Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

davemchine · Jul 6, 2012, 11:34 PM

My mother has terribly arthritic hands. They are all bent up. She has had several surgeries to replace joints but has constant pain and taking several medications. Are there any therapies that I might be able to help her with? Exercises? Soaks? Anything?

Thanks.

ghporter · Jul 7, 2012, 05:43 AM

Firstly, she should have had at least one referral for hand therapy through all the surgeries and such. Arthritis that causes such significant damage is typically either extremely advanced osteoarthritis (wear and tear that we all get over time), or rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disorder. Since you don't mention your mother's age, nor how long this has been going on, I can only make a couple suggestions. First, she should get her doctor to send her to a hand therapist as soon as possible. Second, she should use a warm water soak several times a day, which will help with the discomfort and stiffness.

I'm interested in how she does. Please let us know.

davemchine · Jul 7, 2012, 08:20 AM

We live in a small town and her normal doctor has been dragging his feet on this issue trying to treat her with NSAIDS which made no difference at all. I pushed her pretty hard into getting some additional blood tests and into going to a specialist. So she got the blood tests which indicate she might have lupus and she has one of the forms of arthritis you mentioned but I don't remember which one. She now has a referral to see a specialist in Seattle and I'm sure she will then get the appropriate medications that she needs. I was just hoping that in the meantime there was something I might be able to help her with.

You had also asked about her age, she is 57 and still working for the post office sorting mail every day and delivering it. By the end of the day she cannot use her hands for anything. She can't make dinner or even open a door sometimes. She can't work in the garden any longer either. Apparently it also affects her knees which she said swells up tremendously but also randomly. She has about 8 steps to get to her bedroom and this is becoming a problem for her.

It's one of those situations where I really want to help but I have no idea what to do.

Thanks,

Dave

subego · Jul 8, 2012, 01:18 AM

I assume she's taking glucosamine?

Shaddim · Jul 8, 2012, 03:38 AM

She should be on chloroquine, and given the severity of her condition, in tandem with Methotrexate or another disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) such as or Golimumab.

Get her to a rheumatologist, stat. In the mean time have her take warm baths in Epsom salts.

ghporter · Jul 8, 2012, 01:08 PM

Epsom salts have little evidence of adding to the effect of simply soaking in warm to hot water.

At 57, the lady is unlikely to be experiencing osteoarthritis, based on the reported severity of her symptoms. She NEEDS to see a rheumatologist, and soon. What's next, her knees? That would put her out of work completely. She should fire her doctor if he doesn't hook her up with a rheumatologist VERY soon.

andi*pandi · Jul 8, 2012, 03:52 PM

Speaking purely anecdotally, epsom salts were better than hot water alone. I didn't have arthritis though but an injury.

davemchine · Jul 8, 2012, 10:17 PM

She does have problems with her knees as well. They swell up very large and she has difficulty walking. Thankfully she will be seeing a specialist within a few weeks. Feeling helpless, but wanting to help, I did buy her a pair of arthritis gloves off amazon. No idea if they will help but they were only $25.

ghporter · Jul 9, 2012, 02:56 AM

Andi, the epsom salts help soothe the skin, but they aren't very useful over time with chronic joint issues. Those issues need attention that includes a lot of different things, but I'll leave that to the specialist the lady in question is going to be seeing soon. There are a lot of factors to consider so I'll just leave it with "chronic joint problems respond well to plain hot water soaks."

Dave, good to hear she's getting that referral. Arthritis is a major problem, and getting the right help can reduce the discomfort and difficulty while preventing further damage. Compression gloves help a lot. The better type are from Isotoner, and cost about the amount you paid. They are supposed to be VERY firm, but that's what makes them work.