Have you had a sore throat lately? Don't call me crazy, but....

My legs from the calves down, and especially my ankles, have been swollen

since about the first part of February.  I walk around like a "weeble-wobble" doll.

And I thought, gosh, am I too fat?!, eating too much salt?!

Why don't they go down overnight or when I prop them up?

Well, finally I found out that I probably have Hoen-Schoenlein (or something like that) purpura.

They say it recurs.  It usually is in kids, but can happen in adults. 

IT HAPPENS AFTER A SORE THROAT.  It is in the autoimmune family.  Sometimes they will give you steroids for it -- but mostly you have to just ride it out. 

They really don't know what causes it - but like I said they do suspect it comes in correlation with a sore throat.......and I have had that horrible flu that hit in Feb and I have had recurrence of the flu/sore throat about every 6 wks (as do a lot of  the folks I know). 

They say the purpura/swollen legs and ankles can last for 6-8 wks or longer.

So, if you have really funky swollen legs and don't have luck with them going down after leaving off salt, drinking plenty of water, and not drinking caffeinated drinks -- it may be HENOCH-SCHONLEIN purpura.

What is HSP?

Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP or anaphylactoid purpura) is a form of blood vessel inflammation or vasculitis. There are many different conditions that feature vasculitis. Each of the forms of vasculitis tends to involve certain characteristic blood vessels. HSP affects the small arterial vessels called capillaries in the skin and frequently the kidneys. HSP results in skin rash (most prominent over the buttocks and behind the lower extremities associated with joint inflammation (arthritis) and sometimes cramping pain in the abdomen.

What causes HSP?

HSP occurs most often in the spring and frequently follows an infection of the throat or breathing passages. HSP seems to represent an unusual reaction of the body's immune system that is in response to this infection (either bacteria or virus). Aside from infection, drugs can also trigger the condition. HSP occurs most commonly in children, but persons of all age groups can be affected.

What are symptoms of HSP?

Classically, HSP causes skin rash, pain in the abdomen, and joint inflammation (arthritis). Not all features need be present for the diagnosis. The rash of skin lesions appears in gravity-dependent areas, such as the legs. The joints most frequently affected with pain and swelling are the ankles and the knees. Patients with HSP can develop fever. Inflammation of the blood vessels in the kidneys can cause blood and/or protein in the urine. Serious kidney complications are infrequent, but can occur. Sometimes a biopsy of skin and/or kidney is used in assisting the diagnosis, which is typically made based on the clinical findings.

Symptoms usually last approximately a month. Recurrences are not frequent, but do occur.

• Swollen legs & ankles - suggestions? (sm) - Puffycalves
  • Yes. My legs would get so tight and my feet and ankles - me
  • I get that if I wear tight-fitting jeans or shorts and.... - M.A.
  • I know what causes mine - Sorta puffy
  • Have you had a sore throat lately? Don't call me crazy, but.... - ceci
  • Me Three - I make sure my - cartwheel
  • leg pain - Rebecca
  • Cut down on salt, and get up and move around sm - nfm

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It started with a mild sore throat, then went to a REALLY BAD sore throat, tickly throat so I coughed and couldn't sleep, started getting a runny nose, then sinuses stuffy/sinus headache, sore throat got worse - was starting to think it was strep.  Yesterday was the worst; felt like crap.  Last night - started to feel better!  Finally last night I was able to SLEEP.  Today I have felt SO much better.  Not back to normal, but at least I was able to drink a cup of coffee.  Every other day I have poured myself a cup and then it just sat on my desk all day.  My throat is MUCH better and althought I am getting twinges of pain in it from time to time, it's not constant like it has been the last several days.  I don't like this, whatever it is!

I would think it was strep except DD had it too and she got over it.  She said her teacher had it and the teacher said her doctor told her it's a viral thing.

neck and my body was kind of stiff all over, but I ignored it, got the kids off to school, and went about my usual routine of having my morning coffee and reading the paper.  I don't start work until noon every day.  As the morning wore on, my body got achier and achier and I started having chills and basically had to huddle under three blankets so I would quit shivering.  I took my temperature and it was 102.3 and I'm wonder if I have strep throat or something.  I tend to pick that up about once a year and amy pretty familiar with the symptoms.

I couldn't bare the thought of calling sick especially because I work at home and I always think it's kind of lame to call in sick when you don't physically have to go much farther then down the stairs.  I always feel extremely guilty whenever I have called in for illness in the past.  Do you guys feel that way?  Like we're somehow not entitled to take sick days because we already working from home.  I mean, I have them accrued and I am truly sick, why should I feel bad about taking one when I actually need it?

Anyway, I took a handful of Motrin and the aching has eased up and I'm sweating like a pig so the fever broke for now, and now I just feel really tired and would love to lay down and take a nap, but just feel like I shouldn't and dread the idea of calling my boss.

Oh well, guess I'll suffer through like I always do.  Every once in a while working at home doesn't feel quite fair. 

but I don't really see how telling the truth is a stunt.  I have never watched The View, so I don't really know why Star is so anoying to people (Please fill me in!), but it seemed from that video clip that she just decided to tell the honest truth.  I think it is admirable that she decided not to put a spin on it and deceive people, IMO.  From that clip, she seemed very gracious and sincere.  I don't think it was a stunt.

p

Smart Gloves.  Google them.  They're wonderful.  About $20 bucks apiece but well worth the money.

Carpal tunnel type straps.  Wal Mart.  $10 bucks apiece.

I have both and I alternate.

I ended up with numbness in my right index finger, but after buying these, it just went away after a few weeks.  My fingers and wrists have some discomfort on occasion, but nothing like they were before.

One more thing, and I know people that do this, if you do "pound" the keyboard with your fingertips, relax those hands, elbows and shoulders and just tap. If that doesn't work, you may want to get a better keyboard.

Good luck!

   I use elbow pads to save my shoulders & neck, but find that continually resting my elbows on anything (or keeping them bent at a 90-degree angle or greater) for any period of time exacerbates the pain.  My problem is bone-spurs in the elbows - combination of arthritis and/or overuse from sports, etc.  But typing, sleeping with it bent, etc. do make it worse.  I've found gentle exercises on the machines at the gym to be helpful, provided I don't overdo it.  I also use glucosamine & chondroitin supplements for a knee problem that might help a little. 

Sometimes sleeping curled around an extra pillow, with my arm stretched out underneath it to help prevent it from being over-bent, seems to help.  Also avoiding over-use.  I try to keep my med. dictionary on my desk during the day, so I don't have to reach for it, and when I first take it off the shelf in the morning, I do it while standing up to lessen the stress on the joint. 

When it does flare up, I've experimented with different pain remedies to find what is most effective.  While aspirin works best on some of my parts, my own elbow pain seems to respond best to extra-strength Tylenol, and second-best to two ibuprofen (even though the bottle says take just one.)  And the neck and shoulder pain is best relieved by Flexall cream, second-best by ibuprofen. 

Best of luck finding the right cure! 

In a way it's nice to know I'm not the only one who has this problem.  Not that I wish pain on anybody... :)

Fortunately, I did not need any injections.  I had physical therapy--heat, iontophoresis, and exercises--and anti-inflammatories. 

The occupational health physician I saw also recommended a keyboard tray adjusted so that my arms were at a 90-degree angle while typing.  I know someone mentioned having their arms at that angle made it worse, but my problem at that time was having my keyboard too low so that my arms were going down.  Changing the angle did help.

Now when I have a flare-up, ibuprofen usually helps as well as a topical gel called Biofreeze which I buy it from my chiropractor but some independent pharmacies carry it, also.

Does anybody have trouble with a sore left thumb from doing speech recognition in ExText? I have been doing it now for 5 months and have constant pain in my thumb. Just wondered if there was a better way of doing it.

we received our "incentive packet."  They don't even have the wherewithall to contact us personally.   These are temp-agency hired telemarketers sitting around a boiler room making sure we're reading our mail.... told him it don't pertain to me because I've been demoted from FT to SE.... He said, "yes, the letter is vague, but it does pertain to FT as well as SE...." yeah right, we'll see.

Makes no sense!  Wonder how these types of people are running the HR depts?!!  I am fortunate enough to have three offices that I IC for.  So, you moved because of the pay situation??  Hope your in a great position now!

-DAWN-

Are you serious?  I can't believe they would cut our pay.  The more you produce, the more the pay should be.  They are getting paid per line from their clients.  I'm sure they are not getting less from their clients because of DQS.  If that happens, I'm quitting.  I barely make enough now!!!  How much was the cut, if you don't mind me asking?

Although you may be expecting too much of yourself too soon in your MT career.

I have been in over 12 yrs.  I have my own Expander with 20,000+ short cuts in it (if you email me, you can have a copy of it).  I know this expander like the back of my hand after using it for about 10 yrs.  I make about 1800 lines or so a day, less if I am tired like I have been lately :(. 

It IS doable, but I don't believe you have enough expansions to maximize your skills and time.

 I am not sure what would trigger anyone to think washing a keyboard in the dishwasher would work.  I know from others who have had accidents by spilling a cup of coffee, water, soda etc it shorts out the keyboard so what would make anyone think washing it in a dishwasher is smarter?  I cannot believe someone would try such an insane thing.  Oh my.   Those who have tried and ruined a keyboard obviously like to waste money on having to buy a new keyboard.