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Agony and Ecstasy


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Over the last few years I've decided to really learn how song solos and years of trying to create my own style. Stupid I was. ;) I asked ideas of good solos to start with here a few years ago and got many great ideas.

So, finally over the last few months I really started to feel I am making real progress.

I've actually learned some solos from my "I can never learn those songs" list like Killer Queen and a few other queen solos. And many other songs I grew up with that I thought was out of my league. I'm even learning the solo for Adventures in A Yorkshire landscape. And I'm getting it! Not perfect buy any means but DAMN it is fun! :)

So there's the achievement part.

The agony part is I am dealing with Eczema now. My finger tips dry up and crack and the skin starts peeling off. Dermatologist gave me a steroid cream that helps but it comes and goes but always comes back. Did two weeks with oral cleared it up completely but within a week it was right back.

fingers.jpg

So, just wanted to say. Damn this sucks. :angry:

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That sucks for sure, if I was in that boat I would mess around with slide during the times I couldn't fret. You'll get value out of slide practice including useful ear/intonation training. Not to mention a slide can sound really great when you get really good at it (Trucks &" Landreth being two current masters)

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I've got it's first cousin, plaque psoriasis all over my picking hand. It's a beyotch. Sometimes I can't fingerpick due to the pain, sometimes I can't hold onto a pick due to the callus or whatever the extra thick skin is. Too slippery. And it never really goes away. I use a topical steroid cream that helps, but you have to be real careful not to overdo it, our you'll aggravate the cracking and such. I'm told that a *little* extra Vitamin D can help. Haven't seemn much difference myself, though.

One thing that ain't going to make it go away, but sure helps it be more tolerable is Gold Dond Ultimate Healing hand cream. For me, this is the absolute shiznit.. Anything else just seems to put a glaze over things and actually makes it worse with regard to holding onto a pick, healing the cracks etc.

But wait! There's more!! Since both of these conditions are of an auto-immune nature, there's a good chance that it will throw in, absolutely free, a case of rheumatoid arthritis! Strikes anywhere, any time without warning. Just wait until you hop in the car to go to gramma's house, just fine, and two hours later are unable to walk! It's just coolness on a stick!

I feel your pain, literally. Seriously, try the Gold Bond for the cracking and flare-ups.

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The agony part sucks.

The other part, however, makes me wonder if I shouldn't be doing the same thing my side.

Funny enough, I always cite Brian May as one of my biggest influences. However, in my whole life I've learned "for real" just one of his solos ("Somebody to Love"), some few riffs ("Ogre Battle", "Stone Cold Crazy", "Bohemian Rhapsody"...) and just played three or four Queen songs ("Play The Game", "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Are The Champions"...).

Of course, I've been certainly inspired by his playing and his tone ("Mustapha", "I Want It All", "The Show Must Go On", "Dead On Two Legs", "Dreamer's Ball"...) but never got into learning his stuff note-by-note --not because I thought it was beyond my reach, but just because I felt it was not "of my generation". :unsure:

It's maybe time for me to follow your example and do it for real, don't you think? :)

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I noticed that my eczema flairs up the day after I have fresh made bread or wheat beer. I have also read that some people have found relief from iodine supplements though I don't have any experience with that.

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I noticed that my eczema flairs up the day after I have fresh made bread or wheat beer. I have also read that some people have found relief from iodine supplements though I don't have any experience with that.

Root cause is very likely to be wheat: Gluten. All the creams and lanolins and aloes of the world are treating the symptoms.

The basic premise is that your body doesn't process the gluten protein and it escapes your digestive track into your bloodstream, causing myriad symptoms- Psoriasis, eczema, irritable bowel, diabetes 2- on and on, over 200 cataloged symptoms from the simple root cause.

What sucks is that gluten is in wheat, barley, malts, the tasty stuff in pizza, bear, donuts, pasta, most processed foods, etc. And so the cure is simple, but not a lot of fun- cut the gluten from the diet.

My wife self diagnosed this almost a decade ago; two years later I had some blood tests done on me (which are pretty unreliable, both false negatives and false positives) and came in at a screaming positive. It's genetic; we took the kids off the wheat. They all sprouted up as fast as the food bill.

Good news? Bourbon is gluten free.

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I know someone with really bad dry hand issues, they started applying vasoline before bed and wore rubber gloves to sleep. The gloves helped retain moisture, it worked for them.

In the winter months I have to do that too. Dr. said to use "Bag Balm" and then put my hands in socks or loose fitting gloves while I sleep. It's really a PIA because I'm an accountant and I can barely use the calculator (or play guitar) when it gets bad.

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I noticed that my eczema flairs up the day after I have fresh made bread or wheat beer. I have also read that some people have found relief from iodine supplements though I don't have any experience with that.

Root cause is very likely to be wheat: Gluten. All the creams and lanolins and aloes of the world are treating the symptoms.

The basic premise is that your body doesn't process the gluten protein and it escapes your digestive track into your bloodstream, causing myriad symptoms- Psoriasis, eczema, irritable bowel, diabetes 2- on and on, over 200 cataloged symptoms from the simple root cause.

What sucks is that gluten is in wheat, barley, malts, the tasty stuff in pizza, bear, donuts, pasta, most processed foods, etc. And so the cure is simple, but not a lot of fun- cut the gluten from the diet.

My wife self diagnosed this almost a decade ago; two years later I had some blood tests done on me (which are pretty unreliable, both false negatives and false positives) and came in at a screaming positive. It's genetic; we took the kids off the wheat. They all sprouted up as fast as the food bill.

Good news? Bourbon is gluten free.

The Doc ordered blood tests yesterday as a matter o' fact. Until recently I thought gluten problems always caused intensely painful Celiac disease but I'm finding out that wheat/gluten intolerance doesn't always cause pain but can manifest in many ways. My eczema is only on my hands (flair ups around the joints are especially painful). Thanks for the additional info Toadroller. :)

Good bye microbrews, hello fine bourbons! :D

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I knew I would get some useful knowledge. I have cotton gloves and have tried various lotions/things at night.

The gluten makes me think. Supposedly, this IS allergy based.

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Looks to me like it could be contact dermatitis. You may have a nickle allergy. Many people, predominately women, are allergic to nickle. You can cheaply test this theory by changing to a coated string. Just changing to stainless steel strings may not be sufficient because many stainless alloys have nickle in them. Hope this helps.

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Looks to me like it could be contact dermatitis. You may have a nickle allergy. Many people, predominately women, are allergic to nickle. You can cheaply test this theory by changing to a coated string. Just changing to stainless steel strings may not be sufficient because many stainless alloys have nickle in them. Hope this helps.

That came into my mind too. Did you think of changing strings? Check your playing style. Are you using all 4 fingers in a classical way? My wife likes my fingering too - joking. My fingertips feel equally used.

Instead of your regular doc I'd recommend a good chinese medicine expert. Anything pharmacy wouldn't solve the problem as I think comes from the inside. You might check for anything fungus in your stomage area i.e.

Traditional Chinese Medicine had put me in line a few years ago traditional western pharmacy could have never done. I'm totally committed to TCM now.

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The nickel allergy is something I've had to read about. Getting new strings and a set up on the proto next week. Going with steel strings. I don't change strings very often but I do think I went with nickel strings last time.

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3of5 said stay away from the stainless strings. Go get a set of Elixers or maybe some of those newer color coated strings to make sure there is no nickel alloy touching your fingers.

Frets are also made from a nickel alloy. If you could find something with stainless steel frets to play for a while that might help. If it turns out that you have a nickel allergy you could start having your guitars refretted with the stainless steel frets. It would be expensive, but worth it.

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