Hi Julia,

Sorry to hear you are suffering.
Yes, it's still early days with the meds so keep on with the painkillers and take them regularly.
Have you seen an occupational therapist? They can give you wrist splints if you need them .
Hope you can get some relief from the pain.

Love, Doreen xx

Hi Julia,

My RA Is mainly in my wrists and its seems that if I use one the other acts up. Dont know if thats the same with you. But they would have me in tears of frustration at times as forced to rest them Anyway i have splints and I tell you need to ask for them because I got messed around. So we may be all different but what helped me was to know that I can use splints when doing repetitive work and at night if my wrists were particularly achy. I had 2 different sizes as my hands would swell and I took the bars out otherwise uncomfortable. Also applying cool packs, some people might use hot and cold it depends on what works for you. Also I hated the look of the splints and got a tennis sweat band and do not recommend it as it restricts you and it may the swelling worse. You may know all this allready but thought its worth letting you know as it took me a long time to understand what I needed to do.

I hope your drugs kick in soon.

Mari

Thanks Mari and Amanda for your thoughts, of great help.

Its such a nuisance, as it restricts you so much not being able to do much, as you say the frustration let alone the pain reduces you to tears. It was only due to our forum that I learnt about splints and OH, saw the GP month ago about splints, to cut it short, sent letter to wrong place, so now waiting for a reply from rheumy nurse at hospital to try and get an appointment. I seem to gather constantly from posts the medical world just don t understand just how painful and debilitating it all is ( you just wish they could have it for one day so they at least understand how we feel and are not trying to impatient or anything ) I m going to Google for hot/cold pads currently using peas and hot water bottle. I will look into the elbow pads Amanda as it does run up my arms and into shoulders, ( have a nodule on my elbow )I wonder if all this has damaged the tendons as well.

Thinking of you Julia x

Hi Julia

Sorry to hear about your hands/wrists; I know exactly where you are coming from! Wax baths are brilliant and will give you a much needed break. Definitely worth the investment

Perhaps worth asking your GP for a slightly stronger pain killer which might help you through this difficult period. I take codydramol during the day and it is very effective. Sounds to me like they have had you reduce the steroids too quickly and it has had a knock on effect. Hopefully the other meds should be kicking in very soon and you will find some improvement.

When you get your splints fitted do make sure that they feel right for you. Taking the metal bar out is not really recommended as that is what gives the splint the support you need, without it there is no support! The bar can be adjusted (bent) to fit neatly into the palm of your hand (they might tell you otherwise!). The other thing is, and I know this sounds really silly, make sure they are fitted the right way round! I know someone who spent two months in a lot of discomfort because she was instructed to wear the splint with the support bar along the back of her hand!!! Painful or what?!

Let us know how you go on Julia.

Lyn x

Thanks Amanda and Melly

Have just been on Argos, sounds brilliant and very good reveiws, and am getting one asap. The joint protection course sounds very interesting and when I DO get an appointment for splints will discuss this point.

Lots of best wishes,

Love Julia x

AH GOOD, WAS JUST WHIZZING DOWN THREAD TO SAY MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ANTI-INFLAMMS WHEN I SAW oops sorry caps lock, didn't mean to 'shout' that your GP had prescribed diclofenac. Excellent, for some weird reason i find it much more effective on the smaller joints than the larger, so hopefully that will help you a lot. I do find however that after a few days of it, I get nauseous a lot, but that omeprazoletkane just once a day stops it in its tracks.