Arthritis anyone??

C Craft

C Craft

Well-Known Member
Do any of youall experience arthritis?? I have a lifetime of injuries related to working in the construction field from about age 14, part time and over the next 30 yrs I maintained a 40 hr work week at least, and usually another 20+ hours on the weekend for myself before, I got hurt in a 5 car pileup and had to have a back fusion! Which pretty much ended my career even though I continued to piddle for the next few years.

Any way all those injuries seem to be coming back to haunt me now. I ain't just talking about the occasional wake up and oh that hurts. Last week I experienced a wake up Tuesday morning to find I could barely move and some joints and injuries were hurting sooooooooooooo bad I would have cried if I thought it would help!
I toughed it out for a couple of days and went to the doctor Thursday and basically got the, "it's hell to get old speech"! :what!: No kidding but, I kind of feel this is something more as the pain was in multiple joints at one time. The doctor put me on steroids, which I hate because I could eat anything that doesn't move fast enough to get out of the way and the steroids do not always play nice with my body! Usually on the taper down side I have horrendous cramps even though I take extra precautions in and attempt to avoid them.

The joint pain was so intense I could not seem to get any relief. Let alone do any knife related things or even able to fix my broken dryer! Last night I had enough relief to put the new parts in my broken dryer and get it back running so today I am gonna attack some knife related things!

So I guess what I am saying here is, does anyone else have those days where Arthur makes his visit to all parts of the body at the same time or should I be worried that this is more than normal pain?? I have had a couple of areas hurt at the same time but I really feel this was different I was hurting in six or eight joint so bad that moving was a real effort!!! Nothing like the hurt Arthur had given me before!!!
 
Ya those old guys were right when I was a kid. They all said you will pay for that later. Now I am the ol' guy and I say the same thing to the younger guys at work and play! I crashed out about seven years ago. I was racing 50+ year old Expert DOWNHILL bicycle. Lots of damage to the body. Here is a taste of Mammoth Mountain Ca. where the National Championship is held. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVjZ9P1Mb0g
 
I too have some joint pain, mostly in my overworked areas like wrists and knuckles. If I eat certain things it gets worse, much worse. No acidity foods like tomatoes. Its nearly impossible but if I stay away from wheat I feel much better too. I see there is gluten free stickers at the grocery stores now. Read "Wheat Belly" and you may never touch the stuff again. Study the "Palio" or the "Bullet Proof" diets. Perfect diets for men, who doesn't like meat? No potatoes at all. It all takes will power to eat right but it pays off with less pains. Not pretty to talk about but the gut needs work too. Probiotics are a must especially if you have been on anti-biotics any time at all.
 
Yeah, there was a time when if I couldn't lift something, well..............I just didn't get a good enough grip on it. Need a ladder to get off of a house not if it was one story just jump and take the spring in my legs and back. OH yeah I am paying for all that. Not to mention all the things that got hurt along the way and I was always told no blood or gut hanging out get back to work. When I start doing the run down on the different joints of my body its like a who's who of what got messed up here and there over the years!
Bruce, I hate to say it but you maybe on to something with the diet thing. I really had not given that too much thought! I have had gout for several years and I know it is highly diet influenced.

This flare up got me worried that maybe I was looking at something else. My daughter was recently diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. Something I passed onto her from my genes, at least the psoriasis side of it. Damn of all things you don't want to do is pass something bad to your children!! Well at least she got her good looks from her Mama!

I may have to approach this with a different train of thought because the diet side maybe my down fall. I have been cooking since I was a kid and after I got my back messed up in a 5 car pile-up I took over cooking for the household. Not bragging as some of my creations are not too good but most are pallet pleasing, as my giant gut will attest too! Sooooooooooo may have to have a talk with the cook, if you know what I mean!!
 
I'm really banged up and I have to walk with forearm crutches, which make my hands and shoulders really sore, plus I have a lot of problems with my hands. My doctor called it "trigger finger". It makes my fingers curl up to the palm of my hand. He told me he my problem was caused by the tunnels the tendons go through through, but before he did surgery on them he wanted to try some kind of shots. They worked great!!! Now I have to have something done with the thumb on my right hand. It locks up and makes me resort to my old senior NCO language at time and it flat hurts. The problems with my left hand can't be fixed without more neck surgery and that's out as far as I'm concerned. One time was enough. Yup, getting old is no fun at times. I had a lot of fun getting in this shape though, so I can't really complain to much. Hang in there.
 
I have had back surgery. It took away the pain but left me with very little strength in my lower unit. It has slowed me down and I have gained a little weight from the aging process.

Both of my shoulders are going out. They pop and creek all the time.

If I did not have a desk job, I would be unemployable. Life takes a toll on everyone. Very few get to the age of 50 with a perfect body. All that fun you had as a child tends to creep up on you as you slowly age.

You just have to find a way to overcome the setbacks and keep plodding forward. Getting old isn't pretty but it beats the heck out of the only other alternative.

DeMo
 
You guys are more fun than a barrel full of monkeys! :what!::biggrin: Seriously, I think I just got a little freaked out the other day but when I woke up its like, a who' who of injuries and they are all reporting in at the same time!

Right ankle, check broke that kicking a stump by hey I caught the long bomb,

Right knee blew that out years ago and had it operated on,

Right hip, I think that has to do with the lower back fusion years ago and how it changed the way I walk nowdays,

Left shoulder hurt that real bad falling off of an 8' wall backwards onto the concrete, while hitting several 2x4 braces on the way down,

Left wrist snapped that when a pair of post hole diggers hit a stump a foot in the ground on some the hardest clay I have ever seen.

Right shoulder, dropped a 600lb, steel fletch beam on it, after it grazed me in the head!

I crawled out of bed and stood there a moment and it was like, all on the same day, what the heck is going on! Did anyone not report in and then is when the trigger finger thing Tom Militano was speaking of reported in as I reached for a drink of water to wash down some pills. Tom does it feel like your finger gets hung and won't open and then all of the sudden it pops loose and opens. Your kind of like saying, your a tad later there ain't you mister finger. It started with my thumb on the right hand and then the trigger finger.

That maybe from a beam falling on it, and smashing my hand between the window sill and an old beam we were taking out. I have never had something hurt so bad and swell so quickly. I grabbed my hand with the other and doubled over, said an array of colorful words. The guy I was working with asks man are you OK?? Not really that hurt about as bad as anything I ever remember. I uncovered my hand and the other one that got hit is now has a split that runs from the tip of my index finger all the way across to the backside of the hand.
The hand has already in about 3 min. turned purple and blue and is swelled twice its size. I told him go to my truck there is a clean t-shirt laying in the seat and bring it to me. I had him spread it out on some saw horses, now fill it full of ice out of the water cooler. I wrapped it around the hand tied it off and said let go to the hospital, your driving!! Took 32 stitches to close and broke the hand in two places!

I guess now I think back on it, it was mostly fun getting this way. If I had known then what I now, I would have problem drank a few more drinks and chased a few more women but, hey I caught the only one that ever meant anything to me. Must have stuck too, 38yrs this December! Yea boy, its been fun!!!!:les: :35:
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That's exactly how it feels. The finger gets hung and all of a sudden it pops loose. My right thumb is going to need something more than a shot though. When it pops loose it will bring back all the words I learned in the US Marine Corps and the US Army, it flat hurts. I have an appointment next week with my orthopedic doctor. Today's the first time I'll be back in my shop in a while. I've been in the hospital for congestive heart disease, a fall, and now I have to get a bad tear in my stomach lining repaired. When I went to see the surgeon he told me that he couldn't operate on me without clearance from my cardiologist, I've had four bypasses. The did an EKG, a CT scan, and a nuclear stress test. They said the stress test showed an irregularity that needed to be checked out asap. Next was a heart cath and they found the artery going into my heart was 85% blocked, so they put a stent in. The funny part is that I've never had a chest pain in my life. Hang in there, I don't know a knifemaker that isn't kind of banged up. You just adapt and go on.
 
Dang Tom the rest of your medical history sounds a lot like mine, I had a quad bypass back in 2010! I have all this stuff wrote down on a card I keep in my walled cause when they ask its just easier to hand them the card! :biggrin:

You hang it there and take care of yourself! Me I plan on fighting right up the moment I see St. Peter at the pearly gates and he says, "hey I told you your ticket had been punched", who me, your sure you got the right guy!!:happy:

At least I do hope its that gate, never know if I don't change my wicked ways!! I get all sort of responses when I say stuff like that, my take is I figure God has a sense of humor, he gave us one!!:3:
 
I've also had neck surgery, knee surgery, back surgery, hand surgery, a stroke, type 2 diabetic from agent orange in Vietnam, lost the use of my right foot and have to wear a brace built into my shoe that buckles around my leg just below the knee, have to walk with forearm crutches, two strains of malaria, and a few other things. I had a ball getting in this shape though and would do it all again. It's off to the shop for a while.
 
Sheesh! We all sure sound pathetic LOL:sad: I'm a veteran of two back surgeries one neck, two trigger finger surgeries & four eye surgeries, and a insulin dependent diabetic and I won't bore everyone with list of all of the other, accidents & "Issues" LOL

I've woken up in the morning with darn near every joint in my body in pain and on fire! LOL.
Bruce is on to something with diet.


I avoid soda's sugar and diet.
I drink WATER! and lots of it everyday. Almost one gallon a day.
I avoid processed meats, particularly Salami, Bologna any of them with high salt and other preservatives.
I only have one small bag of Potato chips about every other week with my noon sandwich. Very high in salt.

Mt wife is Gluten intolerant and allergic to cow cheeses, so to give support I stopped with the delivery pizza/cheese etc a few years ago and am working on eliminating wheat from my diet as well.

This one is going to be a tough one guys but I stopped drinking beer and all other alcohol :what!: and I think the beer in particular was adding to swelling in my joints.

If your knuckles and wrists give you all kinds of pain & trouble and locking up on you?

Here's what i do.
Get a old steamer pot, with a lid deep enough to submerge your hand past your wrist.

Buy on ebay or use old canning wax. Melt it till liquified and test that its warm but doesn't burn your skin. Submerge your hands one at a time and hold them in there for 3-5 minutes then remove your hand, let the wax on it cool & peel all the wax off, repeat with your other hand. It really gets the swelling in the joints down and increases my dexterity.

Stay STRONG my Friends!
 
Couldn't you just see us all getting together, I can see it now. It would proabably go something like this:

Anyone want a beer?

Naw, its OK I had to quit them anyway, couldn't get the dog to pop the top for me anymore, and my trigger finger hangs up every time I try to open one now days,

Well I was wondering who was going to get you up so you could get me a beer anyway!!!

Can you still see your way to the fridge, old timer??

No, but I got a rope tied to the door so I can braille my way!

Huh, what you say, you need more heat on the forge???

Forge ain't lit!!!

Well I smell something,

Errr,.......... I had some summer sausage, crackers and cheese earlier...........

That's what I smell cheese............:55:

Oh, no he won't be able to walk in the morning, gout you know!!!

What you say???????

Has anyone seen my glasses, what, what, OH damn there on top of my head again, ain't they????
Pathetic bunch ain't we!:s12137:

OK, I get it guys my Doc was right, "its the price you pay for the ticket to ride"!!!
 
"its the price you pay for the ticket to ride"!!! I like that and it's true. I have to go to a Marine Corps League meeting this morning and when I get home I'm hitting the shop again. Yesterday was the first time I worked out there in a good while and the knife making bug bit me again. I have to clean the place up before I can do anything, it's a mess. I had my son help me lower my benches so I can work sitting down. The hardest thing for me was learning to grind while sitting.

 
I was talking with a friend that is in the medical field. He isn't a doctor but very educated. He works in a new field that does stem cell injections. He claims it works very well and will restore the area where arthritis exists. Anybody have experience with stem cell therapy? My doctor suggests trying too but I need to travel as Wally Wally is too small.
 
If I would have known I was going to live this long...I sure would have taken better care of myself. :) :)
 
For some reason I have very little arthritis ? Maybe some bursitis in right shoulder . I am sure genetics have a lot to do with it as does environment also is a major factor . I played high school sports , track and soccer. Had some injuries when younger 2 herniated lumbar discs . It hurt for a years. I lost a lot of weight and used gravity bed and back does not bother me much at all.

I still lift weights for stamina , lighter weights more reps. My next birthday I will be 70. I have had many health problems , including quite a few life threatening conditions . I think the answer is stay fit and as trim as you can get .
so hard to do that.

I just finished Hep C program and I feel much better , although I looked like I came from concentration camp LOL... I feel sorry for folks with serious arthritis . My grandmaw had it pretty bad , curled fingers and all.

I heard a saying the other day " you don't see too many big heavy old people" . Everyone stay fit and safe . as popeye once said , "you got to have some muskells"...... even if they are skinny ones Take care as always Bubba
 
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Been there- some days are much worse... According to the VA math I'm 90% disabled; my math when I add up the disabilty totals 277%...


That being said, there is something to diet changes and arthritis- I can tell when I've been eating garbage as opposed to healthier food.

Last week there was one day I could barely move, One thing that does help me at least is to slowly stretch and warm up/ cool down before and after doing anything more than walking around.
 
Man are you right on with the food quality. When I eat junk mmmmm I always have some problems post scarfing frenzy. Especially processed meats and , like cold cuts . And bread that has to much hydrogenated vegetable oil.

It seems as you age your stomach does too . Home cooked whole foods are the best . I have a garden every year . I think some of the additives in processed foods may cause food allergies , and digestive problems.

If you can get some free range chickens and beef, I would try it for a while and see how you feel . Some arthritis is auto immune ... bad stuff . Home grown tomateers and free range meat seem to make me feel much better ?

stretching and warming up is the best thing you can do. I do them every morning and I don't have arthritis just some mild bursitis in right shoulder. It prevents injuries and helps with the pain , I get from forging and exercising.

Good probiotics help with digestion and help really boost immune system . 80% of your immune system is in stomach. I got sick from a virus once . But, I have not had cold or flue in 15-20 years.. After getting sick with virus I have been watching what I eat . never hurts to give alternative foods a try . I think we spend half of our life beating ourselves up and the other half trying to fix it . Guess I am the later. so do them pushups and walk , and whatever you like to for exercise and a little fun . Because life is very short, might as well fell good as long as we can........... Bubba
 
Bruce Bump said:
I was talking with a friend that is in the medical field. He isn't a doctor but very educated. He works in a new field that does stem cell injections. He claims it works very well and will restore the area where arthritis exists. Anybody have experience with stem cell therapy? My doctor suggests trying too but I need to travel as Wally Wally is too small.
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No direct experience with Stem cell but I give you a big word of caution. A few years back everyone thought Stem Cell therapy was going help many things, from spinal cord injuries to ALS/Lou's disease and it hasn't been shown to do many of these things. I just met with a UCLA RA doctor a couple of months back and she didn't say one peep about stem cell injections for Arthritis of any kind.

There are clinics just over the border in Mexico that prey on desperate people with stem cell treatments because they won't do it here. Because they science hasn't shown that it works.
I was just listening to a doctor being interviewed on the radio today about this very topic. Be careful my friend!
 
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