Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Arthritis

"Rheumatoid arthritis is most definitely an AUTOIMMUNE disease! OTC drugs can help with some pain but they won’t stop the deterioration of the joints. Lots of folks think they can just treat the symptoms but if it’s really RA, they're the ones you see later with crumpled hands that can’t even hold a pencil."

I know it's classified as autoimmune disease that can damage other parts of your body and it's usually inherited. Nobody knows yet what causes though or how to cure it.

My mother got RA when she was in her early 60's and died at 70 from cancer. My oldest sister got RA her late 30's and died @ 50 from COPD. Neither had any deformed joints. They both went to the same specialist who kept them drugged up.

I'm the one with the semi-crumpled hands from Osteoarthritis. I can't close either hand tight enough to make a fist and can barely write (but can print ok). I consider my self very lucky though and can still do every I want to only a little slower,

Couch today.
Last day of gun season.
Knee and ankle swollen, hot and ouchy.
I think I can hop around in a bit and get dressed.
Never underestimate the draw power of a Mc Rib

I do not have to try to act badass. nor did I threaten to kill some one protecting a dual israeli citizen traitor

Let me see! 🤔

First was the left elbow. Broke it as a freshman in high school playing football. It's now bone on bone and the only surgical solution is total replacement. A replacement joint restricts weight bearing to 10 pounds. A fall and break renders the replacement irreparable!
Then I broke my left collarbone. Not as much pain, but still can cause discomfort.
Then the biggie!
Left hip broken and dislocated.
Left foot, three broken bones.
Right foot, heel (calcaneus) crushed.

Now, I know there are a lot of folks out there that have way more problems than I do. Bless their heart, I hope they are doing well.

I'm not sure that I have a joint that is NOT arthritic! 😛

I was asked by an orthopedic surgeon if I took anything for pain.
"No sir." I replied.
"Nothing?", he asked again!
"Doc," I told him, "if I took a Tylenol everytime I felt pain, I'd be eating Tylenol like they were M&M's!"
It's easier for me to just sit down until the pain eases.

Occasionally, I'll take an Aleve about bedtime if I feel like I may have a problem falling asleep. The rest of the time, if I hurt too badly, I will sit down until the pain eases up.
I'm learning how to get around outside with hiking staffs.
They definitely help, but it's just something else to keep up with! 😖

Methotrexate.


Start there and ignore people who think RA is because of joint wear.

Taking prednisone leftovers from when wrist blew up.
Rheumatologist said take 2 a day if i have episodes.
See doc Tuesday, normal visit.

Took pics of bum ankle last night
Its up in knee also.

Got chit to do. Hobbled around and got gloss Vari X II c on the Ruger #1. Bad lighting and grumpy, its close to square but proly isnt. I gave up and stuck it back in safe. Eye relief w one offset ring at rear will work. Turret cap got some marks. Put on matte ones from my VX1 ( sitting on 22 mag CZ457 ). Looks OK to me.

Fuggit, get new matte ones from Leupold or Ebay.

Buddy sent pics, he just got a Mossberg 800 AM in .308.
Wants me to shoot it ( tryin to sucker me into buying it ).
My 2017 anniv model Ruger 1 is only sporter .308 i need


When he said he got a mannlicher in .308 i thought he was talking a Ruger #1 RSI.......THAT i might have bought.
Make my ankle feel better too LOL

Yup, an arthritis flare up justifies a new gun, scope purchase IMHO

Ill proly get a damn steroid injection in my ankle tuesday.
Those are loads of fun.

FWIW had blood tests to see if I have RA.
Some marker or something

Yup. Got it.

Now doc said if it was just one spot and I showed up w marker it proly isnt RA.

Unfortunately it ainy one spot.
Missed a fair chunk of gun season due to it.

Hopefully recover enough for muzzleloader.
Just got spme broadheads from Midway.
Get things settled down and shoot recurve, see how many I can do.

It literally feels like theres no muscle or padding in hands, feet and knees. Everything on bone. But its not.

Thats just how it feels, its a different kinda pain. Much like broken bone. Deeper and weird. Sometimes all day low level electric buzz along bones, sometimes some heller friggin bolts

It definitely weakens you, slows you down and makes ya grumpy as fugg.

Go from gung ho to damn near worthless, overnight.

Annoying as hell.

Turn into an old man damn fast.

Voltaren works for me but my problem is just under the skin surface, not inside the knee joint. It doesn't penetrate far enough for deep joint pain and the instructions say as much.

I was skeptical when the wife suggested it but the morning after the first dose I was a believer. I have a tube in my pack if I need a backup dose when I'm hunting and thee tubes on inventory in the medicine cabinet.

It's about $8.00 a tube so it's as cheap as any non prescription remedy. If it doesn't work you're out 8 bucks.

"Hot swollen and Ouchy"... That is an extremely descriptive phrase. Also glad I'm not the only one that gets a bit grumpy, especially when the weather is changing...

One of our friends is a professional pianist, and he was afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis to the point of ending his performance career. A couple of years ago, he started getting a new therapy, not medication based, but an immuno therapy, IIRC. Last year, we went to his Christmas concert.

For those so afflicted, might be worth seeking out what's coming on the horizon in therapies.

Um, ask your friend for details please.

If I stress a joint at work, banging on something, pushing......my arthritis will nail that joint.
Brakes on racks, used left foot. Felt it flex a little extra. Now its been mad ever since.
Took shoe off and it got real angry.
Cannot hammer anything of susbtance, maybe tap pins out of a gun, but anything of moderate impact/vibe, will light my wrist or elbow up.
Slight twist of knee...........yeah its gonna be cranky for a couple days.

Everything seems sensitive and any little extra stress, lights up.

See what doc says this week.

I will. Haven't spoken to him for over six months, but I'll see if I can't get hold of him. Probably be a couple of days the way my week is filling up, but I'll post here what I find out.

Like the old woman who was in bed with arthritis.

Her friend said, “I know all those Ritis boys; Arthur’s the worstest one”.

He for sure, is one bad dude.

DF

With our aging population effective treatment for arthritis would be a bigger hit than Viagra.

I used to think Aleve didn't help much... until my doc did some blood work and told me I needed to stop taking it.... I miss Aleve now especially when the weather is changing.

Naprosyn (Aleve), as with other NSAIDS, is tough on the stomach and kidneys. NSAIDS now have a black box (warning) about effects on the heart. So if one's cardiac function is marginal, cardiologist will take that person off NSAIDS. Naprosyn, may be one of the hardest on the stomach, is actually one of the least cardiac toxic NSAID's. There were some new NSAIDS (Vioxx and Bextra) that were really good, but were so cardiac toxic or had such bad reactions, they were taken off the market.

Well, you can double down on Tylenol which can, (too much, too long), zap your liver....

Hmm....

Oh well, you not getting out of here alive anyway....

DF

Verylargeboots: I forget which brand of arthritis (and there ARE many!) I came down with at about age 47 - it affects the thumb and next two fingers of both my hands.
I was living at sea level in a moist cold climate at the time.
Three years later I retired and moved to a dry high altitude area (5,400') and the pains/discomfort went virtually away and have stayed away - I almost hate to travel to wet sea level areas due to the pain/discomfort returning after a few days.
The elderly Doctor I saw back then was VERY experienced and VERY knowledgeable about arthritic conditions (his specialty) - not much can be done about most arthritic conditions!
Masking of the pain is a blessing - but reversing arthritis, I believe, is not yet possible.
I wish you the best with your condition.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Prednisone has me semi functional today.