Sue, I sympathise with your mum. I didn't realise that RA doesn't affect the topmost finger joints, and, what I thought was a flare up in some of them that would settle, is developing osteoarthritis. I've also been told that I must come off steroids, which I've been taking for the past 5 years, so while my joints are starting to complain during the reduction and eventual replacement with an increase in one of my other drugs, I'm having a bit of difficulty gripping things because my thumbs are particularly painful.
What I've always been told is to get pain under control by taking the maximum dose of painkillers to begin with. It's like coming downstairs with pain at the top. You take a dose of painkillers and the pain comes down two steps, as that dose wears off, the pain goes up one step. The next dose bring you down two more steps and gradually up one as it wears off. So eventually the pain will reach the bottom of the stairs, and you can start taking a maintenance dose, or stop altogether if the cause of the pain has been eased. Transferring load to a larger joint is wise, so, for instance, instead of trying to hold a cup and saucer with fingers, put it on a tray and rest the tray across your lower arms so your elbows are taking the weight. Put potatoes and other vegetables in the type of wire basket that you find in chip pan, and put that in your saucepan of water. When the vegetables are cooked lift out the vegetables in the basket, and then lift the saucepan and water - lighter than vegetables, water and saucepan. I don't believe in 'old wives tales' and alternative therapies - done't see how they can work, but the physio' who treated me after my knee replacement said that magnetic bracelets can work if you're sensitive to them, and not everyone is. She said that all cells have a positive and a negative end, and if they become misaligned you can experience pain. If you're sensitive to magnets, then a magnetic bracelet can realign them and ease the pain. I had a rigid open-ended one with a magnet at each end, and it worked. But I react to some metals, and the bracelet caused intense irritation so I stopped wearing it. However last week I found one made completely of magnetic beads on memory wire so there's no metal to irritate. That too is giving me relief. Crafts gloves can help some people - like tight fitting mittens. I have soft splints to wear during the day if I need to - they can be bought at disabled living shops - and rigid ones for night time, but I don't wear them because they make my hands more painful not less. There's no way I'd give up my crafts unless they were impossibe. I had to give up knitting and learned bobbin lacemaking instead. I pick the bobbins up by the spangles - that's most comfortable for me. My rheumatologist said last week "It's your illness. How you manage it is entirely up to you. You know what you can do and what you can't. You know what you're prepared to sacrifice and what you're not, while still maintaining the quality of life you want. You also know that if something cause you pain, it's proably not doing you a lot of good, but again it's your choice." Hope your mum finds something to give her relief. Jean in Poole To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
