I’m still not convinced that I don’t have rheumatoid arthritis. My hand pain can be substantial. Shaking hands is excruciating, even on my good days. Do other folks here have hand problems associated with fibro? My symptoms started with periodic neck and hand pain about 6 years ago. Later, it moved into my lower back. I didn’t develop full body pain until last autumn.
Also, I’m just curious as to whether your exhaustion ever seems to go away. I can’t decide if my meds are making it worse or not. I just stay tired. It’s aggravating. I can drink tea all day, but it doesn’t help.
Hi
I have only recently joined in the past few days…
My hand wrist and finger pain is excruciating at the moment…I’m in the midst of a flare I feel every bone, muscle, tendon and joint as if they are being crushed and are bruised and sore my skin hurts to touch and the ache is incredible.
I was wondering if hand finger and wrist supports with magnets in would help at least a little.
Has anyone tried them.
Thanks
I’ve used wrist supports in the past. They weren’t the kind that contained magnets. I thought that the support helped some. They were the kind of braces that people wear when they have carpal tunnel. I’ve walked around the house with regular gloves on in the past, too. That has helped occasionally.
At that time, however, I wasn’t dealing with skin that was sore to the touch. If your hands are sore to the touch, would the pressure of a brace make it worse? It might be worth a try, but maybe you should try going a size up so that the brace is a bit more loose?
When my hands get really bad, my best hope tends to be heat. The best thing I have are cherry pit pack mittens. You heat them up in the microwave and wear them on your hands like gloves so you get heat completely around the hand and wrist. You can’t work with them on, however.
I don’t have fibro but I do have hand pain from psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis so I hope you won’t mind me butting in.
Recently I attended some hand OT appointments. The very first thing the OT wanted me to try was the paraffin wax bath. I put up some resistance - I don’t much like gadgets / I haven’t got time to fire up a bath of wax every time my hands hurt / holding my hand against a mug of hot coffee or bag of frozen peas is quicker & easier / I’m an incurable cynic etc. etc.
Anyway I eventually gave in and wow wowzer wow! What a beautiful sensation through & through. I sat with the wax ‘glove’ on with my hand inside a plastic bag for about 20 minutes after dipping my hand in the bath and the pain free easiness lasted 24 hours or so.
I realise that this doesn’t make shaking hands and so on any easier. Or actually perhaps it would. Often I’m less interested in reducing pain than in getting on with life, but daft as I am, I’m gradually realising that lessening pain / breaks from pain do help with the life thing!
After reading the responses, I don’t know if my hand pain is from fibromyalgia or arthritis. Sometimes the pain feels like someone has smashed my hand, other times the pain is all in my fingers. I have both. I wear gloves in the house and put my hands in front of the heater. That helps a little. I’m new here.
My issues started with hand pain…and soon spread body wide. I still drop things, dread ziplocs, etc and have pain. Sometimes it’s like needles in my joints, sometimes it’s a dull deep ache, and sometimes it feels like it’s the tendons/ligaments. I have had my hands xrayed a couple of times over the last five years. No visible damage, doc says its fibro, not arthritis.
I find it very frustrating this pain and weakness - it’s not like I want to have arthritis I just can’t wrap my head around so much pain and the type of pain(s) and no physical findings.
My hands are also cold, esp. in the winter - esp. the first two fingers and thumb - also where the pain is worst. My right hand is worse - another person can feel the temperature difference. I wear gloves always outside, fall to spring. Sometimes I wear fingerless ones in the house !