And All I Got Was This Tee Shirt.

For all intents and purposes, physical therapy is over. My last appointment was last week wherein Carrie beat up my knees. Of all the things she's done, which included make me walk in bondage, hold a ball between my knees (You are free to word associate here. I don't mind. It took us 5 minutes after she told me what I was going to do for us to stop laughing.) and then her working the knots out of my shoulder muscles, this was excruciatingly painful. I actually had her stop at one point because whatever she was doing hurt and sent shooting pain into my shins and my upper thigh. "Hmmmmm," she said. "It really shouldn't hurt that much." Ya think? But, redirected pressure and massage and then she could go back to the original pressure points. Something was awry and she fixed it.

It is now up to me to continue with the "fixing".

The thing is, even with pages and I do mean pages of exercises, nothing replaces or regrows cartilage lost due to injury or age. The best I can hope for is that the RA is sufficiently under control to stop or reduce joint damage and that the exercises I do strengthen the surrounding muscles to ease the pressure on the actual joints. Part of that exercise is to resume walking and, in order to do that, I'm buying actual walking shoes this weekend. The shoes I have don't provide enough support for my toes for steady walking. I can't be a mile from home and hobbling like an unshod mule because my toes have cramped something fierce. Shoes designed for walkers are the way to go, more expensive, to be sure, but they are what I need if I'm going to get back into this.

So, I said goodbye to Carrie's House of Torture. As a parting gift, I received the above tee shirt. I know. I know. I need another tee shirt like I need a Charly Horse at 2:30 a.m. (I've had those. They are such fun.) It's a nice, heavy weight tee and I know the stack I saw in the closet is factored into the cost of my therapy. Still, all my doctors are through this health service so, unless other doctors have these in other colors, one is all I need.

I have mixed feelings. I don't want to rack up more medical bills, but it is absolutely undeniable that physical therapy combined with the other changes to lifestyle and the diligence of my rheumatologist have made my life head and shoulders better than a year ago at this time. I never dreamed, even as far back as May of 2011, that I could feel this good. I need to build up my stamina and continue to strengthen my knees. Walking will do that.

I'm also going to miss Carrie and how she made this fun. As an example of her enthusiasm, when Flat Stanley was here, she jumped into the idea of making Stanley do some physical therapy. He waited patiently for our appointment.

Then she put him on the bike.

Once he was warmed up, she had him balance on an exercise ball while holding a weight.

After this, she had to check his balance. Stanley did so much better than I can ever do on the balance board.

When this was done, we tried to get Stanley to pull weights but he kept getting tangled up in the straps.

I'm told Dillon's classmates thought this whole thing was hilarious. What really got the laughs was when we weighed Stanley.

We really needed a baby scale or just a bathroom digital scale, neither of which they had. So we had to improvise. He stood on the scale part and then we moved the weights all the way to the right.

The kids recognized the scale and knew what moving the weights to the right meant. I guess Dillon got a big laugh out of his class when he read my comment that Carrie thought Stanley needed to lose a little weight.

I'm to check in next week for an update but I can be officially discharged. I'm sad but I'm happy too. Time to get out and explore the world, something back in January I never thought possible.

Beverage:  Irish Breakfast tea

Deb

The Things I Do

If you recall last summer, I finally got the deck chairs out, scrubbed off and on the deck. This was a major accomplishment. Double that accomplishment was having the girls come out and join me.

First Pilchard.

Then Mija.

The problem was, if I was outside sitting, that left just one chair for them and that did not go well at all. I sort of joked that I'd need to get another chair so they could both be outside with me.

What color would I like?

I pulled into the Ace Hardware lot and was rather floored by the color selection.

I could even get one in, what's that material on the left there, wood? 

I love color. This much choice in plastic Adirondack-style chairs filled me with happiness until I went to get out of the aqua chair I sat in. Oh dear. I don't get up fast anymore. Although my RA isn't giving me problems, the osteoarthritis in my knees is. I don't know if anyone was watching but there was this gray-haired old lady struggling to get out of one of those chairs. She did it, but she knew this was not something she wanted to sit in on her deck. So, I looked at the tan and forest green basic plastic deck chairs. 

Again, I was drawn to color. The forest green chair would look sharp, sitting between my white deck chairs. But the deck gets sunshine for 75% of the day. About 2 p.m., that thing is going to be hot. I wouldn't sit in it. Why expect the girls to? Tan it was.

Actually, it doesn't look too bad.

I no longer see the bird bath from the office window to monitor who is using it. But now we can ALL be on the deck, sitting in chairs. We'll give these a test run next weekend.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

$20 and 2 Months

To say I am enjoying crocheting scarves would be something of an understatement. Witness the latest purchase.

JoAnn Fabrics had the Team Spirit yarn on sale, along with other selections. The sale ended last Saturday so, Saturday morning, my mental list of recipients and I headed to the store. Four of the colors were already decided upon when I walked in. The other two were decided on the spot. One was a spur of the moment purchase because they had the color I wanted.

What was missing was the coupons for more off the purchase price. Those were left, conveniently, on the ottoman next to the recliner where I sit and crochet. But, never fear, the check out lane has the appropriate coupons and the whole lot cost me an Andrew Jackson and change.

Here's the current tally.

That's four black and gold and I finished the green and yellow yesterday afternoon. I rummaged around in the bag and pulled out the black and red skein so that's the next scarf to be completed.

It takes approximately 8 days to crochet a scarf. I come home from work, do some chore, start dinner, sit and crochet for a bit. Then, after dinner, I sit for at least an hour, maybe an hour and a half. The big black cat loves this time for my lap is free just for her. She settles down and sits, sometimes for the duration of my sitting. On weekends, I'll crochet for the whole afternoon and she happily falls asleep. Mija will sit next to me in the recliner or on the back. It makes for a very calm afternoon.

I had thought, once I finished the four black and gold scarves, that I'd go back to cross-stitch but I am having a lot of fun doing this. I do have pain in the fat part of my left hand, below the thumb. I haven't figured out how to hold the scarf  for long periods of time without this pain. Dr. Francis says it's osteoarthritis, not rheumatoid, that is causing this pain. I set the crochet down for about 10 minutes, then pick it back up and work for another hour or so. The pain doesn't interfere to the point of my considering quitting this project.

I'm on the fence about attaching fringe. The colors that reflect the people for whom I'm making them are a very disparate bunch. There isn't one unifying color. Obviously, black could be used for a lot of these, but not for some of them. So, I may not add fringe. It might be superfluous to the scarf anyway.

So, if you want me, I'll be in the recliner with my hook and my cat. I have enough yarn for a couple months. By then, it might be on sale again.

Beverage:  Lady Gray tea

Deb

Painted

Zeke power washed the deck a couple weeks ago. With the weather slated to be sunny and dry all weekend, it was the perfect time to get the deck painted. I admit this hadn't been done in, roughly, 5 years, but I was looking forward to it.

I headed over to Ace Hardware and spent a good 30 minutes with the very helpful people deciding what stain to use and how much of it to buy. "How big is your deck?" Um...that question I wasn't prepared for. "It's 2.5 steps this way and 4 steps this way." We had a chuckle about that.

There are so many options and colors of deck stain. Zeke said that the washable stains and paints are just as good as the oil based ones now which opened up a whole section of colors. I really liked the light color of the exposed wood. The original stain color was a dark redwood. That was nice, but I wanted something different.

After much discussion, I chose this; Cabot brand Australian Timber Oil stain in Honey Teak color. I bought brushes I was just going to toss when done and mineral spirits to clean myself off should I get sloppy. I also got a pack of latex gloves to save my hands, but wound up not using them or the mineral spirits.

Painting started at 11 a.m. The deck steps were done first, followed by the railings. Then, I sat down and began working on the deck floor. Even without arthritis, I wouldn't be the most limber person. The arthritis made difficult the job of maneuvering around as I painted. I'm awkward and sitting cross-legged is not something I think I'll ever be able to do comfortably again. The stain went on very easily and quite quickly. I had to take a break at noon with a little over half of the deck done. I got my cane because it helped me to stand up and move to a new spot to paint. An hour later, the first coat was done.

Part of the time in the store was spent trying to decide if one can of stain would be enough. With bare wood, you know it would soak up whatever was put onto it. The guy helping me was a bit leery that one can would be enough to provide an adequate stain. But, when I said I really didn't want a can 3/4ths full sitting around in my basement, he read the side of the can and it says one can would be enough. As it turned out, I had about a fifth of a can left from the first coat. Figures, doesn't it?

So, on Sunday, I decided to use this up. It was harder to scooch around the deck this time. My muscles complained and several times, I just had to sit to recover. What I had left covered most of the deck top. I had done some planting and put flower pots on the deck. I painted around where those were sitting, but covered almost every other section.

I'm very pleased with the final result. It looks rich. I know I could not have done this last year. It would have been way, way beyond me. While it was painful at times and my range of motion is not what I remember it being when I did this 5 years ago, it is a testament to my recovery that I could scoot along, albeit slowly, and get this done. I don't have to do this now for a couple years.

I fixed the crack in the pseudo bird bath this weekend and opened up the storage shed to bring out some pots for seeds and found ants in various places. Now that they have been chased out, I want to bring out the deck chairs and table. I'm looking forward to enjoying this space again.

Beverage:  African Rooibos tea

Deb

What a Blessing

In the struggle to open jars, I've not spent a lot of time looking for items which could assist in that endeavor. I think about it but usually when I'm supremely frustrated with whatever it is I can't get open. Wash cloths and dish towels just don't seem to provide the right grip. So, I bring the item into the office and endure the mild ribbing that comes from a guy who pops open jars all the time.

My friend, Meredith, decided this just would not do. She took it upon herself to wander about and search the aisles of a variety of stores looking for something that would help me get lids off. She wound up at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I wouldn't have thought of this place as it's a bit of a drive to get to the nearest one and it's located not in a spot I frequent.

Sometimes I feel like a Luddite. Modern technology can be overwhelming. "The good old days" can seem a simpler time when our senses weren't assaulted with information, most of which we don't need. But, thanks to the very technology that is everywhere, she sent me a photo from her iPhone of the jar openers Bed, Bath and Beyond had available. There were some bandy things that didn't look real promising for me. Then she sent a photo of these. When I think of grips, this is what I think of.

There are three sizes in the package. This looks promising, but will it work.

Here is the juice. These bottle have stymied me. This is the third one I haven't been able to open. I thought the first two were a fluke but no, something about the seal V8 puts on these bottles makes it impossible for me to open right now. This will be an adequate test of the ability of these pieces of rubber to assist in opening jars and bottles. I used the cone-shaped one for this.

Viola. Opened with very little effort, too, I might add.

Meredith, you have no idea, well, scratch that, you probably do have an idea how happy this has made me. Eventually, I would have stumbled upon these on my own but not before feeling my independence slowly eroding at the edges. I am hugely, hugely grateful for smart friends who know where to look and what to look for. I poured myself a big tall glass of juice last night and savored every sip.

Next up is a jar of applesauce.

Beverage:  Earl Gray tea

Deb

Don't Like

I went to see my doctor at the beginning of March. I knew I would need to see him for a refill on the meds, so rather than wait until I was out, let's get this out of the way first. He gives me a refill script and asks where I get my meds. When I tell him, he is aghast and extremely apologetic. Wal*Mart and Target have my meds for $4 a month or 3 months for $10, and he forgot to tell me. That's due to the fact that the 4 page list of things that cost  $4 came out between my visits.

I trundle off to Target. I have never enjoyed shopping at Wal*Mart. When I started my current job, we would get a $100 Wal*Mart gift card at Christmas. That was the only time I went in the place. It's just never been a place I willingly shopped. Therefore, Target is the store which will get my $4 pharmacy business. If it's not going to cost me $4, I'll go back to my other pharmacy, the one that is a 7 block walk from my house.

Target puts their meds in those "patented" red bottles. They have to sit as above, on the lid, because the bottom is rounded. There's a problem for me. The standard pill bottle on the right can be left in the medicine chest with the top just resting open. I don't have young children so I can open the bottle and leave it open. I can't do that with the Target bottle. And you see that it's slightly problematic to screw the lid on correctly. Given that the main issue is the pain in my hands making opening things that require you to push down while turning, the Target bottle is much less than ideal for me. I dumped the pills from the Target bottle into the old bottle. Problem solved.

As I'm to see a rheumatologist on Thursday, the chances are very good of getting a different pill. If it has a generic and I can get it at Target for $4, I need to ask if they have a different bottle because this one is problematic. I'm not to the point where I need one of those strips with the days on them. That would be a problem, too, little boxes that need to be snapped open. At this stage of my life and dealing with this, I avoid stuff I know is going to be painful or difficult.

We'll see. Life is about to get a whole lot more interesting. "Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference."

Beverage:  Africa Rooibos tea

Deb

Well Smack Me Upside the Head

So I'm working with this whole gratitude idea. Be grateful for everything you can be. In the midst of awfulness, being grateful for what you have is, in theory, supposed to wean me of the negativity I've felt and expressed over these last few years. Negativity becomes a life-style and it's not positive. On Wednesday, I wrote about where I am in my journey toward embracing gratitude.

I go home tired. It's been a long week. My arthritis has been active this week in more ways than one. I'm not sleeping through the night without awakening. Gratitude. Gratitude. Remember this. I go down the front steps and get the mail and there is an envelope addressed to me with no return address. The handwriting sort of looks familiar. I tear it open and a $50 Target card falls out.

No, the symbolism is not lost on me. Mr. Anonymous strikes again. How long has this been going on? Is it up to 2 years now? I never, ever count on these things arriving in the mailbox. I never, ever think, "Well, isn't it about time for the anonymous gift card?"

Every time one shows up in the post, I am overcome. Someone, some where is getting a great deal of happiness in sending these to me. They drop this in the post and know, is a few days, I'm going to be standing in my living room marveling at someone's generosity and kindness towards me. Dare I say it? I am filled with gratitude at this. I am always, always delightfully surprised.

I need furnace filters. The orthopedic doctor recommended resuming the glucosamine/chondroitin regimen although I'm not completely convinced it's doing anything to help. It's Valentine's Day next week. I could stand a bag of Valentine M&M's with peanuts for myself. I can make $50 do a lot.

Thank you to whomever is this mysterious benefactor. I think you're enjoying this. You certainly drove home the point that gratitude is a good state of mind.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

The State of Gratitude

I've been giving my resolution to find gratitude every day some thought. How have I done, mainly? It's time for a status update.

It's gone fairly well. It's one of the hardest things I've challenged myself to do. My day starts painfully. Arthritis has settled into my hands and the mornings are very bad for mobility. Even getting up a half hour earlier does not mean I make it to work on time. I struggle to open the milk container and pour milk on my cereal. Brushing my teeth, with the gripping and maneuvering of the toothbrush causes pain in my wrists. Getting dressed takes about 30% longer than it used to and I now have to look at clothing from a "will this hurt to put on or take off" stand point. And opening the car door, if I don't watch the placement of my fingers on the latch, can be painful. I've pretty much resigned myself to the knowledge that pain is a companion. Some days are worse than others but it's always going to be there now.

It would be very, very easy to wallow in that knowledge. When I can't get a bottle of juice open or when I can't grab the top of the litter box and pull to open the box, it's easy to feel sorry for myself. I had to take a small saw and score the box top then rip it off in pieces. At least it can be recycled.

And that last statement is what I am trying, every day, to seize upon. Yes, it hurts and it's incredibly frustrating to realize I can't do what used to come so naturally. But there is gratitude in everything. I'm grateful I can recycle the boxes litter comes in. I belong to the Fresh Step Points Club. When I buy Fresh Step litter, those rare occasions when it's cheaper than Arm and Hammer, I get points. I am really close to getting a cat tower after years of saving and not spending points. I think the girls will love it.

I have a friend who is going through some health problems. I sometimes want to shake him. He's so negative. Yes, life is hard. He's got problems I wouldn't wish on my casual enemy. I know the view from his position. He's looking up and all around him is a hole. It's easy, so very easy, not to see there are things to be grateful for even when the situation looks bleak. But he could stand a huge dose of gratitude. He has a place to live. He can put food on his table and clothes on his back. To use a trite cliche, "Been there. Done that. Bought the t-shirt."

Not every day is a good day. Not every day can I remember to be grateful for something, anything. A client was angry at a spread sheet we sent him. It was wrong. I had handed off the data to others to do input and they couldn't read my writing or they questioned what I had written and added things that weren't there. I hadn't supervised. I was busy. I trusted when I should have gone back and looked. I was dreading a meeting after he called about the problem. All the way to the meeting, I kept telling myself to find gratitude in the day. It was balmy, for a January. It was mileage and got me out of the office. Yet that little voice, that critical me, kept saying I was a doofus, or worse. The client accepted my apology and we worked together to fix the spreadsheet. It wasn't as bad as my critical side had drummed up.

Practicing gratitude is hard. In the midst of frustration, it's hard to find something to be grateful for. I am very grateful for a mild winter, in spite of the fact that we need the moisture for spring and I kind of miss the snow. It takes me 30% longer to get going in the morning, but I am grateful for oatmeal and Cheerios and a job I like. I am grateful that I can still do cross-stitch. And I am grateful for lap cats and snuggle cats. I have much to be grateful for even if, at times, I don't remember that.

So, where am I in the drive to remove the negative and embrace gratitude? It's coming. I've spent so long with that critical me pounding on my self-esteem that embracing gratitude will take some time. Change is done in baby steps and I seem to be walking now.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr attitude

Today did not start out positive. I was on time until I got to the car. The doors were frozen shut.

This is an annoyance but it's more so when opening the doors if they aren't frozen shut causes pain in my wrists and thumbs. Trying to get them open this morning nearly left me in tears.

Gratitude. Gratitude. Remember to practice gratitude. Shut up brain. I can't get into my car and I'm late for work. I poured the contents of my travel mug of tea around the driver's side door and it opened. The passenger side would not budge.

The windows were covered with frost which came off rather easily. Scraping is mildly painful but I can do it. I hefted everything over the center console and drove into the office with the defroster going full blast. I don't have that far of a drive so the passenger side door was still frozen when I got to the office. I did make myself another mug of tea. I'll be darned if I'm going to not have tea with me because the doors are frozen.

January is the coldest month, right? We are over half-way through January, right? So, in theory, this could be the only time I have to worry about frozen doors, right? Ice storms will be problematic. Opening doors has always been a problem if they get iced over. Scraping the windows will be painful when it's ice I'll have to remove.

Gratitude. The problem I thought I was going to face when I finally got in is not as bad as it looked last night. There is bright sunshine this morning so, by noon, the passenger door will be unfrozen naturally. It's okay. Breathe.

March 20th can't come soon enough.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

This Vexes Me #15

I'm worried that my juice drinking days, particularly juice that comes in a bottle, are over. I have been struggling, for a week, to get the bottle of juice to the left open. I don't know if it's hand or arm strength, but I could not open it. I tried a wet washcloth. I tried heat. I tried cold. I tried a dish towel. I finally brought it into the office and Doug opened it for me. Easily.

This frustrates and vexes me. How do other people do this? I will have to quit drinking bottled juice if I can't get tops open. I seem to be able to get some bottles open, but this one just refused to open.

I'm on the fence now about juice. Do I continue to purchase the bottles or should I start looking at the frozen juice concentrate simply because I'll be able to get the container open? What do others do who have a problem with arthritis in their hands and gripping is difficult? Maybe it was just this bottle?

In any case, Doug got it open for me so I'll be able to have juice tonight. I always mix my juice with seltzer or tonic water. It cuts the calories in half and gives me a fizzy drink. I think I like soda as much for the fizz as for the taste. Orange juice and seltzer water is a poor man's mimosa.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

All Wrapped Up

I had another visit with Dr. Choi, the orthopedic doctor. As he was coming out of one room, I happened to by hobbling by. I didn't bring the cane with me because, once I get going, I can shuffle along. I liken myself to a semi truck. It takes a bit to get me going, but once I do, do not stop suddenly in front of me.

He noted I had gone downhill in mobility since the last visit in September. (Hallelujah! He did notice.) He had me bend my knees to the point they hurt. Right knee, not too bad. Left knee, ouch. He poked. I winced. He took a "standing" x-ray. I stood while they did an x-ray of my knees.

Yes, there is arthritis, but if you live long enough, it's going to get you. I just helped it along by falling. The right knee is a bit askew with the joint not aligning as it should. This is another sign of early arthritis. The left knee? Well, there's fluid in there that wasn't there back in June when the original x-rays were taken. Gradually, over the summer, this fluid has built up. That would account for why my left knee hurts so much more when I stand up than my right knee.

He drained the fluid. That is gross, just gross. He showed it to me, not that I wouldn't have believed him had he chose not to. It was a light mustard yellow and the syringe had about an inch in it. Then, I got cortisone shots in both knees. Finally, both knees were wrapped in giant ace bandages.

Am I better? You know, just removing the fluid made the knee feel better.I had been given these "lovely" and "stylish" shorts to wear. I should have taken a photo of those. They were pretty funny looking. After the procedure and the wrapping, Amy offered to help me get dressed, but I wanted to see if what I wasn't feeling was true. For the first time in months, I could bend my left knee to pull on my pants without sharp pain. Right now, it feels as if I'm wearing a pair of those pants that unzips at the knee because both knees are wrapped. But, I stood up about 15 minutes ago and didn't need the cane to get walking.

He's recommending I resume taking the glucosamine/chondroitin every day. He wants me to give it 3 months and see if that, combined with the cortisone shots help me turn the corner in healing. I really wish I had to funds to get into a water exercise class. He said that would be ideal for me, but I have to join a health club to get into something like that. Oddly enough, the next best thing is a stationary bike.

My knees are kind of achy right now, but I sort of expect that. He said they might hurt worse before they get better but that would only be for 24-36 hours. I don't have to ever go back unless or until I either don't show improvement or start going downhill again. I need to watch my use of stairs for the next month, too, kind of hard to do since there are stairs into and out of the house.

This is the most hopeful I have been in the last 4 months. My world went from wide open to very narrow simply because of my inability to get around. Okay, I have arthritis in my knees. I can handle this. There will always be pain and it may be harsh on rare occasions. I can handle this. Getting a handle on this now will help me make the lifestyle changes I need to make to recover my sense of a wide open world.

Beverage:  British Breakfast tea

Deb

Survey Says

It can now be revealed; the name of the toothpaste for which I did a survey.

I like this. My biggest complaint was that it is so thick that it's hard to get out of the tube. If I'm having problems, someone with genuine arthritis in their hands would never be able to get the paste out. I get to keep the unused portion so this is my toothpaste of choice right now.

Would I buy this in the store? The suggested retail price is comparable to any of Crest's current offerings. I don't buy it unless I have a coupon or it's on sale, and, even then, what's the sale price? If the difference between a tube of this and a tube of, say, Aim, is $2.50, that $2.50 is a loaf of bread or a box of cereal. It's about maximizing what I can get out of my limited resources. Still, I will keep this brand in mind. It will be interesting to see when or if this product is released and what the ultimate price will be set at.

So, doing this survey netted me $8.00 in fake money. I decided I should "spend" some of this accumulated cash. The survey company used to have more items available. I did not want Omaha Steaks because there was nothing I could get free. I had to make a purchase. I do not want free magazine subscriptions. I have too many to read as it is. That left me with adding frequent flier miles or point on hotel stays. I do belong to Holiday Inn's Priority Club. I decided to convert this cash to points. It netted me 12,000 points. I don't know if that total, combined with what I've already earned will be enough for a free night. I will have to wait until the points get applied to my club to see.

But that could be very good. I don't travel all that much but the chance to go some place and stay for free could be a good excuse to get out of the house or to go visit someone I haven't seen in ages. Now back to earning 50 cents, 10 cents, $1.00 on surveys.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

I Really Didn't Need a Reason But I'll Take One

I noticed over the Labor Day weekend, I am feeling a bit better. The middle fingers on both hands don't hurt as much as they did. I'm having some cramping in my right hand, particularly after a long day of using the computer mouse both at work and at home. My right wrist doesn't hurt in the morning as it used to.

My knees are still bad, however, there is minor improvement there. I actually sat on the side of the bed one morning in August, just sobbing because the thought of the pain of standing up was overwhelming. It still hurts to stand up or sit down. But it doesn't take me as long to get moving, without much pain, as it did. I had to drive to Milwaukee last week and had some problems with pain in the right knee, but otherwise, it's not bad. I can stand on my feet for longer without pain in the knees.

I'm not willing, yet, to chalk this up to the addition of the bracelet. It's possible the bracelet has helped. It's also possible that my rigorous attention to making sure I take the Meloxicam and the glucosamine/chondroitin is also a factor. I also may have simply accepted some pain as part of my life now. But when arthritis treatments, particularly homeopathic or low cost,  come through on the health web sites I read, I stop to take a look. One came through today.

Bee stings. Um...no thanks. There's some evidence this might work but still, no.
Snake venom. Again...no thanks. Supposedly, there is a product in development to utilize the anti-inflammatory components of snake venom. I'll wait for that, thank you very much.
WD-40. Leave that for creaky wheels and stuck windows not your knees or elbows.
Copper bracelets. This falls under the same thing as my baltic amber. Evidence is strictly annecdotal.
Gin-soaked raisins. Raisins and juniper berries have anti-inflammatory properties about them. You soak golden raisins in gin for a week and then eat 10 every day. I've never liked the taste of gin but I love golden raisins.
Honey and cider vinegar. Take an equal part of each and mix into a glass of warm water. Drink. Although this has not been studied, it's one of the few arthritis remedies that doesn't have a side effect to it.
Skip veggies from the "nightshade" family. This means cutting peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes from one's diet. That would mean no fries, no "red" sauce in Italian dishes. I don't know.
Ginger and tumeric. These spices have scientific studies behind them to prove they do reduce joint pain and inflammation. I'm going to need to do some research to see how much and the frequency of use.

The best one however was Gelatin. Yup, good old jell-o. Gelatin is, in reality, ground up cartilage and there are limited studies that indicate it may help with joint pain and inflammation. Sugar-free is not an option for me. It will have to be the regular sugared variety. I can't find how much to eat and whether it should be daily.

I'm thinking some tests are in order here.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

Maybe It's Akin to Voodoo

Mornings are the worst and I mean really bad. I take the Meloxicam at night in the hopes that the drug will be in my system and working to ease the pain of getting out of bed. Some days are worse than others, but I still sit on the edge of the bed dreading the need to stand up and get going. By evening, it's not so bad and I'm not exactly sure why.

I don't feel that a great deal of progress beyond last month's assessment has been made. I was trying to resign myself to always having some pain when I remembered a post in the blog, "Smile and Wave", which is to the right. It was back in July and the blog author talked about how she and her husband were using an amber teething necklace on their daughter. They were positively sold that the necklace was helping her get through this difficult time. I had never head of this before. July was a painful month, although it could be said that all the months are painful, just in varying degrees.

So, I did some reading. As we all know, the Internet can be the source of great information or it can pull you so far down the rabbit hole, you'll never get out. I read everything I could find about amber, but not just any amber, it has to be "Baltic" Amber.

This kind of amber has succinic acid in high quantity. This is an anti-oxidant that helps the body's immune system repair. The use of amber for medicine can be traced back to Hippocrates. Much of the information on baltic amber's ability to help people in pain is, what would be termed, 'anecdotal' with no true studies anywhere, that I could find. Nevertheless, the evidence that I did find from a variety of sources lead me to believe it was something I wanted to try.

Last weekend, I spent a great deal of time looking over the offerings in the myriad of web sites with baltic amber available. The site referenced in the "Smile and Wave" post was offline or I probably would have made my purchase there. My search led me to Baltic Creations.

Their web site is in sad need of a major overhaul. 'Garish' doesn't quite cover it. It's a bit tricky to navigate but once I figured it out, I could compare prices on pieces. You can find amber jewelry in the $1,000 price range, but it's guaranteed NOT to be of the medicinal version. Plus, in order to be of any good to you, the amber has to touch your skin. That's not going to happen with a chunk set in platinum. The information I read recommended, for arthritis, a bracelet was sufficient. So, I chose one because it looked cool online. It arrived today.

I like the multi-colored stones. A couple sites said the more milky and light colored stones are higher in succinic acid than the dark ones but as long as it's all baltic amber, it's good. 

I cannot get this wet. If I care to, I can polish the stones with a bit of olive oil on a flannel rag. I need to make a flannel or velvet bag to keep this in when I'm not wearing it but I need to wear it all the time, except in the shower. That means at night, which will take some getting used to. 

It's the first of September. It seems appropriate to start a new treatment on the first of the month. This was $16 with no shipping costs. The beads are strung on a heavy duty elastic cord so it fits snug but not too snug. 

I'm not looking for pain free living. I believe I am always going to be living with some aches. If this helps me get up in the morning, then it will be $16 well spent. If it doesn't work, it's still pretty. I'm told to give it at least 2 months. Heck, I can do that. I've been tolerating this since April. What's another 2 months. 

Have any of my readers had experience with amber and healing? I'm interested to know your story. 

Beverage:  Root Beer

Deb

Debris

Before it got too hot outside on Saturday, I did some clean up.

I estimate at least 3 bags of yard waste in that pile.

I was able to hold onto the loppers and use them without pain in my hands. So, I cut back the one tree that was bent over the deck and trimmed back the tree branches which were covering the deck on the south side. Then, I went around the deck and trimmed back some of the brush that has grown up. I could only work the loppers for about an hour before my hands started to hurt, but I'm taking this as a good sign that I'm slowly getting better. There is a slight worry that I'll still have problems in the winter when I need to be able to shovel. No blizzard, please, this coming winter.

Zeke mowed the lawn Sunday morning and added to the pile. My neighbor to the north showed me a large branch that had snapped off the tree that is in the NW corner of my lot, where his meets mine. He's going to have it hauled away. Technically, it's not really in any danger of damaging anything other than his fence, and he's not all that concerned about the fence, but he said he'll hear it from his wife so he best get it done.

We noticed more small branches snapped off at the top of trees surrounding our houses. They aren't big and maybe the next strong wind will knock them down. Nature's fury, when viewed by the damage to the trees, is quite humbling.

It's supposed to be a reasonably nice weekend upcoming. This is good for the Ale Fest on Saturday, but I'm thinking I'd like to take down more of the volunteer trees I have around the property. I don't have the funds to get the stickers to have it hauled away, but I can make a pile and work at bagging up the debris when I have the cash for yard waste stickers. I felt a sense of accomplishment having done this much when I couldn't before.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

This Vexes Me #10 and #11.

This will be a two-fer.

I made that lemon snack cake this morning. It takes lemon juice. I have about an inch left in this big bottle but I also have one of those plastic lemons. You know them. They mass in baskets in the area where the lemon juice is. I read in Cooking Light where they are, typically, less than 50% real lemon juice. The rest being water and dubious lemon flavoring. Well, then, I want to use this up.

First of all, I'm having a problem with my hands. I have to wait until Tuesday to refill the Meloxicam so I've been toughing it out all weekend. What I just don't get about this whole problem is why the middle fingers on both hands hurt. When I hit the ground, my hands were holding onto some paper. I hit the floor on the pinky side of my hands. My wrists have hurt but they are much improved. My middle fingers, not so much and without the joint pill, I can certainly see how far I have to go before considering myself healed.

So, I had problems squeezing the lemon to get the juice out. Then I realized that this probably hadn't ever been opened, at least I couldn't remember when I had opened it. That means there's one of those plastic/paper coverings over the opening. I need to take the top off and remove that. Then I'll get lemon-like juice.

HA! Trying to get the top off of this was an exercise in extreme pain and frustration. I put it back in the fridge and got the bottle of juice. I could take it to the office and have one of the guys take off the top for me. Or, I could just leave it in the fridge until someone with working fingers comes over and ask them to do it. Maybe, by the end of the week, when I'm back on the joint pill, I'll have a better ability to get the top off and make it useable.

The next thing that vexes me is the bottle of conditioner on the right. I really, really don't like that top. It's designed to make sure the conditioner doesn't leak out between uses. I can appreciate that. But today, after washing my hair, I couldn't get any conditioner out of the bottle. Now, I know I'm down to the dregs, but it sure felt like there was still conditioner in the bottle. Again, the pain in my hands prohibited very intense squeezing but there is also no way to pop off the top, add water to the bottle and use up what might still be inside. I had a good deal on this brand of shampoo and conditioner but, given this problem, it's not worth a good deal. I rinsed out what I could and have recycled the bottle. It seems wasteful to me when I can't be certain I've got everything out of the container. 

Oh well, the next bottle of conditioner is a simple pop-up top and I can see how much is in the bottle. 

Beverage:  Grape Raspberry Juice

Deb