I am wondering if any of you have had lateral epicondylitis? (Your thinking what the h--l?) Tennis elbow. from over use of your fleshing machines? Please be honest and no it does not make you a little wuss. When I got my new flesher I used it for only three hides and ever since my elbow tendon has been torn from the extensor muscle in my forearm. I know because my Doctor told me after I told him him where it is painful at. I was curious if it has to do with the constant back and forth side to side action. My wife beleives it is from my crutches becuase I have used them since 1999. But I have never hurt until this past month after using the flesher. I take over 1600 mg. of pain meds a day to deal with it so I can keep on working. that is 6 Ibuprofins and sometimes 4-5 tylenols a day. If any of you have then how do or did you deal with it?
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I do hope you're not taking 1600mg of Motrin every day. That stuff in those amounts is bad news.
It sounds as if you need to hone your blade to a more efficient edge. Get a stool if you can't stand and fit the cowl of the machine right up under your strong side armpit. Put your chin on it if it helps. Lock your elbows in to your sides and then use your body as much as you use your arms. Wait till Old Shaver comes on and tells you he shaves between 75 and 100 hides a day. It's technique and you need to modify your way of doing it.
George is right- you should not take that much Motrin and then tylenol on top of it. Tylenol can be toxic and fatal at continual high doses, especially when combined with an anti-inflammatory med known for causing stomach ulcers or silent bleeding. You might try wearing an elbow brace when working. Also cold and heat treatments help calm the pain and - cold reduces the swelling. There are some sports type braces out now in the drug stores that have a pocket to hold a cold patch and a heat patch - under $30 and I think the hot and cold packs were reusable.
If you are taking that much OTC meds you should advise your MD- perhaps he or she can prescribe something else that had less liver damaging potential.
I am not trying to scare you about the tylenol, but in a prior job, I typed incident reports on all NYS reportable health incidents in our local hospital. We had two sisters both die of tylenol poisoning as they were taking massive doses of tylenol #3 (with codeine)--it was not the codeine that caused the renal failure and death- it was the amount of tylenol in the T3 capsules (yes, they were abusing the med)
So if nothing else, please consult with your MD!
Your Doctor is right as far as the causing factor. Some people can work all the time without inflaming anything, but due to old injury or just the way God made you, some of us are prone to inflammatory conditions.
What to do? Is there another way to do what you do? Can you take more breaks? Can you apply ice to the area to prevent it from becoming inflamed? Whatever you do don't become inactive, that is the worse thing to do. If your Doctor prescribes PT, take it. If they suggest surgery, I wouldn't do it. There is no guarantee with an epicondylectomy.
Motrin is fine to take if you have no history of bleeding or renal dysfunction. Motrin can be hard on your kidneys. Take whatever dose you are prescribed. For short term use your Doctor might prescribe 800mg of Motrin. At 800 mg or more Motrin has an anti-inflammatory effect. Take it as prescribed by your Doc. Over the counter should be limited to 6 tablets. The main thing is not to become inactive. If you have to take pain meds to get to the point of being able to do something, do it. Good Luck and God bless.
Boy, my body has gone down the toilet this year. First had to get reading glasses. Then I've had reoccuring "incidents" with lower back issues and carpel tunnel all year long (spent many years at a computer prior to this). Almost drove myself to the E.R. in the wee hours this morning my lower back was SO bad! I haven't slept in two days. (It's weird how this crap ALWAYS happens on holidays/extended weekends where you can't get into a doctor for real meds!) And I didn't even do ANYTHING strenous or repetitive that I know of this time.
I've had C.T. issues with my right hand mostly this year. To the point where I had to stop working. Found out that much of the fatigue in my right hand was due to the LATEX GLOVE! They're just tight enough to cut off a bit of circulation and intensify an existing problem. I felt pretty stupid after discovering that. I still need to take it easy, but removing that glove from my painting hand made a huge difference. I can deal with the multiple colors of paint imbedded in my skin!
Btw, I picked up one of those Icy Hot back braces EARLY this morning(with the little hand warmers that tuck in) and it HELPS my lower back IMMENSELY! (Btw, the packets are throw-aways.) The jacuzzi WAS working, but NOT last night. The little packs concentrate the heat in one spot and are hotter. I'm glad I made the trip to OSCO!
And now, the last few weeks I believe I've got a UTI! (I know - too much information!) Or at least I hope that's all it is. Oh yeah, forgot to mention I still need to get in for my colonoscopy which is 5 years overdue! (Tried saving some money and had the wife do it with the video camera but we didn't have a long enough cord - LOL!)
Chad, sounds like you need to do a few things differently. Adjust your style, rotate your tasks, consult a physician, Ice and heat, etc., etc., etc.. I think if you add up all these little things it will make a difference. And listen to those folks about the dangers of mass quantities of over the counter stuff. I've been hitting the Ibuprofen pretty heavily for the last few weeks (prolly 16 of those little pills in a 24 hour period - 4 at a time) Which, was recommended by the doctor, BUT I don't trust doctors...
...with those Meds...they have a therapudic effect that only go so high ...takeing more than the priscribed dose will not help...it will only harm your kidneys or liver...hope you get better ...TD
I will continue to keep working, I have purchased a brace, and when I get home from taxidermy school I will start changing my shaving methods with more breaks if needed. I am down to only 400 mg of ibuprofin a day now, and also bought a few reusable ice packs. So I hope it will start to slow down on the pain. I appreciate your information from all of you. If there was such a potion called oil of young age we would not need all these meds. LOL
A simple and cost effective way to fight inflammation is by suppplementing our diets with Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). Because the inflamation is severe one would need to take anywhere from 9 to twelve capsules per day. Because this is a natural remedy it might take a couple of days before the true effects are seen but it's amazing how fast some people see the relief.
There are also many other benefits of taking these supplements. Our bodies are breaking down for a reason folks. Some of us aren't even that old.
Those NSAIDs can do some rather nasty damage if their use is continued at high dose.
http://www.medicinenet.com/nonsteroidal_antiinflammatory_drugs/article.htm
The natural remedy...try these links:
http://www.longevinst.org/nlt/newsletter13ext2.htm
http://www.longevinst.org/nlt/newsletter13ext4.htm
http://www.longevinst.org/nlt/newsletter1.htm
http://www.mineralstory.com/
If anyone has any questions feel free to shoot me an email.