u/pompadare

I am miserable. I have bilateral DQ with intersection syndrome in the right and some other joint pains in my fingers due to hypermobility and I have a release surgery scheduled for my right hand later this month after 2 failed injections and 12 weeks OT that helped a little but not enough. I have been bracing basically since last october. I am immensely worried that it won’t help and nothing is really helping me feel better, therapy not helping. My hands are everything to me as an illustrator, sewist, crafter and gamer. the first two things are my job. I can’t hold a sewing needle and I can barely turn a doorknob. I’m afraid I will never get my life back. I don’t know what I’ll do if this surgery doesn’t help. My therapist keeps asking me and I just don’t know. It’s both my hands and my career and hobbies on the line, how could I know what to do in this situation. I don’t have skills for a job that doesn’t heavily rely on my hands. I’ve been doing art since I’ve been alive. It’s frustrating because no one seems to understand how seriously this affects me. I don’t know I don’t have a point to this post it just sucks so bad. I hate being in pain all the time and not being able to do any work. I feel guilty and crazy and I’m stressed constantly. Are there any hobbies besides reading that are easy on the hands that people recommend?

I am overwhelmed and a lot of these ereaders are out of my budget: I thought I had fairly simple needs but it seems they are not simple at all when it comes to ereaders:

-NO KINDLE!!!! I don’t have amazon prime or want to support them. plus i read it’s hard to organize sideloaded stuff.

-must support libby with multiple cards or can easily sideload from libby with multiple cards

-sideloading epub/pdf support

-some sort of lighting so i can read at night

-small so it wont hurt my wrist when holding it

-easy to change font size/turn pages/etc

-decent battery life

-no ads or distractions

-under 200 usd preferably 150 but I know that’s pushing it

-b/w is ok! I do read comics but I like my ipad for it and don’t see a reason to switch from that especially considering i’m looking for something small and light

Our boy (7 y/o chihuahua mix) got diagnosed with suspected ivdd in 2024 and did a strict crate rest for 8 weeks with gabapentin, trazodone and carprofen. He’s had to stay on the carprofen since then but he also needs to take fluoxetine and our vet told us the risk for a bleed is too high combining those meds even though we have for almost 2 years already and his liver bloodwork is coming back well. They don’t want to prescribe it to him anymore so I only have like 4 pills left. I am going to take him to a different vet because I am personally of the opinion that he needs nsaids to be able to live so the risk is worthwhile. He is having a flare up right now and the traz/gaba/carprofen is not enough. He is on crate rest. He can walk but has clear weakness in his back legs and is hunched over with a bulging back. He is refusing to potty and screaming and trying to bite when touched. We are taking him to a different vet tomorrow morning but I am so scared this is the end of the road for him. He is a rescue from a hoarding case and he has fear aggression which the flare up makes worse and I genuinely don’t know how to help him understand that we’re trying to help him. I feel like to him all we’re doing is torturing him. I don’t know if he can handle another 8 weeks of crate rest and come back from it mentally and behaviorally. I don’t know what to do because I think his chance at a physical recovery is quite good with conservative treatment but if he can’t handle it mentally I don’t know if it’s worth it. Is there any other meds we can try? I will discuss with vet tomorrow, he is not a candidate for surgery due to aforementioned fear aggression and I genuinely just feel like the worst person on earth all the time and that I’m abusing him by trying ti help him because he can’t understand. I love him so much but I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I do think he can physically recover but how can I protect him from the trauma of going through this again. i feel like every answer is the wrong one.

the rest of the driveway is in better shape so I am gonna leave it the hell alone but the drive up and the first slab are really falling apart. not looking for a super long term fix but we need to do something. Can’t afford to replace. can maybe afford to resurface just the first slab and drive up. was thinking about picking out the really bad parts and filling with mosaics but 🤷

hi all. i have bilateral de quervain’s and carpal tunnel syndrome as well as intersection syndrome in my right forearm. i have sought treatment and have already been through OT and 3 steroid injections. The next step is surgery but I can’t do that until August at the earliest. I also have no idea if I will actually be able to fully recover from surgery because it isn’t a guaranteed recovery. I am looking for a tool i could strap to my hand to hold pencils/pens and brushes while braced without having to use my thumb or a tool that could be strapped to my forearm that does the same thing. or a prosthetic thumb that can attach to me even though i have a hand? i have a 3d printer if that helps.