Living with osteoarthritis

[Lucy7878]

Hey,

I am 34. I am a mother of two. Recently I was diagnosed with OA. I had to visit the doctor because the pain was unbearable. He gave me a few meds but it I haven't noticed any change. I can barely stand up for one hour. I can't go to work and work for 8 hours neither can I take care of my kids properly. The pain just shoots up. I am undergoing physiotherapy now. Can you please share your thoughts and experiences? Is there anything else that I can do?

[amberly87]

Lucy7878,

While I don’t have OA I do have psoriatic arthritis, which I’ve been told has similar side effects. My hip area gives me a lot of problems. If you aren’t noticing a difference with the meds, I would talk to your doctor and try different options. I tried everything over the past decade and it took a lot of searching before I found what works best; it does take time, mainly due to insurance requirements (you have to try certain meds for so long before being approved for others meds). I use a prescription strength lidocaine cream, and bio freeze and menthol patches work well for me. Bio freeze and the salon pas menthol patches are pretty affordable at Walmart for how long they last. Also, look for a leg pillow; it helps at night to get some of the pressure off the hips. As far as medicine, I’ve found taking something to help me sleep at night, remicaide infusions (a biologic) and Nucynta (my pain med) work well. It takes a while to find what works for you, so as much as I didn’t want to hear this, just be patient. I am a working mother as well and I’ve found just being honest with myself, my family and my boss is crucial. If you need a break, don’t feel bad laying down for 30 minutes or so. I also ALWAYS have my microwaveable heat pack with me. When you can afford to, get a massage. A trigger point massage works well; if you have someone at home that can massage you, show them the general area where it hurts and have them push around until you find the trigger point the pain is originating from and hold it down to release it. It will hurt, but try to bear it to get relief after. I’ve also found using a tennis ball works. I lay on the ground with the tennis ball under me where it hurts and push or roll around on it to try and massage it out. Also, ask your doctor if he does trigger point injections. This is where they inject lidocaine into the trigger points and it should offer you some relief. For relief, anything water! When I swim or take a bath, my pain significantly decreases during that time. If you’re at home and hurting, take a quick bath. On bad days I am in & out of the bath all the time. Just get in and relax 10 minutes or so and it should help. If you have to do this several times, it’s ok! I don’t want to admit I can’t do everything sometimes but taking careful of ourselves is a must. Sit down and talk with your family and boss; tell them the issues you’re having and have remedies that help you ready to discuss. Have them be a part of your plan to deal with the pain. I hope you can find some relief soon- I know how you feel and I wish you the best!

[Lucy7878 in reply to amberly87]

Thank you so much amberly87. I have tried so many medicines but it was all just momentary relief. The main reason I stopped having medicines is because there are so many side effects. You will be amazed to know how much a medicine can destroy your other organs. My neighbor recently had a kidney transplant because his other medicines destroyed his kidneys. Imagine that. I will definitely try the massages, tennis ball, and the leg pillow. I m glad you told me so much. The bath works too!! I have tried it a couple of times. Hope you have a speedy recovery as well. Wish you all the best!

[DelicateInput]

I have not been on the website much over the last few months and have just noticed your post.

You are asking on the wrong thread of Health Unlocked - there must be one on osteoporosis. Also, Arthritis UK is a good website for osteoporosis with a lot of information, and friends with osteoarthritis think it excellent. There are various painkillers which are featured on that website. I used one called Devil's Claw and it reduced pain by about 70% which is quite a lot.

This is not a very sympathetic website to osteoarthritis without any understanding of the severe pain that can be caused by it or that it affects young people in a crippling way, and most people on here think it is nothing like as bad as RA (but I beg to differ). I've known and still know a number of people who have been afflicted with it very badly since their 20s. Some of them like to take a variety of supplements for the bones - have a look on Woods website as they use this as it is the cheapest. It was recommended to one friend by her GP who is not allowed to prescribe them on the NHS. Some of the supplements are MSM, Glucosamine & Chondrotin (usually together). One friend is very keen on Ayurvedic medicine and goes to India for holidays where she does yoga and all manner of health therapies. This would not be practical with two children.

One of the ladies I know had acupuncture on the NHS. I have used electro acupuncture and found it fantastic but I'm not sure you can get that on the NHS. It is not too expensive.

I'm afraid all concerned, including doctors, are very dismissive of the pain of osteoarthritis. They always associate it with age and they are quite wrong.

Best of luck. Let me know if any of this helps.

Just to add to amberly87's comments re the tennis ball. You can do this in a strong jacuzzi. I have some minor osteoarthritis at the base of my spine and I massage it with jacuzzi jet, in the same way. It lasts two or three days and I have absolutely no pain in between. As she said, also swimming is very good - all the friends swim regularly and two swim every day.