One night, shortly after Christmas, I went to bed with perfectly normal, if somewhat arthritic hands, and the next morning woke to discover them covered in hard itchy hives, which five months on, are still appearing with alarming regularity. Several visits to the Dr's and umpteen tubes of steroid cream later later and it's been concluded that I may be experiencing an allergic reaction to one of the tablets I've been taking for the last 15 years to keep my arthritis under control, so I've now been told to stop taking it for an entire month to get it out of my system and see if this is indeed the case. As I'm already prone to allergies which seem to be on the increase this isn't good news. Eek! From experience I know how stiff and painful everything becomes if I so much as miss a day's worth of these tablets, so the thought of going a whole month without is, as you can imagine, filling me with dread. I'm on day three of tablet cold turkey at the moment, and have been desperately trying to keep my hands working by indulging in my latest passion for crocheting - so fair warning there might be rather a lot of photos of ummmm woolly 'creations' appearing randomly in this blog over the next few weeks, knuckles and fingers willing!
In other, far more cheerful news, the ever lovely Ian and I decided to head back to his old stomping ground on Blackdown Hill over the weekend to go check on the bluebells that appear there around this time every year.
I wish blogs had a scratch and sniff facility, because I can't begin to explain how glorious the woods smell right now.
Later that day we drove through the Meon Valley and witnessed more delights as cow parsley and dandelions competed with each other, adorning roadside verges in a froth of white lace;
whilst mysterious paths led off from the beaten track to who knows where?
What a horrible bind to be in. I do hope that you get some relief from both the allergic reaction and the pain. You went to some absolutely beautiful spots on your outing, which hopefully distracted you a bit from the health issues. Good to hear that Ian's hip has recovered enough to go back to work.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to pictures of your crocheted novelty thingamajigs.
Oh I do hope the arthritus doesn't get too rough on you, long term pain isn't at all funny is it... My mum swears by nutrition/diet as a natural medicine approach - I think celery is supposed to do something though I guess it would have to build up slowly... might be something to research maybe...?
ReplyDeleteThe bluebell woods look so lovely... I'm really trying to get some time free to go and see the woods - I missed the bluebells completely last year, but I have an exhibition to hang this sunday and then have to take it down again next sunday so I hope they wait for me!
Keep well :)
Celery is good for blood pressure, but you have to eat about a kilogram of the stuff per day! A low (read ZERO) salt diet will do wonders for your arthritis, and plenty of cherries will provide the alo-alopurinol which will purge your system of those nasty little uric acid crystals which create gout, kidney stones, and make arthritis into a special level of hell.
ReplyDeleteToday is neon day in Ottawa....that is to say, all the little leafy buds are coming out, and the woods look like they are infused with a green neon light. Happens once a year, and I always take a walk on neon day! Combined with the little red squirrels who seem to have taken over my back yard we are having a very colourful spring time! (of course, your spring was two months ago...grin! But we take ours when we can get it.)
Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. Unfortunately I loathe celery with a passion so regardless of it's health giving proprieties probably won't be taking that route, particularly if, as Stag suggests, you have to digest it by the crate load! I do however like the notion of addressing my diet to see if I can take a more holistic approach to everything; quite by chance I stumbled across an article about this book in one of our recent papers;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Hit-Living-Histamine-Intolerance/dp/1456365614/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304680917&sr=1-1
which I think I might try and get hold of. Not sure I'm entirely happy with the notion of cutting mature cheese and tea from my diet, but I suppose if it sorts things out a little it'll be worth it in the long run.
Spring time in Ottawa sounds delightful Stag; red squirrels are something of a novelty here, in fact, I don't think I've ever seen one, as most were wiped out when North American grey squirrels were introduced to the UK, but I believe there's plans afoot to try reintroduce them into the countryside which has cause controversy because it means that large numbers of grey squirrels have to be culled.
I refuse to take a diet which cuts out mature cheese and tea seriously! If you MUST cut something out of your diet to make you feel better, anything fried or anything salted would be a superior choice.
ReplyDeleteSalt is the true killer. Lest I sound like a salaphobic crusader, many of my friends have done exactly that...cut salt and raw sugar out of their diets, and the severity of painful diseases, such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, gout, glaucoma, and even ADHD has dropped through the floor.
(took me a long time to get used to taking my coffee black, but then...I discovered Italian Coffee. mmmmmmmmm.)
And quite by accident, I have lost three inches off my waist since Christmas because I don't eat as much...I find that without the salt, the food does not taste good enough to go for seconds.
Around here, the big black squirrels beat up the mid sized greys, and pretty much leave the little red ones alone. Momma black squirrel (at my kitchen window as I write this) is frantically seeking enough food for her kits...she looks almost comical with her very full breasts and harrassed expression. Just like every new mother I have ever met! Maple keys and pine cones don't stand a chance!
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It's pretty radical isn't it! There's so much conflicting advice regarding salt at the moment, it's difficult to determine quite what to do for the best. I've tried cutting out salt entirely before and ended up getting such bad muscle cramps I confess I relented and reintroduced it into my diet, at which point the cramp went away. Now I consume a reduced sodium substitute which seems to work better for me. I'm not a great coffee drinker but will have to try this Italian coffee that you speak of.....ever tried Turkish coffee - very sweet, very thick and very delicious....might put those three inches back on your waistline if you drink too much of it though!
ReplyDeleteI too suffer from a painful condition and I'm sure one day I will find the OTC pain meds I need daily are wreaking havoc with my system. I don't know how you function with daily pain in your hands. It's so frustrating, isn't it, when you aren't sure what's causing the problem. I wish you well as you search for a solution.
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