At this present time I am working on orders from last Summer.I have been plagued with arthritis in my right wrist and sometimes cramping and loss of control in the fingers of that hand.I work when I can for about 5 hours and then have to stop when the pain flairs up. I won't over load on patent medicines like Advil or Aleve and am on no other medications. My wife made an eye exam appointment with an eye doctor for this coming Friday and the person she talked to almost fainted when told that at age 79 I took no medications for anything. I'm old,not sick and THANK GOD for that.
Bob Roller
Bob, I have osteoarthitis in all my joints, including my spine. It is really bad in my wrist and fingers because I use them all the time. I take a regular, twice a day, dose of prescription ibuprofen (Advil), naprosen (Alieve) or diclofenac. These are anti-inflamatories and can help with arthritis as well as a number of other things if you take them regularly. You do have to switch off from time to time as you build up a tolerance.
This and a lot of other medicine is the only way I can work at all. I am only 53 and I have lots of pain from lots of sources, mostly neurological problems and arthritis. At best, I can only work 4-5 hours a day in the shop on a regular basis. The thing is, that drawing, painting, and working on the computer is almost as hard on my wrists as making guns. Most nights, I need narcotics to sleep because of the pain in my hands. I also have to elevate my left arm on a pillow and elevate my feet (I have an adjustable bed). It is the only way I can relieve the pain enough to get to sleep.
If you can do without the drugs, great, but don't suffer needlessly, just because you don't want to take the pills. I am not saying that you are doing that, but some people do. I was only taking the ibuprophen and naprosen (over the counter, but in prescription does) when I was really hurting. My doctor pointed out to me that these were anti-inflammatory drugs and NOT analgesics (pain killers); it was best to take anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular basis. They are more effective that way.
You don't want to do that without discussing it with your doctor, but it might be worth a discussion. If you have rheumatoid arthritis then that is a whole other kettle of fish that would require seeing a rheumatologist for much more serious drugs. I suspect, however, that you have the run of the mill osteoarthritis that comes from over use and old age.
It runs in my family, everybody has it from a relatively young age; but most people get it if they live long enough. There are lots of anti-inflammatory compounds to treat it, both natural and man made. You really should be using one or more of them. Like I said, there is no reason to suffer more than you have to. However, the best way to treat osteoarthritis is to do as much as you are physically able on a regular basis.
I can't even roll over in bed when I wake in the morning. My spine and all my joints are that stiff. It takes a while to get everything moving, but once I do, things are pretty good for most of the day, and even the painful activity each day reduces my overall pain. Pain can be a vicious cycle where pain begets pain if it limits your activity. It is a downward spiral that is always tough to stop or slow down. Heaven forbid, if you have to work your way back up. I am sure you already realize that.
Any, this was meant to be a pep talk. I am not sure how peppy it was.
