Arthritic hands

oh I'm going to watch this thread as I have these problems and my own daughter, 23, was diagnosed last year with arthritis in her hands AND knees.

There is some useful advice with regard to athritis on the 'Aches and Pains' thread (in the Health forum).

As a new gran on the site it was some comfort to know that i,m not the only one with arthritic hands . I to susiecb drop things and I seem to b getting worse . My family doctor says I can have injections into the fingers or just have to put up with it ,.Scary stuff isn,t it . Help anybody .

I do find trying not to let my hands get too cold or too hot does keep the swelling in some sort of check. I knit to try to stay felxible and play golf. unfortunatley I have got it (arthritis) everywhere as my mother had and sadly one of my daughters does and the best thing of all is positive thinking but there must be something else musn't there? My typing gets very funny and my daughters laugh at my e-mails which i dont spell check as they do come out quite funny at times. I get cross with dropping things as I was never clumsy before and you should see my cooks' burns. Ah well today is a family birthday party for one of the gansdosn who is seven so fun in the sun we hope in cambridge . I hope you all have a lovely day. (I can't make the smiley thing work so imagine me beaming at you). xx

Thanks twizzle , went o the thread for aches & pains and there was a good tip from nanafrances. I,m going to try this as it sounds helpful .
will let you know how I get on . x

Sorry should have said the recomendation was 1 spoonful each of cider vineger , hot water and honey . x

It certainly worked for my dad. His hands were virtually useless before he started eliminating the citric acid from his diet and drinking that concoction every morning. His hands were free from pain and swelling in a matter of weeks. I do hope it helps you too.

As I said on the other thread, I couldn't manage without my Turmeric tablets. They are amazing for arthritis, and can be obtained from health food shops. If you google turmeric tabs you can see their uses. Of course as they are a spice they are quite safe.

Thanks for all the advice , will definately try the cider vineger and the tumeric tablets . I,m very fit and active and it is so frustrating that I cannot open jars etc . Had to have my wedding ring made bigger yesterday as it just would not go over the swollen nuckle . Will keep you all informed of progress . Any info gladly recieved . Thanks all . x

I think this is about what suits some people doesnt suit others. My mother took the cider vinegar etc for years and it made no difference to her at all but she had rheumatoid arthritis. I have SLE (lupus) so its joints and connective tissue and can be internal organs. Add to that I'm a positivist and if the scientific evidence isnt there then I have little faith in it. My brother in law has now weekly injections (at enormous cost to the NHS ado not available to all) and his rheumatoid has all but disappeared. Here in Leics my appointment with the rheumatologist has been cancelled with no appointment on the forseeable future (she is very busy I am told!!!). I'm just trying to keep my joints active and mobile, not to hot not too cold and every day I wake up with another swollen joint and a new lump on another finger. I find chocolate and wine helps my mood if not my joints!!!

I'm another with swollen and lumpy fingers, some days they are more painful than others and definitely getting worst. I can't bend several of my fingers. I find it difficult to do up little buttons and dressing Barbie dolls not so easy nowadays

Susie I like the chocolate and wine tip, must try it!

Hello all of you , Ive also been told that cider vineger only works for some , but it,s worth a try I think . I to love the choc and wine bit . Sounds lovely .

It is very comforting to know that quite a few of us have arthritic finger joints, including me. I have had swollen finger joints since my mid-fifties starting on my right hand first and they are now on my left hand. I take glucosamine every day and rub on 'Blue-ease gel' from Holland and Barrett (£10.99 sometimes on offer but lasts a long time) twice a day and think it helps a bit, but try to keep my fingers moving and not let them get too cold especially in winter. I really hate the look of my hands though, one of my friends suggested to me about going to get my fingernails painted and I put it off as I am embarrassed about the look of my hands.

I have arthritic hands and I was interested in the citric acid nanafrancis mentioned but couldn't find the other thread and nanapippa spoke of turmeric tablets. I know turmeric is a super food and I use it in curries but didn't realise it was beneficial for arthritis. I just looked up natural news which I have regularly emailed to me and it is actually an amazing herb and there is a whole page about tumeric.
www.naturalnews.com/turmeric.html
Milo's advice takes me back, years ago my mother used to take cider vineger but had it with molasses. I can't remember why she was taking it though. Another thing I was planning on doing this weekend was buy some knitting needles and a crochet hook susiecb so its good to know that might help too. Thanks ladies for the helpful information!

You might diminish the pain in your hands if you wear a pair of mittens or gloves in bed, especially during the winter months.

I would really like to know the difference between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and whether these remedies work for both.

I gave up the Glucosamine about a year ago having read that it did no good after all. Hands (and knees) no better or worse since, but here comes the winter - always more sore and swollen in the cold. I do not know if knitting and crochet helps overall but find that I have to stop after an hour or hands are very sore the next day.

I find the same, G23. Short bursts only nowadays of anything that requires intensive hand use. I have worn long wrist warmers in bed before now, ones that are long enough that I can pull them right down over my hands. The fact that they are open also means I can push them back a little if required but don't have to take them off. It does help. Ditto ankle warmers.

I've suffered Osteo-Arthritis in most joints , had a hip replaced and spinal surgery, I have tried all of the things mentioned above at some time in the last 20yrs and found none of them help at all. You have to give them a good 4/6 mth trial though as different things help different people , my OH swears by his copper wrist band but I found them useless, likewise Glucosamine and Rose Hip and all the other things that have been recommended. I find taking the Anti-inflammatory Meds my GP gives me , regular swimming/walking and knitting keep the pain and swelling at a tolerable level. I occasionally take Ibuprofen on a bad day but if you have Osteo-Arthritis the pain is at its worst while the changes are taking place in the joint then the pain can subside but you are left with less range of movement and changes to the bone in the joints hence the nodes on fingers and in my case toes as well.. its certainly a very debilitating desease but you have to keep moving , I do things in half hour stints , work for half an hour then a short rest and that way although it takes me longer I find I can keep going.. my joints seize up if I don't move them often.. I rarely sit still for more than half an hour .
If you are suffering do see your GP and see if Anti-inflammatories are suitable for you they do help I couldn't manage without them.

sorry I didn't mean to write a book..lol

I had arthritis in the joint below the thumb and above the wrist. X-ray showed significant deterioration and the surgeon did a trapeziectomy which has proved completely successful. I used to wake up at night with the pain and go to sleep with my hand under the pillow to keep it warm! Nowadays I never even have to think about it. Can't snap the fingers on my right hand though. Together with the hip replacement and the part shoulder replacement, the NHS has done me proud. My osteo arthritis has been very selective and at the moment I don't seem to have any problems - apart from polymyalgia rheumatica, but that's another story altogether.

I have a book called Dr Ali's nutrition bible which tells you which foods to eat or avoid with certain conditions. It doesn't 'cure' arthritis, but can prevent further debilitating attacks. It makes sense to me given that gout is a form of arthritis and diet plays a very big role in it's occurence. It advocates lots of use of turmeric for example and occasional fasting, all of which have been shown to be beneficial for one's health. A few weeks ago I did some decorating and the pain in my thumb joint the next day was excruciating [sp]; I asked the doctor for some Fenbid gel [now I'm 60 I make a point of not paying for anything] but it went after a day [although I did put some sort of anti inflammatory on for a couple of nights when it happened]. I found the thought of not being able to use my right hand very frightening [my left thumb joint has ben a problen for years]. I used to be so proud of my hands as well . I just read that they are doing a lot of reseach into ME in America [at last!]. Given that the medical profession seemed to poo poo this condition for a long time, just because doctors say something isn't proven to work doesn't make me stop using it [some of ours advocate the use of glucosamine]. I'm not saying it does work, but it's worth trying anything, even if it has a placebo effect. As long as you're not forking out lots of money on it that you can't afford, that is.

Hunt, osteo-arthritis is the arthritis that all of us develop to some extent as we get older. It is the result of wear and tear on our joints and some of us are more pre-disposed to it than others,some of it alos comes from some occupational activities.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease you develop at any time of life. Its cause is uncertain and its onset can be quite rapid, my DDiL has just been told she may have RA. I have met people who have been diagnosed with it in their 20s. It used to be devastatingly disabling and when I worked with disabled older people I used to say to my husband that I would rather have dementia than RA, nowadays with new drug therapies the outlook is much better.

There is programme on television tonight 'Food Hospital' that is going to deal with the effects of the food you eat on RA.

There are some silky gloves which leave the fingers free which quilters go for. Look on the Creative Quilter website (or similar).

Creatve Grids has a good selection(I am not advertising -they are well known to all quilters Gransnet team)