PN and My Self-Inflicted Achy Joints

Hi Ray, Oh how I know that feeling. Just got back from driving into Rochester for an X-Ray of my left hand and it pains me to read the interpretation (got the results back already and it's only been 2 hours!).

"Degenerative arthritis left hand and wrist, greatest at the 1st CMC joint where it is advanced. Associated prominent subchondral cyst in the 1st metacarpal base and intraarticular osteochondral bodies. Radial subluxation of the 1st metacarpal base relative to the trapezium. Soft tissue swelling about the wrist. Arterial calcifications."

So I have a steroid injection scheduled for the 18th 🙃 and a sore thumb joint until then.

"Degenerative arthritis … where it is advanced … prominent subchondral cyst … Radial subluxation … Soft tissue swelling … Arterial calcifications."

Oh, John, those words alone are enough to pain a person! I hear them, too, more and more. Setting aside for a moment the many "gifts" that my PN gives me, I have pretty bad scoliosis to contend with. Among the many red flag warnings of my joints being out of whack, I've noticed for a long time now how the many pillows I use to help me get up out of a chair how, if I look back at the pillows, they're all pushed to one side––always to the same side––telling me that my scoliosis is dictating how I sit.

The same happens, too, to the extra pad I've placed on my driver's seat: it, too, always ends up pushed to one side––again, to the same side. You'd think Richard III had been driving the Jeep. 🙂

You'll get a steroid injection, but not until the 18th. Grumble, grumble. That seems a long time to wait for a simple steroid injection. It's a shame our local pharmacies don't offer DIY steroid injection kits.

Take care, John. Snow is in our forecast. I hope your days are clear.

Cheers!
Ray

Thanks, Ray, for your insightful comments.
I'm on the same page as to footwear on bare floors. I have not found a warm slipper to wear because I now wear a women's size 13N, and women's shoes/slippers, etc., are not made larger than a 10 or 11, and men's are usually too wide and floppy. Wearing socks simply isn't enough when it is below freezing out and my feet suffer. I finally found that TEVA does make women's/men's slippers in larger sizes, but not in narrow, and the box just arrived. Let's see if they are narrow enough for me to keep them on. . .

Hi, Joan

I might have been a bit more detailed in my talking about slippers. I, too, had a devil of a time finding a pair that didn't slip off (the heels pop out). Even the ones I have now are far from perfect. (I can't think of the brand, and I'm not at my partner's house.) I envy people with good feet and no balance "issues" who are able to slosh about in slippers without a worry in the world! 🙂

Ray

The much anticipated TEVA slippers were a no go. They are definitely a men's M in width, much to wide, plus they are very rigid, almost feel like they have a cardboard or some sort of board in the uppers. They are going back. So the search continues.

@ray666 Ray, excellent point. You mention the accommodations you make to the discomforts of PN and to some degree, we all deal with it. I've posted several times on the Connect about "adjustments we make along the way" and we have no choice. These adjustments involve how we plan our lives due to the impacts of PN and how well we can then live our lives. Bottom line, until a fix comes along, which won't be soon, we need to make adjustments to live our best life possible. It can be done, I do it every day, each person has to figure out how. And I feel you've done a good job in dealing with PN, you have dealt with it head on. Steady as we go!! Ed

Good morning, Ed

Adjustments 'R' Us, ain't that the truth!?! And, for the most part, we keep these adjustments to ourselves: secret little things we do, or don't do, or do in a modified way, every day, all day long, to get through the day as a person with PN––and to do so safely.

After less than two years since my PN dx, I've already put together a mental checklist of the 20 or 30 personal "secret little things" I do every day to prevent myself from falling on my tush––like making sure I make a secure tripod of my two feet and cane tip before I bend over in the half-light of dawn to pick up my morning newspaper––little things like that that anyone who might see me wouldn't even know I was paying careful attention to.

I was telling a friend the other day that he'd be surprised at how alert my mind is 24/7 just to be sure that, on one hand, I don't have some PN-related mishap, and, on the other hand, to appear to be doing things just like a person without PN. What a crazy dance, eh? 🙂

Well, it's time for some breakfast. I wish you a happy weekend, Ed. See you later in the Connect cafeteria? I'll keep any eye out for you. 🙂

Ray

Hi, Joan

I have found finding good, comfortable slippers more of a challenge than finding a good, comfortable pair of outdoor shoes. As a fellow who's been wearing orthotics since the 1980s (the fourth Ice Age had just begun to retreat back then, as I recall), I badly need to wear them as close to 24/7 as possible; e.g., when I'm walking about on my partner's hardwood floors. I'm at her house evenings and weekends, either in PJs or some other comfy clothes, when a pair of 90 lb. Brooks running shoes would seem inappropriate. A good, comfortable pair of slippers––welcoming of my orthotics while not slipping off my feet––would be so nice! So, the hunt goes on …

Enjoy your weekend, Joan!
Ray

It is nice to know I'm not alone. These Teva slippers that I tried do not have removable insoles either. That I should have checked before I placed the order. Still looking . . .