Life changes how to cope

[Angiemacm]

Hi not been on since I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis 4 weeks ago after 2 years in constant pain what a relief to finally know what is wrong as I'm getting worse my mobility has deteriorated I'm only 50 and feel like my life is over don't think I can deal with this I've been a carer for years and always on the go cycled everywhere I'm dreading what's ahead for me and my family x

[Beverley-NRAS]

Hi Angiemacm,

sorry to hear that you are feeling so bad at the moment. Do you have RA as well?

Beverley (NRAS Helpline)

[Angiemacm in reply to Beverley-NRAS]

Don't know why what's the difference between Osteoarthritis and RA?

[mohikan22 in reply to Angiemacm]

I'm pretty sure in right on this but in it's basic form, osteoarthritis is where arthritis settles in one joint and stays there as a constant.where as rheumatoid "floats" sound the body,popping up in various places.the end result is the same,degenerative bones.

[Beverley-NRAS in reply to Angiemacm]

Hi Angie,

RA and OA are very different conditions although they both affect the joints. OA is often referred to as the "wear and tear" form of arthritis and most of us will get a little bit of that as we age. RA is an auto-immune condition whereby the immune system goes wrongs and starts attacking the person's own body, in particular the lining of the joints. The treatment for each of these conditions is very different. RA in most cases needs to be treated with drugs called disease modifying drugs, DMARDs, to dampen down the overactive immune response. I have put a link to our website that explains about RA for you:

nras.org.uk/what-is-ra-article

OA generally is treated with topical creams, anti-inflammatories and painkillers.

Diet and exercise can help in many cases with symptom control.

Hope this helps

Beverley

[Angiemacm in reply to Beverley-NRAS]

Seeing my GP next week so I will have her explain properly all I know is back arms knees hips hands everywhere and the balls of my feet can't take steroids for the arthritis bacause of the osteoporosis so don't know what will happen

[Damaged in reply to Angiemacm]

Sorry to intervene but this is a pet peeve. RA(RD) is an autoimmune disease and Arthritis is a symptom of that disease. It has a very wide range of affectivity. Osteoarthritis is caused by direct wear and tear on the bone in joints, RD affects the synovial fluid moving not only through joints but throughout your body. RD can be and often be systemic affecting heart, liver, kidneys, yes Lungs Ext. Very different conditions.

[Damaged in reply to Damaged]

Oh and synovial lining of joints will also cause erosion of bones. It is not uncommon to have both conditions at the same time.

[Lesley_1]

I understand completely what you are saying. Stress makes it worse and can bring it on.

Time to look after you. Good vitamins, nap when you can.