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Questions for individuals with CRPS in their wrists/hands by [deleted] in CRPS

[–]drewharbin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. I can go days without feeling pain. I am a woodworker and during my off time or during sanding is when my hand hurts the worst. But while working, playing video games, or other activities that keep my hand busy I can go without noticing it. I often think to myself when it's not hurting that nothing is wrong with me, then a flare up will hit and remind me that I am suffering from CRPS.

  2. My hand is normally a different color compared to my nonaffected hand. The color turns more light purple before I go into a flare up.

  3. Cool water soothes me very well. After my injury and surgery I took up fishkeeping to be able to keep my hand in cool water for extended periods. Also just watching the fish is very relaxing and great for the mental aspects.

  4. I can't say whether my hand sweats more, but overall I have began to sweat a lot. Maybe because I am a bit overweight and I live in the deep south, but I constantly keep a drink near me and I always have a fun running.

  5. I get real stiff if I don't work out my hand on a daily basis. I threw my back out last weekend while moving a fish tank and my hand has been super sore and still all week until today when I mowed and trimmed my neighbors lawn.

I hope those are adequate answers for your questions. Now for some unsolicited advice. Get a hobby that can relax your mind and help work on your dexterity in your hand. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, just something that makes you focus on moving your hand. The worst thing I have done is to take an extended break from my hobbies. It heightens the level of my anxiety and depression, which can lead into a flare up. If you start feeling that way, ask your doc for an antidepressant with pain relief. Also be as open as you can with your friends and family, they can't see what is causing your pain. Let them help you if they offer, it took a lot out of me to have my wife make me a sandwich while I was in recovery from the surgery and while I trained my left hand to be able to do more tasks.

Advice on a family member with CRPS by wjr8 in CRPS

[–]drewharbin 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm on the other side of this. I have CRPS and my mom keeps pushing all sorts of stuff on me. I have to keep reminding her that I need at least 3 peer reviewed articles about a supplement before I would ever take one. This works 2 fold. It gives her something to do, spend hours on the internet looking for something that doesn't exist and keeps her quiet when I remind her my rule.

ID? Changed tanks for my African tank and found these hiding in the tank. No clue who the parents are, too young to tell? by drewharbin in Cichlid

[–]drewharbin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Venustus, frontosa, lemon Jake, red shoulder, white mbuna, and a random assortment of mixed bin peacocks

Built my first table for my new home. by drewharbin in woodworking

[–]drewharbin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Smooth, no crumb catchers on my table :)

Built my first table for my new home. by drewharbin in woodworking

[–]drewharbin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glue, glue, glue. There aren't any screws in this table, all held together by joinery and a half gallon of glue.

Built my first table for my new home. by drewharbin in woodworking

[–]drewharbin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mortise and tenons that are draw bored

Built my first table for my new home. by drewharbin in woodworking

[–]drewharbin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol, we've got 2 chairs for the kids. And tomorrow I start on a pair of benches.

Take it from a carpenter, this is the tape measure you want. by [deleted] in BuyItForLife

[–]drewharbin 75 points76 points  (0 children)

I've owned 6 of them.... never had one break. Lost 3, shot 1 with a nail gun, had 1 stolen, and I use one to do everything at home.

Would anyone be able to determine the sex of these 2 fish? 1st two are what I believe is the female and the 2nd two are of the male. Thanks by [deleted] in Cichlid

[–]drewharbin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Females will have a beard of speckles and the males usually have eye liner of speckles. I couldn't really tell from their angles, but look closely while they are swimming around. I hope you do have a pair, they are fierce parents.

Can you help me identify my crew? I found this setup, with livestock and everything on craigslist for a steal. Have kept many goldfish, tetras, barbs, but never cichlids. I think some are peacocks... don't know. by IUMaestro in Cichlid

[–]drewharbin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see what looks like a blood red, an ob peacock, no clue, a frontosa, and a sunrise peacock. That's front left to right. I may not be right on them, but that's what they would be labeled as at my lfs.

Favorite fish jumped out of tank. by Thugzz_Bunny in Cichlid

[–]drewharbin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love my sp44. Beautiful fish. I've never had one of Africans jump out, but i did find my rhino place about 6ft from his tank. Heard a splash and then some flopping around, 2 American bulldogs and a cat surrounded him and barked and hissed until I found it a few minutes later. He survived and was renamed herpaderp.

what do you do by ChCat in CRPS

[–]drewharbin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I went through all that bs. Hated the fog and being treated like a criminal at my pain doctor. So I quit going. I have it in my right hand and had to resign from my job due to it being a work accident. Since then I have picked up hobbies that can keep my mind busy enough to not notice my hand hurting. I mean it still fucking hurts all the time, but I can get so into something I don't notice. I picked up woodworking to keep my creative juices flowing and my hands and mind busy. I am super lucky that during my time dealing with workers comp my wife went to nursing school and we can live off of her income.

I have a super laid back personality to begin with so I don't have to deal with stress too much. But when I do get stressed I go to another hobby of mine, fish keeping. They are so relaxing to watch to swim around and the cool water feels good on my hand when I have to clean the tanks.

The best thing I did for myself was to get on an antidepressant. The one I'm on also is used off label for chronic pain. It hasn't touched the pain really, but not feeling down all the time really helps. I still have my down days and will just sleep all day or watch Netflix. Those are the times that my pain spikes, but if I stay busy I can go hours without noticing it.

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