Hi all . popping in while fingers let me .

[pottypam]

Hi all

I don't post very often but do read your posts. But today well finger are not as bad as they have been though you may have un ravel some of my words .

Not been to great of late , my neck and shoulder hurting ,my fingers more so on my right are swollen and and very painful , left hand just swollen . My back hurts a lot and my ankles keep giving way , my knees hurt and have shooting pains , walk further than the driveway of my flat and my hip hurts and leg swells very quickly and weighs a ton so other hip hurts , So with all this feeling very sorry for myself and with the nwer problems like my breathing ,really got me down and then the not sleeping for more than two hours at a time ,hving to keep gong t the loo , well got even lower . snd eith a few problems with myeldest daughter ...i was actually thinking all would be better without me , NHS would save a fortune .So went ot my doctor , not know him very well and think he not really want to know about me . But he was worried I was getting depressed .... see he good ...... offered counseling , there is a four to six month wait for this ..... so gave me higher dose of Amytipalene, which I hate as makes me so drowsy all day . I dont feel safe driving much these days and really would like to just be ble to get out to chat to people and see my grandkids as they not come here ..... and that really saddens me , and makes me low .. There is a whole story about that . and it hurt me very much ,,, anyway . my doc said to that maybe to keep me occupied is to volenter for something .

So went to the web site ,and looked and found there is nothing I can volenter for .....visit people ,mmm if not well can not drive , if in pain cn not move if back goes well pain and unable to walk ,sit for long , get sssoooooo tired when do anything that can not even do house work or ironing cos of hands .. talking on a phone ,,, great until throat oes and voice goes as throat affected by RA So considering what do I actually have to offer others , It has taken me nearly an hour to do this cos of neck shoulder and of course my fingers so time at my comp is limited . I would hate to say to someone yes I will do something only to wake up next day unsable to do anything thus letting them down.........But what got to me after this bit of reaserch is that my doctor does not really know anything about me at all. Does not know of the years of pain I have learned to cope with . And even wondered if he works for ATOS

[sylvi]

Pam you are having a hard time of it aren't you,so i'm sending you hugs. Have you thought about being a volunteer on here. If so contact nras and se what they say. xxxx

[Judi]

Hi Pam, as Sylvi says 'you are having a hard time of it'.

I dont know what RA meds you are on but it sounds to me like they are not working very well. Pain = depression !

Didn't your GP offer you a steroid injection or something for the pain you are now in?

Would it do any good suggesting that you call your rheumy nurse for some help for the pain and an urgent appointment? Sounds to me that a steroid injection or something really wouldn't go amiss if you can have one.

If you can get some immediate help for the pain it might get you into a better place mentally until you can see the specialist.

Please be positive Pam, I think your RA team need to know what's going on, if they don't know they can't help you.

Thinking of you and hope you can get some quick pain help.

Judi xxxxxxxxx

[Hidden]

I agree with Judi get hold of your RA team and see about an injection. You cannot even hope to try volunteering until you have been sorted with your pain. When that is under control then revisit the thinking on that, and Sylvi's idea would be a good thing if you were able to do it.

Take care and hope they sort you pain out soon. xxx

[riccarton]

I don't post very often but your comments really caught my eye. The circle of RA = pain = depression is a very difficult one.

Have you been on any pain management courses? Breaking the pain cycle is not easy but I have found these helpful.

arthritiscare.org.uk/Inyour...

expertpatients.co.uk/course...

Expert patients now offer online courses.