PN and penmanship …

@ray666, thanks for bringing this subject to Connect. I have also been accused of having "sloppy" penmanship. In fact, I notice if I am putting an address on an envelope, my 21-year-old granddaughter will say, "Tutu, I'll do that for you. We want to make sure it gets there." I have also seen poor writing skills listed as a symptom of SFN.
Is there an exercise that might help? What nerve is having trouble?
May you have comfort and ease.
Chris

@ray666 osteoarthritis in my fingers trumps my peripheral neuropathy!
Of course, we don’t write like we used to back in the Stone Age. Actually, for me typing has become impossible because my finger joints don’t bend in the direction I need them to move. I’m stuck with the old hunt and peck. Although, I don’t have a hunt.
I can write beautifully with a pencil because the lead is softer than the tip of a pen.

@ay666 - Ray, great topic. Let's put it this way....I like it when we get a bill in the mail (not the bill) and there is a return envelope inside. That means I don't have to write one out. And, if I need to write out an envelope, I always get 2 or 3 envelopes because I normally throw one or two away before it is good enough to mail. My biggest problem is writing numbers. I have slight neuropathy in hands that has not progressed in a few years. I did find a way to simply this and I will turn to my wife and say...can you..? But, yes, I noticed a decline about 4 years ago. I'll make you feel young...where's the typewriter?

Good morning, Chris (artscaping), Ed (@njed), SusanEllen66 (@SusanEllen66),

I thought this might be a fun topic, although, from what I've read, it's hardly "fun." It seems worsening handwriting has a genuine link to PN. I expect that's why my neurologist keeps asking me about it.

I don't know of any "exercises" that help. Although it may be just wishful thinking, I have noticed that the deliberate focus (double-hard focus) helps with my handwriting. I journal-write every morning: 400 or 500 words by hand, on plain paper, using either a Waterman fountain pen (how's that for 19th century?) or a Vision Elite rollerball pen. I try to let my sleepy brain direct my hand. As my sleepy brain begins to wake up (2nd or 3rd cup of deep roast), my handwriting will be speeding up; the speedier it gets, the sloppier it gets. I must consciously stop myself and say (silently; my partner will still be asleep): "Slow down, Ray! Watch what you're doing. Write one word at a time, or even one letter at a time. If you write a word that even you can't read, Ray, 'X' it out and write it again." If I'm strict with myself, my handwriting improves. The improvement won't last, and it will never look like the penmanship charts I remember seeing tacked up above the chalkboard in elementary school (LOL!) – but at 78, I'll settle for even short-lived, microscopic improvements!

Ah, typewriters! Would you believe to my immediate left, on an old drop-leaf desk, I have an ancient, gazillion-pound, upright Remington Rand, the machine I had in my room when I was a boy in the Bronx and that I've carted with me everywhere. I no longer use it (ribbons are hard to find, and repairs? forget about it!); nevertheless, it's a friendly companion!

Merry Wednesday!
Ray (@ray666)

Yes sir. Gripping a pen was an instant challenge as was gripping a fork of spoon. I prioritized learning the eating utensils first 😊. It use to aggravate me how people would intentionally scribble illegible signatures. I had to audit signatures and contracts sometimes and those people would frustrate me. I am now one of those people. I’m not wasting my time and energy on pretty signatures anymore. I will sacrifice time when my writing has to be legible as in addressing envelopes and important notes. Otherwise I use as many tools possible- type and print when I can, use the address labels that charities inevitably send you. I only put effort in my first letters when signing my name. My husband once criticized envelopes I addressed to his family, so now he has the option to address them in his handwriting. We have to pick our battles, and I will practice for PT sake, but it might be lower on my list than other activities.

Oh yes. I note a marked decline in my penmanship. I think we have to accept it, as best we can.

Yes, decline in penmanship. Sometimes it feels as though I don't have much control over the pen. May be related to the fact that both hands will unexpectedly open when I'm carrying something and then, there goes the thing I was carrying! My hands just keep misbehaving.

Yes, for sure. Plus my hands fatigue after just a little bit of writing. So I print address labels for my Christmas cards, and would never try writing a long letter. Filling out those “updated” forms is the doctors office is bad.

I drop things all the time ... and have trouble opening jars and using the can opener.

In my case, I suspect the change in my penmanship has more to do with the signals traveling back & forth between my hand and my brain (typical, perhaps, of a neuropathic problem) than it does with my hand itself. I haven't noticed any changes in how my hand "feels;" it's only that handwritten words flowing from my pen aren't as legible as they used to be.