verklempt

I am. I really am. I am really wondering how many useful years I will have doing what I do now. I'm already having so much trouble using a computer. I've been a secretary for almost 30 years and am worried. So again I think about college. I can't keep thinking things will get easier. And I need to keep a job. But we already have a daughter in college yet I know this is really something very important I need to think about. I wish someone else really were as worried as I was.

Training your Dragon

In my quest to make things easier in life, I spent most of yesterday's workday working with the Dragon voice recognition software (you can tell it's a very slow holiday week). That is one cool toy. Although I don't know how much it'll help me in my next big project at work, it will help at some point on some project so that's a good thing. The neat thing is you can upload documents into it that you've worked on in the past so it can digest it and and "get used to" how you write (or your boss I should say). And that is one handy dandy cool dude toy because when it comes to legal cites and legal or technical terms, it can really make a difference in how it perceives what your recording. The only hurdle is to get the person dictating to actually slow down and spend time enunciating his/her words.

So vacation starting tomorrow and all next week. . . I have needed this for such a long time. I've taken vacation days here and there, a Friday, a Monday, but there's nothing like 10 days of sleeping in and going at a slow pace. It should at least help my wrists and typing, they are really bugging me and I don't know if it's the tendons from the elbows or the wrist arthritis alone. Now I have a lump so of course being Dec. 29th, it'll be the new year if something is done (why does that always happen!) a new deductible.

Ahhhh, looking to a restful tomorrow . . .

not a good night to post

This will be short because I have a really bad sore throat and other than work, all I can do is watch The Big Bang Theory and try not to spread my germs. I had OT today on my elbows, but they do a world of good for my wrists as well. Tomorrow will be PT on my shoulders, then OT, then PT . . . and on and on. I got a lot of advice on ergonomics at my work desk which I pretty much know but was given the ok to rest my lower arms on my chair while I type to give my shoulders a break. I have been wanting to do this but have tried not to because it is usually not recommended . . . but what's a girl to do when every joint has arthritis? Well I'm referring to the upper joints right now. If I were talking about the lower joints, we wouldn't be sure of the knees, they haven't been xrayed yet, but my rheumatologist and I always wonder if they are arthritic because of the way they sound (and sometimes lately the way they feel). They didn't show up on my nuclear bone scan, but neither did my hips or neck, which have arthritis as well. Anyway, I'm interested in a keyboard which the OT showed me where it's completely split but connected by a wire or something, and can be elevated -- the biggest problem right now is turning my wrists down to type at the keyboard is what hurts the most, we're not sure if that will go away but since I have an obvious bone lump or something in one of my wrists, it would probably be best to find something where I'm not turning my wrists as much. It's amazing how many different mouses are out there as well, and I'm on the hunt for that. But I've been told the best thing for me is the 20/20, stop every 20 minutes and stretch for 20 seconds. If only other people were as understanding, well if they were, I wouldn't have had the extreme flareups I'm having now -- pain yes, but not problems using the mouse or computer, or having to switch to the left hand with the mouse when I'm right handed. so if only. . .

ahh . . . typed in well under 20 minutes.

just another arthritis blog

I'm being sarcastic here -- as I feel there aren't enough of them. The reason i'm here? To pour out my feelings of my life dealing with arthritis in multiple joints, last time I counted: over 10, around 14 if you get really technical and count my SI joints. It hasn't yet been decided if I have just all over OA or if there's an inflammatory component, I have injuries and a twisted pelvis leading to a twisted spine. This first post will be short, but there will be many many long ones. I believe it will be therapeutic and hopefully not a woe is me (well, sometimes), so here we go! More about me coming up in the next posts . . .