As a writer, I type daily. There are days where I do wonderfully, and days where I see red words all over my screen .. LOL... My poor editor often has her hand full with my pieces! So yes, we understand and always overlook the many typo's we all have!

-Tanya N

Typing's not the easiest, and my job is also paperless, so have to type. I did get an ergonomic mouse, and that did take some stress of my wrist. I haven't found a comfortable keyboard yet. When its bad I use braces, but my typing also slows.

There is program called " Dragon Naturally Speaking ", it's a talk to text program that works great. I have no idea if it works for forum posting but if you do post alot you could use it in Microsoft Word then just copy and paste it to the forum. For what it's worth anyways. Just a thought for peeps with the really bad hands. I consider myself to be very lucky. My hands are still very well considering where they could be. My rhuemy is still scratching his head because they aren't as bad as the rest of the body. Personally i think it's because i was a mechanic for 25 years and my hands were stong enough to crush concrete, so to speak. He's not sure about my theory but never ruled it out. Keep Smilin ;)

By trade I am a transcriptionist, I've been off work since June due to flares. It's very frustrating. It's the biggest reason I don't reply as much as I read in the forum!

Kellie

My fingers have been hurting sooo bad for months now and they get soo swallon. Why???

Kym, There is a medical explanation for swollen joints. A fluid collects in the joints, especially after they have been inactive. The fluid slowly drains off with exercise. No one seems to know why this happens to the extent that it does with RA.

Can't remember when I haven't had typing errors because of my fingers. I don't even bother to correct them anymore. I understand.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is an incredible program that lets you control all aspects of the computer with your voice. I used it ten years ago when I had a repetitive stress injusry in my hands from too much computer use.

It is expensive. Also, it makes a HUGE difference if you have a professional tech come for an hour and set you up. Otherwise you will experience a lot of mistakes and think it doesn't work.

So it's a big investment, but I'm glad to know it's out there should the RA attack my hands really badly, because I'm a writer and my biggest RA fear is losing my ability to type/my livelihood. With this software you can do everything on a computer just by voice.

If anyone is interested in learning more about it, feel free to contact me...

Since I teach online, "Dragon" wouldn't work unless it lets me post online. The college changed from WEB CT to Blackboard this summer and I've had nothing but problems with BB, so I wouldn't want to complicate it further. Thanks for the information. I'll check it out.

How do you know when someone really has RA? When they have a chronic case of "fat fingering" LOL! I am just teasing for those who don't have RA issues in their fingers. For me personally it is a daily issue and my loving DH did tick me off a little the other day when he said if I would just go back to work part time that I could find something other than my RA to focus on. He told me I could work a cash register since I can type. So I got a little annoyed with him at that point and asked him if he wanted to see how many mistakes i made and had to retype. GRRRRRR!

I once had a friend who told me (in a room full of people using a stage voice) that she wished she had pretty, "chubby" fingers like mine instead of her long, thin fingers. I replied that she should be glad she had the ones she had because my fat fingers were swollen and extremely painful. This particular person knew that I have RA, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and diabetes and she knew how much I suffered. I was a lady and I didn't tell her where I wished she would put her long, thin fingers!!!!!! Needless to say, we are no longer "friends." I am much happier without that in my life. Excuse this post. I am usually not a negative person.

I was an Executive Secretary (and I use the word secretary proudly) for many years. I typed well in excess of 100 words per minute. Even though since RA my speed has slowed and I make a lot of mistakes now, I find that it helps keep the stiffness down to exercise my fingers so I lumber along.

I am sending finger hugs to all the RA/osteo fingers out there. May we all get some relief soon..

You certinly were a lady when the "friend" called attention to your painfully swollen fingers. You NC background is showing here! I've had people stare at my cankles, but no comments. You will enjoy this...after I read your post in my email, I had to sign on to DS and instead of my log in name "Stop Flares", I typed "Stop Glares" which is more appropriate to this conversation! Love and support headed your way today and always.