Severe pain in hands

Murrmurr said:
....my hands have been *bothering* me for several years. It's only gotten borderline intolerable over the past several weeks.
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I've been meaning to ask, is there any evidence that your body's inflammatory response has gotten aggravated by any new foods or medication?
 

Nathan said:
I've been meaning to ask, is there any evidence that your body's inflammatory response has gotten aggravated by any new foods or medication?
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My diet is very consistent, and I'm kind of on alert when I eat something that isn't a usual part of it...like if eat something unusual and then I have new symptoms or my normal symptoms are worse, I probably won't eat that again. Also, I've been taking the same Rx meds for almost 20 years, and have only increased the Norco dosage twice, and that was in the past 3 years.

I'll see my PCP in a few weeks; just a reg check-up and bi-annual med review. So we will be talking about the Norco. I've built up a tolerance to it, and I'm not sure where we can go from here. I've been vigilant about keeping the dose as minimal as possible but high enough to allow me to have some enjoyable hours every day. I've been getting 3 to 4 relatively pain-free hours plus 3 to 4 more of tolerable pain....until about 4 months ago.

That's when, along with increased pain and fewer hours of relief, I've experienced problems with mobility. My legs just aren't working right. They don't move right and they don't respond well. Like, my mind says take a step and my leg says "Give me a few seconds," and then goes left instead of right. This is why I stopped driving recently....mind said "Hit the brake," leg said "Come again?"

This hand pain is just an additional PITA. I should talk to my PCP about a med change. I can't do the re-uptake meds like Gabapentin and Cymbalta. They eff me up majorly, so I really need opiate derivatives like morphine or percocet. Opiods work like magic on my RLS and cramping. Re-uptake meds make them way worse....intolerably worse.

But I haven't tried THC yet. I should try it. Might help my back, the RLS, and the hand pain. That would be awesome. So, I'll talk to her about it. My PCP.
 

Murrmurr said:
My diet is very consistent, and I'm kind of on alert when I eat something that isn't a usual part of it...like if eat something unusual and then I have new symptoms or my normal symptoms are worse, I probably won't eat that again. Also, I've been taking the same Rx meds for almost 20 years, and have only increased the Norco dosage twice, and that was in the past 3 years.

I'll see my PCP in a few weeks; just a reg check-up and bi-annual med review. So we will be talking about the Norco. I've built up a tolerance to it, and I'm not sure where we can go from here. I've been vigilant about keeping the dose as minimal as possible but high enough to allow me to have some enjoyable hours every day. I've been getting 3 to 4 relatively pain-free hours plus 3 to 4 more of tolerable pain....until about 4 months ago.

That's when, along with increased pain and fewer hours of relief, I've experienced problems with mobility. My legs just aren't working right. They don't move right and they don't respond well. Like, my mind says take a step and my leg says "Give me a few seconds," and then goes left instead of right. This is why I stopped driving recently....mind said "Hit the brake," leg said "Come again?"

This hand pain is just an additional PITA. I should talk to my PCP about a med change. I can't do the re-uptake meds like Gabapentin and Cymbalta. They eff me up majorly, so I really need opiate derivatives like morphine or percocet. Opiods work like magic on my RLS and cramping. Re-uptake meds make them way worse....intolerably worse.

But I haven't tried THC yet. I should try it. Might help my back, the RLS, and the hand pain. That would be awesome. So, I'll talk to her about it. My PCP.
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Frank I don't like the sound of this... the legs thing has me concerned. is there any MS in your family ?
 
hollydolly said:
Frank I don't like the sound of this... the legs thing has me concerned. is there any MS in your family ?
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No, not that I know of.

It's got me really worried. I'm reasonably certain it has to do with my spine. Probably the deformed nerve root at L4. Unfortunately, it's a very rare deformity and there's nothing they can do about it. It can't be removed, for sure, and there's no known treatment or resolution.

When my pain doc deadened it, that was great! No pain, until the chemicals wore of several months later. But they can't keep doing that or the nerve root will eventually shoot off a bunch of new nerves. Tiny ones that will form a messy, balled-up web that can cause more problems.
 
Murrmurr said:
No, not that I know of.

It's got me really worried. I'm reasonably certain it has to do with my spine. Probably the deformed nerve root at L4. Unfortunately, it's a very rare deformity and there's nothing they can do about it. It can't be removed, for sure, and there's no known treatment or resolution.

When my pain doc deadened it, that was great! No pain, until the chemicals wore of several months later. But they can't keep doing that or the nerve root will eventually shoot off a bunch of new nerves. Tiny ones that will form a messy, balled-up web that can cause more problems.
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What are you hoping for at this point? What would you consider a good result? I'd think about this and work towards that goal.
 
Murrmurr said:
This hand pain is just an additional PITA. I should talk to my PCP about a med change. I can't do the re-uptake meds like Gabapentin and Cymbalta. They eff me up majorly, so I really need opiate derivatives like morphine or percocet. Opiods work like magic on my RLS and cramping. Re-uptake meds make them way worse....intolerably worse.

But I haven't tried THC yet. I should try it. Might help my back, the RLS, and the hand pain. That would be awesome. So, I'll talk to her about it. My PCP.
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That's always been my view, Opiods are the only pain meds that are effective, aside from the NSAIDs for minor pain. I don't take NSAIDs because of the elevated risk for heart attack and stroke.

About the THC: 2 basic kinds of THC- Indica (relaxing, sleepy) and Sativa( euphoric, a bit stimulating), plus blends of the two. You can buy edibles, even tinctures that are for use topically.
I have used both kinds of THC for minor~moderate pain from osteoarthritis, each is able to activate the cannabinoid receptors. I use the Sativa during the day, when I really don't want to go nappy time. Some people dislike the Sativa because as a stimulant it can increase anxiety levels.
 
Nathan said:
That's always been my view, Opiods are the only pain meds that are effective, aside from the NSAIDs for minor pain. I don't take NSAIDs because of the elevated risk for heart attack and stroke.

About the THC: 2 basic kinds of THC- Indica (relaxing, sleepy) and Sativa( euphoric, a bit stimulating), plus blends of the two. You can buy edibles, even tinctures that are for use topically.
I have used both kinds of THC for minor~moderate pain from osteoarthritis, each is able to activate the cannabinoid receptors. I use the Sativa during the day, when I really don't want to go nappy time. Some people dislike the Sativa because as a stimulant it can increase anxiety levels.
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Extremely helpful! Thanks again.
 
chic said:
What are you hoping for at this point? What would you consider a good result? I'd think about this and work towards that goal.
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I know my spine really well, and it isn't sound, but it's as sound as it's ever going to be. The surgeons did all they could with the bones and the neurologists don't know what they don't know. There's a lot more to discover about the spine, and not enough funding is going into the studies, imo, but doctors will get there eventually. Probly after I'm gone, but whatever.

I hope there are tests that will help my doctors figure out why communication between my brain and my legs is breaking down. That's goal #1. We can figure out a treatment plan from there.

Ultimately, I don't want to wind up back in a wheelchair. I could live with it, if it has to be, but I'll do whatever it takes to prevent it. Staying out of a wheelchair would be a good result.
 
I used to have terrible pain and impairment in my feet and legs. I'm 89 now. I also tried Gabapentin and it did NOT work. My Geriatrician had no solution. Eventually, I gave up on medicine and used WILL POWER. I pushed myself to take 2 twenty minute walks inside my house every day no matter how much it hurt. Now the pain and the Gabapentin are gone and I have NO pain and impairment at all.
 
Murrmurr said:
My hands are killing me, man! The pain is intense, and it's mostly in my fingers, mainly the middle joints of the middle fingers, and my right hand is worse by far than my left. I'm right-handed.

Norco and Ibuprophen are my regular Rx's. My Norco is 10mg hydrocodone plus 325mg acetaminophen, and I take 5 tabs per day. The Ib is 600mg and I take 3 to 5/day.

They don't help. The pain is the same whether I take my meds or not.

I've used heat...or, warmth, rather. That gives me temporary relief....like for 20-30 minutes, and it's minor relief.

My hands are also jerky (mainly the right one). They don't tremble, they jerk suddenly once in a while. Usually while I'm typing or using hand tools, and every now and then, a couple of fingers will go stiff-straight and lock up like that. That hurts a lot, too, and it lasts several minutes. Also, I drop things a lot, all day every day. My hands lose their grip, or don't actually get a grip in the first place.

Anyone else? Have any suggestions?

I'm really sick of it. It's tickin me off.
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Right there with you. My right hand is also worse. I can button the sleeve on my long sleeve shirt with my left but need help with the other. Don’t I’ll ask my doctor quite yet but I miss being coordinated and sure handed. oh well it could be worse and no doubt will be.
 
MarkD said:
Right there with you. My right hand is also worse. I can button the sleeve on my long sleeve shirt with my left but need help with the other. Don’t I’ll ask my doctor quite yet but I miss being coordinated and sure handed. oh well it could be worse and no doubt will be.
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I expect to be told it's "just arthritis" but I'm curious to know if something else is going on in there. So I'm going to press my doc for an MRI.
 
Mitch86 said:
I used to have terrible pain and impairment in my feet and legs. I'm 89 now. I also tried Gabapentin and it did NOT work. My Geriatrician had no solution. Eventually, I gave up on medicine and used WILL POWER. I pushed myself to take 2 twenty minute walks inside my house every day no matter how much it hurt. Now the pain and the Gabapentin are gone and I have NO pain and impairment at all.
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When I can keep my energy level up, I can easily distract myself from pain doing various projects. I am too unsteady to go for a walk down the street, but I walk around the yard every day. Granted, it isn't much walking, but my back problems and RLS limit how far I can go without causing problems later.

Meditating for 15-20 minutes is also a great way to turn off the pain for an hour or more.
 
Mitch86 said:
I used to have terrible pain and impairment in my feet and legs. I'm 89 now. I also tried Gabapentin and it did NOT work. My Geriatrician had no solution. Eventually, I gave up on medicine and used WILL POWER. I pushed myself to take 2 twenty minute walks inside my house every day no matter how much it hurt. Now the pain and the Gabapentin are gone and I have NO pain and impairment at all.
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So glad to hear you're feeling better, Mitch. Does this mean you have also stopped the extremely high dose of Tylenol you were giving yourself? Am I remembering 3,000mg plus aspirin? Assuming so since you said you "gave up on medicine." That would be tremendously inspiring! @Mitch86
 
I also have pain in my hands, and last week, my PCP told me to get some glycine powder and put a teaspoon in food or drink twice a day.
She says it'll take about a month before I notice a difference, but she swears by it.
 
Cornhusker said:
I also have pain in my hands, and last week, my PCP told me to get some glycine powder and put a teaspoon in food or drink twice a day.
She says it'll take about a month before I notice a difference, but she swears by it.
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Thanks, Cornhusker.

I take an amino acid supplement and a few foods I eat regularly are high in amino acids, so I'm confident I'm getting plenty.
 
I take a walk in my yard and in the house for one hour.if I start getting wobbly I pause the stopwatch on my phone until I start up again.and I massage my hands while I'm walking. I have such a hard time gripping things.
 
Could be Carpul Tunnel which I had a test for About six months ago
And it was positive,
Sometimes they give steroid injections or if it’s severe an operation
I am still waiting for my operation, hope you find out soon .
 
Remy said:
@Murrmurr Any better or are you still having the pain?
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It hasn't been bad today. I even worked on a vest I'm making for Ariel, my g-daughter. Yesterday was a good one, too.

The only thing different that I've done is ask Meesh to message my hands. So I guess that's helping. But I have an appt w/my doc in a couple weeks.

Thanks, Remy.
 

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