in the hand

Lately I have been having pain in my right hand. The first finger and thumb, almost like it had been broken. The digits are a little bit swollen, inflamed I guess. Another outbreak of arthritis, different location. I have been learning that when these first big assertions arrive they eventually die down and I can live with it. So I wait it out. In the meantime it is hard for me to lift things or turn knobs, that sort of thing. I had a time peeling potatoes last night.

I haven't been doing regular exercise lately, dang it all. I do get out to walk a bit, just not as much as would make much of a difference. Sometimes I just give in to the pain. And I think about steroids.

The last time I saw a doctor about this, with the pain in my left arm, he suggested taking tylenol four times a day, one capsule at a time. I have been doing that and sometimes I've taken two at a time twice a day. I do think it helps a bit, sometimes more than others. I consider this routine temporary. I am not interested in being on painkillers all my life.