Life with arthritis

[Richardknight62]

I live will arthritis. They tell me its from hard living...breaking things- bones. Ive gone through cancer and may be going through it again. Is there hope on the horizon?

[hawker955]

If you have osteoarthritis they are correct. OA is due to wear and tear, including the dreaded A-word, age! Injuries and body-shape, plus weight all contribute to wear and tear. A job that causes wear and tear contributes eg, footballer's knees being an obvious example. due to the impacts and twisting etc.

But... If you have rheumatoid arthritis then they are wrong. RA seems to be a mixture of genetics, some unknown trigger factors but it is not primarily due to wear and tear. Many of us are wound up by people saying they have a touch of RA in their hands etc which is nonsense. RA is a whole-body disease that has many inflammatory effects on the body making people sick. Like flu affects people, but without a virus being involved in RA.

Cacer can lead to OA by affecting the bones themselves or muscular support of joints, or by direct damage of the joints perhaps.

I hope that this explains a bit?

[Richardknight62 in reply to hawker955]

Hi thanks for your reply. I have OA.. And I have the dreaded blood Leukemia and prostate cancers. No complaining here though. But now my blood reads say my lgM reads 840 and thats very high but my gp doc isnt worried but i am.

[Hidden]

Hi. Sorry to hear of your health issues which I am sure make you feel thoroughly fed up. I guess you need to find out if it is Osteoarthritis, which is fairly constant in discomfort and progression, or Rheumatoid arthritis which causes inflammation in the body and may affect different joints at different times. As a vague indication Osteo causes knobbly joints, RA puffy joints from fluid. If uncertain ask your GP to clarify and refer you to Rheum if appropriate. All the very best.

[popsmith1874]

Sorry to read about your illnesses hope things improve soon xxx

[helixhelix]

Osteoarthritis can be pretty bad, and limited medical treatment apart from pain relief and exercise. Ask your GP to refer you to a pain clinic, and for physio. Exercise can make a huge difference , and can often help cope with other medical conditions too.

I don't know much about IgM, except that rises can be very transitory and not always significant. Pester you GP for an explanation as to why he/she not worried.

[Richardknight62 in reply to helixhelix]

Hi and thanks. Ive dine physio for my shoulder and neck. I worked for my shoulder but to much damage to my neck. They talk fusion to 3 vertebrates