Category: upper body

Bobdammmit

Posted on by Grayson

It’s not like I’m not stranger to the pain my arthritis causes. I’ve dealt with it for almost 18 years now and I’d like to say that I think I handle it pretty well. But this change to affecting my hands more is still driving me absolutely bonkers. Like seriously, this is way too different body. I do so much more with my hands because I can’t do as much with the rest of my body.

It’s like all those little tiny spots in my hands, all those small intricate bones, are all swollen and painful. And it’s like I don’t know what to do at this point. Maybe when my insurance renews in August I can switch to a primary doctor away from the university itself so I can get some sort of pain medication. Until then I guess this is my life.

Blech.

And now I feel fat…well, ish.

I had to measure myself for some new work clothes we are getting and seeing the change in inches from high school to now is… well, disheartening. I know that weight is not the thing to be concerned with for me, as it fluctuates a lot because of swelling. But the inches are a different story. It’s also much more telling of how the steroids have added weight. I’m well-proportioned so I don’t really notice normally. And now I feel lame. And fat. And ready to kick up the cardio.

Well, cardio that doesn’t include gripping anything that is.

Update

Posted on by Grayson

We’re down to the final two big-name celebrities (that I can find) with RA. Look for those sometime soon.

Unfortunately, I’m super exhausted and it’s only Monday night (Tuesday morning?). My right shoulder started aching like crazy Friday night and it’s been pretty difficult to keep the pain under control – something made worse my pain in my knees and ankles. I’ll be honest, I’m trying to not take medicine as often because I know I’m taking more than the recommended dosage. I also know that I’ve built up a tolerance and have to take more in order to get the desired effect.
One of the most useful tools in my pain-fighting arsenal is a minty roll-on liquid. I have no clue where or when my mom found this wonderful thing, but it has definitely saved my sanity on more than one occasion. There is a spray and a roll-on. I only have experience with the latter. I have only ever had two problems with it – reaching the right spots on certain joints (i.e., my shoulder) and a minimal amount of spillage. That said, the product is a wonderful thing to keep with you just in case you have a flare-up that doesn’t seem to respond as well to medicine… or if, like me, you have a somewhat unhealthy relationship with your OTC pills.

Update

Posted on by Grayson

I am pretty frustrated with my body right now. It seems like there isn’t anything really that I can do right to make it better and that has got to be the most frustrating thing.

A few weeks ago, my shoulders started aching pretty badly. This same feeling moved into my neck and has made it impossible – here and there – to get comfortable. This generally occurs when I’m in class and do not have a wide desk, where I could rest my left arm on it. This same feeling makes sleeping a terrible feat, which is too bad since my arthritis generally makes me want/need to sleep for a large amount of time every night… Easier said than done when you’re a college student anyway, but with the extra pain, it’s that much worse.

Update

Posted on by Grayson

It’s been a while since I wrote again. I’ve been hard(ly) at work on my capstone paper, doing research, and working.

I’ve had to keep taking a lot of medicine since the last time I wrote. I generally try to not take any medicine because I hate it. I have been taking anywhere from 6-12 pills a day now though and I’m slightly worried about that.
Like clockwork, my shoulder problems are back. This time they have been so bad that I cannot sleep and am having a lot of problems doing everyday things. This morning it took me ten minutes (not kidding) to change shirts because my arm just wouldn’t move the right way. My other shoulder is having problems too, but definitely not to the extent of the right one. A big problem with my shoulder having issues is that the same feeling tends to spread throughout my arm (i.e., my wrist is aching pretty often also).
For one of the first times in my life, I can say that I feel handicapped. My arm hurts so bad that I can’t really do normal everyday things right (or at all, in some cases). I feel as though some people think I am exaggerating or making up problems since they are not readily seen. This is, I feel, the most problematic effect of the disease. I can handle the pain to a point and I can handle not being able to do certain things, but for people to doubt me makes all the other problems seem that much worse.

But I’m Not Hungry!

Posted on by Grayson

My sister has not had another seizure. She has an appointment to do an MRI and an EEG on June 11th at Children’s Hospital. Hopefully, if there’s anything wrong to find, those in-depth tests pick it up. She’s been sleeping a lot lately, which she is worried about, but I am convinced it’s a good thing. My finger is no longer as numb as it was… or I’m getting used to this strange feeling. The infection seems to be gone, or mostly so, and I’m hopeful that I’ll be fine.

My left shoulder is feeling a little screwed up at the moment because I fell asleep in a chair this morning for a nice little cat nap (forget the fact that I had a nightmare). My knees have been doing a lot better lately, which is both nice and odd.
The biggest problem that I am having right now is the loss of appetite. When I was about seven, I began to throw away a lot of my food. I just simply wasn’t hungry. My mom maintains that she is to blame, because she had apparently said something about me being chubby, but I have no recollection of that comment at all. I just remember not being hungry. I lost a lot of weight and got down to under 50 pounds. Occasionally, I will experience this same problem. I know that I have to make myself eat at least three times a day, but there are days where it just isn’t high on my priority list. Usually, this only lasts for a few days, but it has been known to go on for weeks on occasion as well.
This past weekend, my boyfriend and I went up to Appleton for the D-3 World Series in College Baseball. I didn’t eat a lot, not because I didn’t want my boyfriend to spend a lot of money (which is also true), but because I simply wasn’t hungry. On Sunday, I ate almost a whole Subway sammich and a cookie. This started for me on Thursday night and I have yet to really come out of it. At least there are enough delicious foods in the fridge to hopefully keep me eating three times a day.

Pitcher’s Shoulder

Posted on by Grayson

Every so often, I get what I like to call pitcher’s shoulder. Basically, it feels as though my shoulder is detaching from torso. This feeling generally starts in the lower neck – sometimes as a crick, other times on it’s own – and moves down to the top of my shoulder. This movement also causes the top of my arm to ache terribly and can make it near impossible to move, let alone do anything else. Occasionally the pain will move down my arm until it hits my fingers.

When I was younger and didn’t so much understand my body, I used to try and stretch out my shoulder to the point that I would pull muscles in my arm. Needless to say, I’ve grown smarter since then and have since stopped using that method.
It is hard, though, to know how to take care of this kind of injury. There is a reason, though, why I like to call it pitcher’s shoulder (apparently I’m not alone in this). The only real thing that helps my shoulder is to play catch. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the ability to play catch, so here are some alternatives that may help you out if you also experience pitcher’s shoulder:
  • Icy Hot products
  • Heat therapy patches
  • Pro-Ice wrap (expensive!)
  • Rest (apparently that’s supposed to help, but never does for me)
  • Working out. If you strengthen the muscles in your shoulder, it shouldn’t happen as often. This is a nice concept in theory, but not entirely accurate for those of us with Still’s.

Since I can’t go play catch by myself at the moment, I’m using the Wal-Greens brand of hot patches. It’s not helping a ton, but it feels a little nicer at least. Pitching really is the best way to work out this pain.

Edit: If you’re coming across this sometime after 2019, I have hypermobility and the pain I’ve described here is from a subluxation or dislocation.