What is Fibro Feelings?

For the past 2-2.5 weeks my wrists have been in a flare-up. I’ve had intense burning, throbbing wrist pain. It was so bad I had to take an opioid pain killer  just to dull the pain enough to be able to fall asleep one night. Of course, this flare-up happened while my parents were in town visiting! While they were here were did lots of driving, so my dad had to do most of the driving for me. I’ve worn my trusty wrist braces daily – both my soft Ace Wrist Braces and my stiff forearm/wrist brace.  These keep me from over using my wrists and usually drastically cut down my healing time. I also iced my wrists at night, which isn’t that pleasant to sit through, but it really helps!

About a week ago my wrists were feeling almost back to normal (how they feel now), but then my right wrist made a loud popping sound as I got out of bed. It took me a few days of really making an effort not to use my hands, massaging my tendons and wearing my braces to get back to where I was previously in the healing process. I’m excited that I’m now near the end of this flare-up! A couple days ago I was able to drive around and post signs for my local Arthritis Walk, return library books and shop for groceries. After I got home I was even able to plant two flowers and water my plants. That did push it a bit, I was shaking when I finished, and my wrists hurt a little more later that evening. They were still feeling decent enough for me to cook a dinner that didn’t involve too much prep work.

Hopefully in the next few days I’ll be able to stop wearing my soft braces. Then a few days after that I plan to start doing some old occupational therapy exercises. I have them from when I’ve had bi-lateral tendinitis previously. That is also when I got my stiff forearm/wrist braces that are molded to fit me tightly. My wrists have been getting aggravated more frequently lately, so I think I need to work them out and make them stronger again!

My trusty wrist braces and small ice pack