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["Lynda" <lurine AT com-pair.net>]

I've used TENS and ultrasound treatment.  Plus I do ballet barre exercises 
and yoga.  Biofeedback has done absolutely nothing for me.

For sleep, I have a little snack (very little), a warm drink and read until 
I fall asleep.  Of course, I've been doing this for decades and have a 
pretty good handle on the whole mind over matter as far as mild to moderate 
pain.  I have ignore down to a fine science!

Lynda
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."  Aldous Huxley
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>

> I saw my rheumatologist yesterday-regular visit.  I've been having more
> flares recently, mostly in my feet, with sore, tender, growing nodules
> at my metacarpophalangeal joints of my forefingers on both hands.  In
> the last 6 months, I've also noticed an increase in my OA
> symptoms...left knee, right hip, both shoulders, cervical and lumbar
> spine, etc.  I should own stock in BenGay and Capsaicin creams!  It is a
> good thing that I like the smell of menthol!
> I was diagnosed with OA at the same time as RA, but for the most part, I
> only have OA problems if I overdo it, or if the weather stays nasty.  A
> gazillion others have the same issues so I know I am not alone.  Today,
> my doc gave me a referral to a foot surgeon and lidocaine patches for
> localized pain.  I cut one down and placed it on my bunionette (a
> bunionette is on the outside edge of the foot by the pinkie toe-it has
> nothing to do with size-just bunionettes deform the pinkie toe and
> bunions deform the great toe, pushing both towards the center of the
> foot.)  I have both like the image shown and the bunion looks worse than
> the bunionette, but the bunionette causes me the most pain.  It is not
> an RA type pain, more like tendinitis, you know, a burning, tennis
> elbow/carpal tunnel type of pain.  So I put a patch on my foot at about
> 4:30 in the afternoon.  I removed it at midnight before taking a shower.
>  You can leave them on for 12 hours-12 on 12 off.  For the almost 8
> hours I wore the patch, I did not have even one pain in my foot.
> However, the pain re-emerged within 10 minutes of taking off the patch.
>  I am hopeful that it continues to work to take the edge off as that
> will enable me to exercise more.  Sometimes I skip the bike ride and the
> fence/mailbox walk simply because I can't deal with more pain.  Today
> was such a day.  With relief from the patch, I took a nap instead.  If I
> can exercise more, especially more regularly,(everyday instead of 2 or 3
> days a week) I can drop even more weight and meet my goal of losing 50
> pounds, which will of course also take a load off my skeletal system and
> joints.  According to the doc, I've lost 11 pounds in 3 months just by
> drinking more water, exercising a little, drinking far fewer cokes, and
> substituting unsaturated fats from plants for the saturated animal fats
> when I can.  I haven't gone overboard or anything, I'm still a major
> carnivore, but I'm trying to make healthier choices and eat more veggies
> and such.
> I thought I would mention these patches in case others might benefit.  I
> was told that I could use them on any part of my body(back, shoulder,
> knee, arm, ribs, etc.)  I wish I had had something like this back when I
> suffered from CTS daily.  Of course it does nothing to stop the cause of
> the pain-other meds do that, but it surely will increase functionality,
> and give me a bigger buffer on pain and my mood.  When you deal with
> chronic pain, you become less tolerant of things and you loose your
> emotional buffer.  Anyway, ask your doctor about these things. They were
> originally approved for the pain of shingles, I think.
>
> I'd like to know how some of you manage chronic pain.  Do you live with
> a bucket of ice, pay for acupuncture, smoke dope, drink vodka???  How do
> you get to sleep when you have mild or moderate pain?  Has anyone tried
> biofeedback?  Hypnosis?
>
>
> --
> "The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public
> debt  should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered
> and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed
> lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work, instead of
> living on public assistance."
>
> --Cicero, 55 BC
> http://erthnsky.blogspot.com/
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