. She went to specialists at the first signs of the disease. With the right meds and a fantastic doctor, many of the early symptoms, particularly in her hands and wrists, were stopped and reversed.

Lee, from South Texas

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

A LOT of times, like most, it's not one big giant cause, so it's not one giant instant cure either. Regardless of what the miracle-peddlers say, a lot of stuff is just managing old age & decrepitude. And things keep changing up on you too, at one time I got a lot of benefit from flax oil capsules but right now I don't need them.

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

Since inflammation is involved in arthritic conditions,my Doc's PA gave me a scrip for indomethecin,also called "Indocin" for my gout.It worked so well for me I wondered if it was a controlled substance,but it isn't.Just an anti-inflammatory.Lefty,if your diagnosis includes a lot of inflammation,you might ask your doc if that med is appropriate for you.

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