Joint Pain could it be from Parkinson’s?

[Darcy3]

I have had joint pain since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s 2 years ago. Thinking it might be some type of arthritis I went to my GP and had a battery of blood work. All labs came back within normal range. I have to accept this joint pain is from Parkinson’s. Has anyone else had this issue and if so what have you done to ease the pain. My GP suggested steroids but I am concerned about taking them they have so many side effects.

[Smittybear7]

I have muscle weakness and cramping. I have difficulty getting in and out of bed, cars,up and down on the toilet. My leg sometimes goes numb. I'm looking for nonsteroidal inflammatory relief. Keep me posted if you find help. I just met with an orthopedic surgeon who said the arthritis in my hip and muscle tear aren't responsible for the issues I am having. He referred me to a neurologist to check for issues with Parkinson's. Hope it isn't.

[rabbits65 in reply to Smittybear7]

Hi Smittybear , I had a comfort height toilet installed, they are really good and make getting on and off the toilet really easy. Just wanted to tell you this .From Penny

[Smittybear7 in reply to rabbits65]

How high and thanks

[rabbits65 in reply to Smittybear7]

My comfort height toilet is 20 inches high. I also had a walk in bath with a seat put in .

[Smittybear7 in reply to rabbits65]

How tall are you? Does your walk in shower seat have arms to help you get up?

[rabbits65 in reply to Smittybear7]

Mine is a walk in bath and o have a Relaxa bath lift . The shower is on the wall . So you have to stand in the bath to have a shower . You could sit on the Relaxa lift too . Are you in the U.K. ?

[Smittybear7 in reply to rabbits65]

Pittsburgh PA how tall are you? I'm 5 '2 and I think 20inches is to high for me. I'm afraid I would have a difficult time .we have a 15in toilet and I struggle it's too low and hard to get on and off. Our other toilet is 17,3/4 it's a little easier.

[rabbits65 in reply to Smittybear7]

I am 5 feet 5 inches tall . The higher toilet is really beneficial for me . It was the lower toilet that hurt my back so the comfort height toilets were comfortable , but I preferred my own seat so I kept my own seat. Best to get in touch with the mobility companies . They may have others. Good luck

[Hidden in reply to rabbits65]

Just about to have mine fitted can’t wait neither can the radiator it’s hanging on by a thread it’s used to haul myself up and down. You can get a special toilet adapter in the meen time.

[rabbits65 in reply to Hidden]

You will be pleased with your comfort height toilet and wish you’d invested in one donkeys years ago !!!!

[Smittybear7 in reply to Smittybear7]

Is degenerative arthritis the same as rheumatoid arthritis?

[nomoreheels in reply to Smittybear7]

No. Degenerative arthritis is usually called Osteoarthritis (in the UK), a wear & tear type of arthritis. Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease, our immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of the joints & organs.

[Smittybear7 in reply to nomoreheels]

Thank you!

[Hidden]

Morning Darcy. Steroids in the short term are fine. But they should really be used as a ‘stop gap’ before proper treatment. Can you contact your Parkinson's Consultant/ Specialist Nurse and ask for something more suitable for the longer term?? Opioids have there own issues. I am on Paracetamol now, which seems minor, but it does work for me x

[helixhelix]

Do you have a specialist overseeing your parkinson’s treatment? As maybe be better to raise it with your neurologist rather than the GP.

[Boxerlady]

This is the RA forum - did you mean to post here?No problem - it's just that all your other posts seem to be on the Parkinsons forum 😊

[Darcy3 in reply to Boxerlady]

Thank you. I meant it for Parkinson’s. Somehow it ended up here.

[Boxerlady in reply to Darcy3]

No problem - we're a friendly lot! 😊

[nomoreheels]

Hiya Darcy3, welcome to the NRAS site. I'm not sure how many members will have personal experience of Parkinson's & the pain treatment likely differs between the two conditions as we're treating the RD & associated arthritides, our joint pain is of different cause.

My experience is second hand & UK based, I would think treatments are similar though. My m-i-l was diagnosed with it & her worsening pain (muscular/cramp-like symptoms) were explained as being caused by the increasing rigidity or stiffness in her joints as the disease progressed. She was constantly up & down moving about in her own way trying to ease the pain. It was difficult for her to understand when we attempted to explain how it really wasn’t of help or her… our concern was where she took herself off to as here whereabouts weren't upmost in her mind especially when visiting us. This & her head became more stooped, she had a poor idea of her surroundings & with that our concerns for her safety. I should say at this point this was when she was quite advanced. Our short'ish private road was off a country road, the speed limit was the equivalent of 60 miles per hour & at the time our gates weren't able to be locked, although they were changed after twice 'misplacing' her.

The thing that helped when she was less advanced was physio. Is this something that has been offered to you at all? If not it might be the first consideration as it can really help. Have a talk with your Neurologist, he would understand that the pain originates as muscular & recommend if pain relief will be of help or if your meds need tweaking, or, possibly more likely (from our experience), refer you for appropriate physio. My m-i-l had one specially trained in Parkinson’s, they were within the same department & referred to the Neurologist for the most appropriate treatment & success rates.

Have the members over at the HU Parkinson's not been able to help with their personal experiences at all?