In the beginning

 I had had trigger finger for a while - it had been treated once but came back. It wasn't a big deal. My fourth fingers stuck once in a while but it was nothing I couldn't cope with. Then came November 2023...

At 67 I wasn't ready to retire yet so I was working as a supply Primary School supply teacher. One morning when I got up my fingers felt stiffer and sorer than usual - bit of a problem but it improved during the day so no biggie.

Over the next couple of weeks it got progressively worse and my hands took forever to ease off. I managed to get an appointment with my doctor and he diagnosed what I had already suspected - that I had arthritis. What I hadn't realised at the time was that there were different types of arthritis.

I was put on strong anti-inflammatory tablets and had a blood test arranged for a few weeks time. 

To my intense frustration the tablets did nothing - my hands got worse, I developed pain in my shoulders and elbows and my neck was stiff. I carried on working and even went to a music festival.

Things just got worse. I found turning over in bed massively difficult, getting out of bed was a major operation and there were times when I could not dress myself. A couple of times my wife drove me to work where I managed as best as I could.

I had my blood test and then came a phone call from my doctor asking me to come in for a second blood test and then for a face to face appointment a couple of days after Christmas.

Christmas was not the best - the worst came on Christmas Eve when I found that, not only could I not cook my boiled eggs, I couldn't even feed them to myself. Opening Christmas presents was not exactly easy but I got through it.

My appointment with the doctor confirmed that I had rheumatoid arthritis and I was put on steroids as a temporary measure until I could see a rheumatologist - although that may be in six weeks time.

The steroids were amazing - and within twelve hours my hand movement fully returned and the pain in my arms had more or less gone.

And that's where I am right now. I still have twinges and slight pains in my shoulders from time to time and I am very conscious that my hands don't feel right - not exactly painful, but not exactly pain free either. It's difficult to describe!

I will update this blog when I have seen the specialist - or even before if I can think of anything to say.

Feel free to get in touch.

Rob

Comments

  1. Anonymous5 February 2024 at 05:45

    I enjoy reading your blogs. And agree, that reading to much isn't always good. I have been diagnosed with post polio syndrome, and went home to start reading anything I could. But it didn't make a nice read, and filled me with dread. So sometimes, just best wait and see. Cope with the here and now. X

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's been a while - sorry.

I only just realised that I haven't posted anything for over a month. Apologies but it's been down to the "living" part of arthritis. During the time we have been at a Costa Festival in Hayling Island. Loads of excellent bands but my highlights were The Albion Christmas Band, Banter, Bryony Griffith and Alice Jones, and Phil Beer. Among the artists new to me were The Often Herd, and Keith Donnelly (just never say "bear with me" to me!) If you have never experienced a Costa Festival you are really missing out. They are held indoors and accommodation and, breakfast and evening meals are included. The artists, both established and unknown are usually brilliant and there have been very few that I have not enjoyed. What really makes these festivals though are the people that we have met. We have made a bunch of brilliant friends at them and can't wait for the next one in Ibiza - although we are meeting up with quite a few Scottish Costa goers in Edinburgh at ...
Read more

Hot weather and all that.

One of the questions that I get asked a lot is - "Does hot weather affect your arthritis?" Well, having spent most of a week in Portugal I can now conclusively reveal my answer which is - "I really have no idea!" While it is true that I had a couple of almost pain free days while in Portugal, I also had one of my worst nights followed by a terrible morning. To be honest I hope that it is the  Sulfasalazine that is kicking in which is lessening the pain. At least then I have hope that things will be better all year round rather than just for a few weeks of the year. I seem to have one side effect of taking  Sulfasalazine though. I have a sort of metallic taste in my mouth pretty much all of the time. Mints do help so I suppose that it is better that most of the other side effects that I could have had. One thing that I have found in the past couple of weeks is that there are real benefits to using a stick when flying. Without me asking it has allowed myself and Maria...
Read more

Standing too long hurts!

I went to Hampden on Saturday to watch The Dons play Celtic in the league cup semi final and the least said about the result the better. Another real downside was that if I wanted to see anything I had to stand. I didn't realise that standing for so long was going to be so painful. It also took forever to walk back to the car - thankfully I wasn't driving. The worst was yet to come though! I stayed overnight in Glasgow and, as usual, I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. Getting out of bed was a struggle but walking was incredibly painful and difficult. If there is a next time I must remember to take painkillers before I go to bed. At the moment the worst thing about my arthritis is the stiffness and pain in my hands. They have been worse though. During my worst time my hands were totally immovable and I found it difficult to hold things. They are not as bad as that at the moment, although a couple of weeks ago, after the Steve Knightly gig, both hands were ...
Read more