Patty, you are doing all the right things. I could recommend one more thing: massage. I see a massage therapist every two weeks. It helps keeping my joints loose and also can help reduce the swelling.

 

Herman, when your joints ache, don't they hurt to touch them? If so, does your massage therapist hurt you to help you, or does he/she start gently?

I have a chiro who has worked my foot over, before I found out I have a bunionette (little toe) and RA. He was killing me! I saw him yesterday and told him not to touch my foot or my finger, but he did do some adjustments on the ankle and wrist.

 

I have grown to favor a multi-disciplinary approach to many of the non-cut-and-dried medical problems many of us encounter. There is a lot of tunnel vision among specialists out there, like chiroprators unwilling to do timely referrals; surgeons with to cut is to cure mentality, physical therapists concluding that something is not wording, etc. For RA a rheumatologist is critical, but perhaps not the endall for stress resolution. For CTS there might have to be a neurologist with preferably occupational hygiene and industrial medicine experience. CTS might require the barbaric old EMG for definitive diagnosis. Industry spends unbeliebably large sums of money on CTS fraud related to disability and workman's compensation. Not your occupational experience, Jerry, but in certain industries distal tingling and sensation loss is pathonomonic for specific heavy metal toxicities.

Just since X-Mas, my daughter Jennifer(39) has seen four different dentists, had ortho wires removed from her jaw by an oral surgeon, referred to an orthodontist for further braces work, had biopsies done by a surgeon, a head CT looking for maxo-facial cancer, etc - all because of unilateral facial swelling. After 6 months and mucho, mucho denaro and a guilt feeling from her oral surgeon, she was finally referred to specialist somebody in Dallas who determined that she had plugged salivary gland ducts and put her on SOUR CANDY to solve the problem. The first dentist should have caught this, but she suggested for her to redo all her fillings and a couple of caps on molars other dentists already had confirmed to be sound. Do you think all this would have happened if she didn't have really good health and denistry insurance? I say NOT. Be judicious and Buyer Beware out there! I may be prone to overreaction here.

 

DAYYUUUMMM!!! Now I'm really impressed with my dentist! I had that problem about 10 years ago. He ran a probe up into the duct, told me it had a bit of a kink in it, and told me to get some tart candy to stimulate the saliva flow.

Just that simple, even though I have BCBS insurance throuh Ford Motor Co.

 

John I don't think you have over reacted at all. What a nightmare and cluster (you know what) your daughter has been through.

It's great when doctor's don't have that tunnel vision you speak of.

Rick's third shoulder surgery only succeeded in the repair aspect of the injury, and did not result in giving him any more range of motion of the arm. We had yet another visit with the ortho guy. He told us he could try a muscle transfer. Move muscle from the back of the shoulder up to the top to hopefully replace some of the muscle lost to atrophy, and maybe that would allow Rick more use of his arm.

We asked a few questions. It was a big surgery, a very uncomfortable brace and long recuperation would be involved.....then he went on to tell Rick. "You don't have pain, you can work, you can do most of the things you enjoy, garden, cook, etc. you might want to leave it at that." We appreciated his honesty and the fact that he was not overzealous to subject Rick to a fourth surgery which didn't have a high rate of success.

I still carry that doctor's business card in my purse. If anything ever happens to Rick's shoulder again. I'm calling him.

 

I guess this is far more common than I thought it was.
Thought I was the only oddball with this.

Hurts like hell when it happens.
although mine was on lower jaw.

 

The joints that have swelling definitely can hurt. The work that the massage therapist does also hurts sometimes when she goes deep. But massaging the swelling can help reduce it. The pain also tends to contract your muscles and the massage can relax them.

 

Patty, when my neck goes into ache mode, the only thing that does help is massage. OTC stuff doesn't touch it, and it's like a bad tooth ache that won't quit.

I feel some soreness after the massage, but overall, it really does help.

 

Well, the Physical Therapist was really of no use. He told me all kinds of stretches I could do, but nothing I haven't heard about before and nothing to alleviate the pain. Just overall body stretches that are fine, but not my reason for going.

He said if I have trigger finger stretching won't help. As far as the foot, he doesn't think it's RA since I don't have it in my right foot too. So, maybe my blood says I have RA but my pain issues are not caused by it? In which case, why take the medication for RA? Seems like ibuprofen is the only thing helping. I will see my RA doctor next week and ask him these questions.

 

Patty, sorry to hear you didn't find relief with the latest doc. I can't speak for anyone other than myself when it comes to arthritis and I don't have your brand. I know that mine flairs up at times to the point I think I can no longer do some activity. Lo and behold after the passage of time - perhaps days, weeks, or many months - I find I can do that activity with a minimum of pain. Arthritis, at least mine, is some funny stuff that's hard to out guess. I really don't think there is any instant cures as you seem on a mission to find. Sometimes it just takes time.

I learned that sometimes a certain area of pain that seems like it will never stop, does stop at least to a level that's ok. Don't ask me why. I try not to dwell on the pain and I believe that helps. I have learned there are somethings I can't do any longer. Lifting something really heavy for example. But sometimes I must bite the bullet; for example, a week or so back I took an engine block I'd picked up at a machine shop to car buddies house. We plan to assemble it together. He refused to wait for some younger guy's to help and insisted on carrying it from my truck across his garage floor. I knew better than to help him but I didn't want to see him hurt himself either. Even though I only carried probably 25% of the weight, my shoulder hurt like blazes for over a week and I could not lift it in certain positions. As time passes, I know this too will pass. Hopefully, a good share of your's will pass as well once it calms down.

Jerry, based on my experience I would never rush to go under the knife for CTS. I could have sworn I had it a few years back and my wrists were extremely painful. I began to think I'd have to stop driving a stick shift and stop fishing as well. This too passed to the point I'm still doing both.

Like I said, I've come to know my body better than I ever really wanted to.... but it's mine. No doubt each of your's is different.