Advice for Better Living Archives

1/18/00

I need a good book on arthritis. I plan on giving it to family and friends to help them educate themselves about my disease. Can anyone recommend a couple of good, easy to understand books?

And your answers:

I personally liked the AF book Arthritis A comprehensive guide to understanding your Arthritis. It is a bit lengthy for most un-arthritics but, very informational. -Toni

A good book is arthritis for dummies, I received it for Christmas. -Ropappa

The arthritis foundation has a great book dealing with rheumatoid arthritis,
that is informative and easy to read. It also presents all different types
of therapies and does not dismiss those that may be considered
unconventional. Hope this helps. -Alan

You can find a list of the books I keep on my desk in the Book Nook. I think all of them are great for the non-medical person. -Tina

1/11/01

Hi,

I came across this site and was delighted with it. I am 52 years old and
have severe RA.
Had my knees replaced last year. Have had it since 1991. Now my ankles,
wrists and fingers are "going". I need to talk with someone about when you
know it is time to get hand surgery? I am not in severe pain with the
hands--but they look like something out of a horror movie. As long as they
work and I am not in alot of pain do I let them be? Hand surgery (fingers)
seem to be a bigger decision to make than the knees. My knuckles are very
large and ugly. Someone please give me some advice. I take metho and
celebrex.

No doubt about it, it is a tough choice to make. My hands look pretty good right now so I can't say what I would do when they begin to look like my Grandma's. It's easy for me to say I would not have it done for cosmetic reasons, but ask me again in a few years!

I did have hand surgery a couple of years ago but it was due to limited function. When my hands could not move in the way needed to handle surgical instruments, I basically had two choices, quit or do the surgery. I did it and it was sucessful, no regrets! ~Tina

I think surgery is a very personal decision. I'm 26 and have been diagnosed for about a year and ½ & my hands are very ugly! My knuckles are extremely large, I have synovial bubbles on the backs of both hands and nodules on a few of my fingers and my elbows.

With the help of my doctor and a close circle of friends and family, I have decided not to have surgery. They don't limit my movement and they still work (or as well as I think they would if they were strait anyway!). My doctor also has said that recovering from surgery may even be worse than RA and that it could be a long recovery.

I'm self conscience of my hands so I have my nails done every 2 weeks! That way I can stay focused on the good parts of my hands and people notice the polish more than they notice the lumps!

Good luck! ~Lucian Dale

I had both wrists worked on and MIPs replaced in both hands last year at the age of 49. My right hand had severe disfigurement. It was reasonably strong but I could not completely unclench it or use my fingers independantly/say for writing on a keyboard or long hand. Could'nt shuffle cards either.>g< Could'nt shake hands. I can now. Replacing the MIPS and fusing the left wrist are the best things that have happened to me in the 20 years of dealing with RA. The left wrist was completely collapsed and painful and weak. It is beautiful and straight now. So are all my fingers. I was so happy that one of the great side benefits of getting the surgeries done was how much it contributed to my self-esteem and general interactions with new people. On the more practical side there is no pain/you might be surprised at how much pain there really is. I was. I didnt think pain for my right hand was really a major issue. Once I got thru post-surgical therapy I became aware of a level of what I call 'noise' that was gone. Long-term RAer's integrate certain levels of pain ('noise') into the background of our consciousness without always being aware we are doing it. It is logical when you keep it in the perspective of our ability to survive and live thru damn near anything as a species but I wont give you my Mead lecture.>g< I believe what my surgeon (great surgeon) said about getting this kind of work done earlier as opposed to later. I am a fast healer. He was suprised as were my therapists at how quickly I healed soft tissue. It was nearly a problem and in the second surgery he left my fingers extremely loose so I would get maximum range of movement. This is a huge factor in the success of surgeries involving as much soft tissue as hand surgeries do. A practice used more and more over the last year is the casting of the entire hand following an MIP replacement surgery. This would have been devastating in my case. I would have healed up before the cast came off and left with little range of motion. I used a device called the Wave Flex Hand CPM System. I wore it constantly for 3 months. It continuosly moved my fingers/was portable/had a small computer interface that was programmable. I highly recommend it for folks whose soft tissue is healing too quickly to develop full range of motion. I could apparently go on and on. I will stop here and just say that it was a difficult decision for me to make and it worked out well for me. I was in therapy with several people that didnt have the success I did. I will be forwarding some images and material written by my surgeon to Tina this week. It will get posted somewhere on this site and hopefully be helpful for you and others considering this surgery. Good Luck with your decision. ~johnie

I haven't faced surgery on hands yet. I also am wondering about when that is a good move. I, personally, think I would have it done when pain or functioning is majorally effected. Although I have read about others who had fingers fixed for cosmetic reasons. I would guess I would really talk to my hand-ortho doc and get advice in that area. I will be reading other answers too. Good question! ~Melanie

The holiday season makes it hard enough not to over-eat, but with New Years right around the corner - how do you deal with all the drink offers at parties when I can't have alcohol with my medications? I don't want to appear rude or a prude. Do I explain? Do I say I'm a reformed alcoholic? LOL...Help!

I think you first say "Not for me, thank you", then, if pressed, you say "Sorry, I can't drink at present, have you any soda?", and if pressed further you are obviously in the presence of someone with no manners at all and you can say what you like. I don't see that this is a sensitive subject; lots of people without arthritis refuse a drink every day without causing offence. ~Yvonne

"Thanks, but me and alcohol don't mix well together."
or
"Diet Coke is fine. So that I can stay up till after midnight, I'm gonna
let the folks who get a litle too tipsy entertain me."
or
"Oh no, I'm ok. I'll get one in a minute." ~Mackman

With your hands hurting, how do you applaud a favorite niece or nephew's concert?

It sounds simple, but you could always just nod your approval. My dad did this alot when he attended school events for me. Those nods meant more than 50,000 pairs of hands clapping. ~Rachel

I really can't do the clapping anymore. My nieces and nephews know that. We use a thumbs up signal to show appreciation. I would sit in an easily seen spot and let them know you approve. It caught on with our family and they thumbs up back at me! ~Melanie

Do as the deaf....wave your hands in the air (turning your wrists back and forth-like shaking a tambourine, if able). ~Gerri_mww

Hi: My arthritis is mainly in my hands so I deal with this pain every day! I find if I know I'll be using my hands more at a certain time (like clapping for a loved ones recital), I take my medication 1-2 hours before the 'hands are needed". I also play golf, so I take my meds before I play and the pain is really lessened a lot! I also use a topical cream that I rub into my hands and this also helps a lot, using it just before I really need the hands to work! (If you would like the name of the cream let me know and I'll find my source) Hope this helps. ~Sally

If they are truly lousy performers and you can't fake it because you're on your own, you can make a lot of noise by cupping your hands as you clap them together very softly. the expelled air makes it sound like a real clap. ~Yvonne