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Thread: Handling Arthritis

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duces Tecum View Post
    Welcome to the club. Have a seat over there by the fireplace and don't worry about getting up. Chester always comes around every so often to help us out of our chairs. In the meantime he'll bring you a bourbon. I can see you're wincing. May I offer you the institutional knowledge given to me back when I was a new member? It doesn't always work, but it seems to work more often than not.

    01: Daily, whether you "need" it or not: Glucosamine with Chondroitin. Take as directed. I get mine at Costco. There's a bunch of us who meet at the Glucosamine rack and tell each other our complaints. No, it doesn't make any difference that they've been hearing the same complaints for years: nobody remembers. After "social hour" we visit the sample-ladies on our way to the bathroom.
    02: Daily, for chronic pain: cocktail of 400 mg ibuprofen and 1000 mg acetaminophen. Follow maximum dosage guidance on the labels.
    03: A topical cream for acute flare ups, particularly useful after saying, "Sure, I can do that. Used to do it all the time!": Voltaren Gel. Follow the directions.
    My doc is yelling at me for taking NSAIDs (Aleve seems to work best for me) way too many weeks (months) in a row. That not a good long term solution. I’ve at least managed to cut my Aleve use in half down to just at night by using the prescription topical stuff during the day.

    I’m assuming OP has osteo arthritis and not a rheumatoid version. I’d have more suggestions if it was rheumatoid.

  2. #12
    Member Paso Quito's Avatar
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    Jan 2018
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    Desert Southwest
    I've fought joint inflammation for a decade or two. For years I took 2-4 Ibuprofen 3-4 times/day for pain & to reduce the inflammation. I read the book Protein Power by Dr. Eades and decided to try the diet... essentially what is called the Keto diet now. In this diet you get most of your caloric intake from fat, then protein, last carbs. I call it a high fat, adequate protein low, carb diet. I went whole hog and kept my daily carb intake below 20gr for a month. That meant no grains, no sugar. After one month I was able to completely stop the ibuprofen. I was able to increase carb intake slowly over time to 50 gr or so without the inflammation starting again. After a number of years I lapsed & it all started over.

    I did the same process again and got the same results. No I take Theracurmin as well and it helps too.

    Not only does this diet reduce inflammation dramatically (for me and my wife at least) it also raises HDL and lowers blood insulin levels. I personally believe that anyone that eats according to the current food pyramid is essentially guaranteed high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, possible diabetes, etc. in the long term.

    The diet requires a major change (for us anyway) and you have to plan but once you get going you are not hungry.

    One thing that you can do if you don't want to go this extreme is to cut out all wheat/gluten. This is a common irritant and often makes inflammation worse. If you don't replace all the wheat with almond/rice/??? flour you will get some of the same benefits listed above.

  3. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by luckyman View Post
    My doc is yelling at me for taking NSAIDs (Aleve seems to work best for me) way too many weeks (months) in a row. That not a good long term solution. I’ve at least managed to cut my Aleve use in half down to just at night by using the prescription topical stuff during the day.

    I’m assuming OP has osteo arthritis and not a rheumatoid version. I’d have more suggestions if it was rheumatoid.
    You have a good doc, and a right thought process.

    Farscott, take some time to go see a rheumatologist and get a more specific diagnosis. Overuse vs inflammatory vs metabolic have different treatments and implications.

  4. #14
    Member Gary1911A1's Avatar
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    Jan 2012
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    Portsmouth, OH
    I have R.A. and shot a local USPSA Match last Sunday in Single Stack shooting Major. I don't think I'll ever be able to do it again so I can relate to the OP. From now on it will have to be steel frame 1911s' in 9MM. Shot 6 stages over 150 rounds and my trigger finger joint still hurts.

  5. #15
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    Dunedin, FL, USA
    Quote Originally Posted by YVK View Post
    You have a good doc, and a right thought process.

    Farscott, take some time to go see a rheumatologist and get a more specific diagnosis. Overuse vs inflammatory vs metabolic have different treatments and implications.
    Will do. Trying to get into a specialist now. Initial blood tests were negative for RA, but my uric acid was high. I expect specialist will run more extensive battery of tests.
    Last edited by farscott; 05-08-2018 at 05:17 PM.

  6. #16
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    Jan 2017
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    Raleigh NC
    Do strength training for your whole body. Do grip work (flexion) as well as finger extension.

  7. #17
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    Dunedin, FL, USA
    Quote Originally Posted by Malamute View Post
    For those that currently have problems shooting because of arthritis, are 4" K frames with 38 wadcutters problematic? How about something like a Ruger 22 auto target pistol?
    I have had no issues at all with high round counts with a Ruger Standard-pattern pistol. I shoot a lot of .22, both pistol and rifle, as I really enjoy it. Yesterday after work I dug out my .22 spinner targets and spent a bit of time getting them to spin.

  8. #18
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    I took a break from shooting .44 Magnum revolvers, beginning in March 1985, and when I resumed big-bore Magnum shooting in late 1985, it was with .41 Magnums. I soon sold the Model 629. By 1990, I had retired the Model 58, and soon sold the Model 657. Arthritis was not on my radar at that time; I just knew that training was becoming painful, but those large-frame, big-bore Magnums probably laid most of the foundation for the chronic wrist pain a couple of decades later.

    By late 2011, shooting my duty pistol, a .40 P229R, really started to hurt. I could tolerate a 60-round qual, and learned it was best to use a Surefire X200 on the rail, to damp recoil. I soon broke from my usual practice of carrying the same pistols on and off the clock, and brought my 1911 from the safe, to again serve as my personal-time carry gun, after I verified that my skill level had not diminished. I started doing most of my DA shooting with an old favorite, an S&W Model 17-4, .22 LR revolver.

    I completed my switch from the SIG P229, to pistols with a lower bore axis, namely G17/G19, in September 2015. This also ended my use of the .40 Snap & Whip; my chief had just authorized 9mm as an alternative duty cartridge. (I may try an all-steel 9mm P229, in the future.)

    By late 2017, I had to stop shooting G19 pistols, right-handed, unless a WML was in place, to damp the recoil. This was a sign that, perhaps, I should soon retire from LEO-ing. (Of course, there were other factors, too.) By the end of January 2018, I had retired.

    I have continued using all-steel 1911 pistols, shooting .45 ACP, but limit the number or rounds to 100, or less, per range session, and sessions spaced relatively farther apart. I think that 9mm 1911 pistols are in my future, but just bought a .45 ACP Les Baer Monolith, with its full-length, untapered steel dust cover, to damp recoil, and an ambidextrous safety, to facilitate shooting with my healthier left hand.

    Revolvers with large and medium-large frames have a quite high bore axis, so I have largely become a lefty with such revolvers, and have limited my use of .357 Magnum ammo with all revolvers. The Speer Short Barrel Gold Dots have become my friends, in any revolver lighter than a GP100.

    I have not yet started daily use of any NSAIDs, just the occasional Aleve or Motrin, and usually that is when something else is also aching.
    Last edited by Rex G; 05-13-2018 at 11:21 AM.

  9. #19
    Hillbilly Elitist Malamute's Avatar
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    Oct 2013
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    Northern Rockies
    I discovered shooting full power magnums wasnt really that much fun in a 4" 29, so mostly shot medium loads for the vast majority of my 44 shooting. Similar to shooting 158 gr 357s in a 4" 19, not too bad if you dont do it a lot, but loses its charm fairly quickly. That may have saved me some grief in the long run, but I still think about geezer guns, like 148 gr wadcutters in 38s/357s, and even 38 Short Colt loads in those guns. Been on the lookout for a K frame 22 barrel and cylinder I can get bored to 32 S&W long for converting a K, such as a model 15 perhaps, for even more geezerly shooting. Shooting the K-22 and 22 autos is also fine so far. Id like to reserve a little ability to shoot hotter stuff without pain for defensive or game use, but have little ambition to shoot much in the way of hot loads as a regular thing. I think the heavy 45 Colt loads I have for bear country (300-325 gr@1250 fps) are the remains of 2 different boxes I loaded in the 90s. I have plenty left.

    Despite the killed on the streetz matter connected with not using the most up to date arms, (its a given, right, if one uses older guns, they automatically lose?) theres still single action revolvers for heavier loads, they have always been easier on the hands to shoot in any given caliber or load.
    Last edited by Malamute; 05-13-2018 at 11:44 AM.

  10. #20
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    Jan 2015
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    The Keystone State
    Farscott,
    Talk with your internist or family doc.
    You may benefit from seeing a hand specialist.
    An anti inflammatory diet has also helped.
    Celebrex or the generic has worked well for me for more than a decade, along with pharmaceutical grade fish oil daily.
    When things turn ugly I take 50mg of Tramadol, only occasionally.
    Repetitive motion injures need special care and a qualified physician. Exercises need to be supervised by a physical therapist IMHO.
    Good luck,
    Shumba

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