Making My Hand Surgeon Happy

[sidthecat]

I came down with a mild case of Trigger Finger a few months ago - an occupational hazard of animation professionals and fountain pen users. My doctor gave me a shot of cortisone into the base of my thumb and told me to stop using fountain pens. I think he would have liked to have told me to stop doing animation, but then where would his patients come from?

Anyway, I began to look at the many tools marketed to people with arthritis, and discovered that most of them are useless for writing with fountain pens. What you need is something you can wrap around the pen to widen your grip. I sewed something together but what I'm using now are little silicone pencil grips...and cutting them in half lengthwise. They wrap around the grip easily without having to force them over the nib.

They're cheap, too, which is useful because you're going to lose a few if you have cats.

[Parker51]

Perhaps you should consider trying different diameter and lighter weight pens with smoother nibs so that you put less stress on your hand when writing.

[dcwaites]

Have you looked at the Rotring Skynn?

 

http://www.pulli.com/temp/Rotring_Skynn_Set.jpg

[tamiya]

you could also DIY something custom from Sugru or get a roll of Self-Amalgamating Silicone tape. It sticks only to itself and after a few days it's bonded into 1 lump.

 

Or if you're really techie, draw up something in 3D and get it printed. Places like Shapeways can do rubbery materials nowadays so I'm told.

[Pichak]

Try to search for 'pen pencil grip' on eBay. There are a lot of gripping shape and material. But I am not sure that will it fit the fountain pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Sorry to hear about your serious problem with grasping the fountain pen.

 

Have you tried the 'forefinger up' method? It is an automatic light grip.

Takes three minutes to learn/

[tamiya]

I came down with a mild case of Trigger Finger a few months ago - an occupational hazard of animation professionals and fountain pen users. My doctor gave me a shot of cortisone into the base of my thumb and told me to stop using fountain pens. I think he would have liked to have told me to stop doing animation, but then where would his patients come from?

Are you a computer animator or plasticine?

 

Lately thought it was aging causing occasional tarsal inflammation then got introduced to idea might be surroundings & environment triggering certain bouts.

 

Sure enough certain foods seem to make it worse eg potatoes, peppers, tomatoes... not even the eating bit, just even pruning the chilli pepper & tomato plants I had growing or peeling spuds with ungloved hands.

 

Some say cutting them out from daily diet can help but they're too much of a staple to my tastebuds

[sidthecat]

French fries are a true pleasure in life, but it would be an interesting experiment to do without them for a few weeks, just to see what happens.

 

I work with a stylus, but I'm pretty sure that the inflammation was caused by writing in notebooks with a fountain pen. It's probably the result of bad posture and overuse. This is correctable, obviously, but I got treatment before the condition got too bad.

 

I have a friend who's had a bunch of hand surgeries, and I think it's probably from typing. Anything you do a lot of can damage you. Someone asked me if the Salon Pas patches on my arm was a fashion thing.

"It's a look", I said.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Once Belgium was part of France so = French fries instead of the properly named, Belgium and or Flanders Fries. I've seen a German TV report. Showed some Frenchman driving in from France to Brussels for the best French Fries in the world. Seen two German TV reports on Belgium Fries....and I wasn't searching for it. The best Pommfritz/French Fries in the world come from Belgium...invented up in the Flanders area.

They are!

Cooked in pure beef tallow....pulled out, drained and cooked a second time.

 

There are lots of things that beef tallow is best for....pies.

 

Much that was once thought to be healthy is not...margarine...and 2/3rds of the 'new' products pushed as healthy....in some cases that was all that could be said about it....it tastes so bad because it's healthy.

Neither salt nor eggs proved as bad as thought.

Being 10-15% overweight is healthy!!!!!!!!!!!! Being skinny is not! Or has not proven to make them live longer....It just may seem longer.

 

OH, 160 is the Start of high blood pressure, anything under is a bribed Congress decision to sell medicine to non-sick people.

I don't know if your doctor gets a kick back, or believes the Big Lie....but it is. Our bribed Congress passed a law saying high blood pressure started at 145...

German TV does a lot of expose's....lots, lots more than the US....of course nothing changes in both countries the politicians are honest and stay bought.

 

They have done the same for diabetes.............there I don't know what the old cut off was, and what it has been lowered to.

For your health do invest in Pharmaceutical stock.... There is a lot of sick people out there, many sicker than they know....as they will as soon as the new lower level of anything is announced.

 

 

 

 

Do look up that 'forefinger up' method for writing ease.

[ENewton]

For hand problems to be caused by using a fountain pen seems odd to me. One reason that I use a fountain pen, as opposed to some other writing implement, is that I write and draw for hours every day, and a fountain pen allows me to write without placing stress on my hand.

 

I know that many people think lighter-weight pens are best, but my preference is for a somewhat heavier pen that rests on my hand, leaving very little for my fingers to do.

[tamiya]

French fries are a true pleasure in life, but it would be an interesting experiment to do without them for a few weeks, just to see what happens.

supposedly they're all part of toxic "nightshade" genus, depending on where one googles

 

Interestingly Sweet Potato is not thus related; luckily in recent months downunder current fad is for Sweet Potato fries even at burgers & KFC etc. Sweet Potato kettle crisps are big now too, been buying those even if they're twice the price.

 

I work with a stylus, but I'm pretty sure that the inflammation was caused by writing in notebooks with a fountain pen. It's probably the result of bad posture and overuse. This is correctable, obviously, but I got treatment before the condition got too bad.

If you're part of the Wacom brigade... is your panel standing up like an easel or lying flat at a drafting board angle?

 

I can't use them standing up, tripod held stylus hand goes into weird angle especially at the wrist.

 

And lying them flat on a normal height desk, they add 2-3" height which again brings abnormal angles.

 

Dare say your stylus tip might get more pressure than typical FP every stylus arrived here seems to come with spare tips (so they're expecting friction wear) whereas none of my FP comes with spare nibs, calligraphy sets excepted.

[sidthecat]

I've been using some sort of slanted desk since the 1970s without trouble, so I have to conclude that the trouble is the unstable little lap desk I've used for the last few years. I also think that writing is just more stressful than drawing.

 

I may look into one of those little tables they sell for using a laptop in bed.

 

One last thought: the Belgians fry their frites in horse fat - specifically the fat from the horse's neck. Beef fat will do in a pinch, I suppose, but if you're in Belgium, accept no substitutes.

[Brianm_14]

supposedly they're all part of toxic "nightshade" genus, depending on where one googles. <snip>. .

If you check an accurate source, you will find these are all part of the nightshade family (I am a university biology professor who has taught botany). This fact is not disputable. (That does not make any of them deadly.)

 

You have a sensitivity to some chemical compound(s) they all have in common. Sweet potatoes are indeed an unrelated plant, and should not cause you any issues. They are also a reasonably healthy alternative to white potatoes, albeit still heavy in starches and sugars, so eat in moderation and don't load with lots unhealthy toppings. Try them baked, then split open with a little milk dribbled on each half and some salt and black pepper! Cauliflower, well-cooked and then mashed like potatoes, makes a great substitute for white potatoes. Use frozen or fresh. Great on their own or try using a good low-fat gravy.

 

Look online for suggestions for substitues for tomatoes in sauces. Pasta can be dressed with oil or butter, and white-sauced pizzas are really good eating.

 

You should be attentive to your diet because this compound(s) may be found elsewhere in domesticated food plants, even those unrelated to the nightshade group. Your sensitivity should be recorded in your medical records, just as an allergy would be.

 

For what it is worth, setting the cutoff for high blood pressure (hypertension and prehypertension) lower is a consequence of our learning from research and clinical evidence that the higher number still led to more strokes, heart attacks, kidney damage, etc. It is a total misunderstanding of how science works to expect recommendations to remain the same. It's called "progress". There are a number of good, cheap, generic meds available that work well for many people.

[Astronymus]

Ever thought of getting your custom grip 3D-printed?

[inkstainedruth]

In reading this it occurred to me that you might want to consult with a sports medicine doctor. Don't laugh....

My husband was having problems with tingling in his fingers. Got told "Oh, you have carpal tunnel!" (because, well, he's a computer software developer/software engineer) and was given exercises to do (which were useless). They also did test which involved sticking needles into his wrist -- which he found to be incredibly painful. The primary care doctor finally (sort of in desperation) sent him to a sports medicine specialist. Who said "Okay, let's see your X-rays...."

"X-rays? Nobody's ever done X-rays...."

Sports medicine guy writes a scrip, sends him down the hall and says "Don't come back till you have the X-rays IN HAND...."

Turned out he DIDN'T have carpal tunnel at all. He had arthritis in his shoulder which was affecting the same nerve....

Also, you might want (as someone else suggested) to look at pens with thicker sections. Yeah, I know: you love your little vintage ringtops with their flexy nibs; but -- at least for the time being -- might want to be using a larger pen. [i can't believe that the surgeon told you not to use fountain pens! What does he want you to use instead? Skinny ballpoints? ]

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[senzen]

Once Belgium was part of France so = French fries instead of the properly named, Belgium and or Flanders Fries. I've seen a German TV report. Showed some Frenchman driving in from France to Brussels for the best French Fries in the world. Seen two German TV reports on Belgium Fries....and I wasn't searching for it. The best Pommfritz/French Fries in the world come from Belgium...invented up in the Flanders area.

 

What might be lost in this is that while english speakers might call them french fries, french people just call them... Fries (frites), so there's no international conflict. For such a small country and next to France with its full range cuisine, Belgium does really well in culinary terms, unlike all its neighbours.

[Wolverine1]

I had problems due to suffering a bunch of strokes. The Physical Therapist saw me wiith a Cross FP and a Cross BP, and he immedietely gave me two pieces of foam, shaped like a cylinder with a hole through the middle. It came in 3 diameters, so, I could continue to use my pens. I got a friend to cut a slit in the foam material, and it was easy to slip in FPs, BPs, wood-cased pencils etc.

Best of luck, Sid.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I did this with pictures along with writing why, a few times, but in this link does it as well.

Help! How Do You Hold Your Fountain Pen?

 

The forefinger up method is an automatic light hold.....there is no pressure as with the tripod, much less the death grip. Takes some three minutes to learn, some week of alternating for me to have settled into it......and then no more pain of writing.

[sidthecat]

I realized I should update this thread: I consulted a sports-medicine practitioner with the wonderful name of Dr. Raymond B. Raven III, which conjured up an image of something like Benedict Cumberbatch, all cheekbones and flowing cape, who'd materialize in the exam room in a puff of smoke.

 

Well, what came into the exam room was a bustling little African-American chap in green scrubs, who said what I needed was a shot of cortisone in the base of my thumb. He flourished a syringe and performed the procedure so quickly that my usual hypodermic-panic-disorder had a chance to kick in.

 

A week later I was fine, and I remain fine. I also changed my style of writing somewhat, having become fascinated with Edward Johnston's casual style, which he used for his elaborately-initialed letters. It's easier on the hand.

[inkstainedruth]

Good to know all is well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth