Hello! I’m new to this forum and have a question. I was diagnosed a few months ago. When I went for toe pain to my podiatrist. A few weeks later it was neck, hip and ankle pain after x-rays the doctor confirmed OA in those joints (left and right side). Then it was my shoulders both also have OA. Now I have calcific tendinitis on my right shoulder to aggravate matters, I’m a healthy 42 year old women with no medical history or weight issue. It seems like in a matter of weeks I went from no OA symptoms to OA in all major joints. Has anyone experienced this? Do you really need a specialized doctor for each individual joint? How are you coping? Any natural supplements you could recommend? Thank you so much in advance for your replies. Wishing you all wellness and comfort.
Sudden osteoarthritis in multiple joints - Osteoarthritis Ac...
Sudden osteoarthritis in multiple joints
HelloI have OA in various joints, had it since 2006.. First my neck then feet, knees. My hands get sore sometimes now so it might be creeping into those.
Ask your doctor is it safe for you to exercise,if the ansewr is yes then, weight training and cardio will both help. If i dont exercise i get a lot of pain, exercise helps a lot.
Turmeric and black pepper capsules help with the pain, but you cant use them if you are on bloodthinners plus dont take a high dose, i take 300mg per day and it seem to do fine.
I sometimes wear medical socks to help with my feet and also knee supports but only if im in pain. Dont sit all day either or your joints will get stiff and sore, the exercise helps put synovial fluid into your joints, thats your bodies natural lubricant and its good.
OA hasnt stopped me from doing anything that i used to do, I just take my time and more care with things.
I havent much more to tell you, but i hope you manage your OA ok and it doesnt stop you from living.
Thank you for sharing. I’ll definitely consider all those options!
ok, good luck with it all.
This link to versus arthritis gives lots of info -versusarthritis.org/about-a...
~Great link - thank you for sharing D/L 
I’ll check it out! Thanks
Do you have psoriasis or does anyone in your family? A Lot of arthritic conditions mimic OA like psoriatic arthritis for one which is why we go undiagnosed for so long. I was told numerous time I had OA only to finally figure out it was actually psoriatic arthritis.
I would see a rheumatologist and not rely just on foot doctor or Gp for accurate diagnosis.
Thank you! I have gone to rheumatologist and I do have high inflammation markers but no sign of autoimmune condition. I have a few follow up appointments for additional blood work. My doctor thinks it could be lupus. Thanks again for the suggestions. I’ll definitely be talking to my doctors about it. Best wishes and wellness!
My niece was diagnosed with lupus and hospitalized because of it for 2 weeks … awful disease.
You don’t necessarily need to see different people about different joints. BUT If you live in England I think you can self-refer to a physiotherapist. Certainly this is what happens in Sussex. Within that, the physios specialise in different joints. When you self-refer, you fill a long form in; they will study it and give you the appropriate physio. In my area we have physios specialising in hands, shoulders, backs, and feet and that’s just what I know from talking to friends, they may specialise even further for all I know!!!
They can give you safe exercises to do. Bear in mind that if you do specific exercises for hand joints without guidance you could be making things worse by strengthening the wrong muscles. Exercise in general (walking and swimming say) keep your muscles strong so that they can support your painful joints as poster the naturist says.
I’ve got painful toes and for this I’ve taken, on the advice of a podiatrist, glucosamine with chondroitin. Turmeric for back pain. If you buy supplements don’t just choose a retailer from advertising. Find a long-established source which existed before the internet really got going with “cures”. Which dont exist for arthritis.
Thank you for the suggestions. I do take turmeric but haven’t heard of glucosamine with chondroitin. I’ll be looking for it. Best wishes and wellness!
Hello. I was diagnosed with widespread OA about 20 years ago after feeling no arthritis pain but I was troubled with sciatica, hence the x rays...
Went back for results to be told OA was widespread. They also found a displaced vertebra and the sciatic pain was coming from my lower spine. As the years have passed, I'm 75 now, I'm feeling the OA in my feet, knees especially the left where the cartilage is gone so its bone on bone, have it in my hands, wrists, fingers, thumb bases, tendonitis in right shoulder...it just goes on doesn't it.
Started late 1999 when I was going to college and feeling sharp twinges of pain in my lower back, sitting in college all day didn't help. Walking started to become problematic with lower back pain and having to sit on walls during walks where I'd lean forward to ease the sciatic pain. Nightmare time....
I've seen physios with their urging to exercise and keep walking. Think the best advice came from 6 weeks of pain management led by two retired nurses both having dealt with OA. It was enlightening and I've learned through their advice to manage the back pain much better, most of it is muscular. I'm less active these days and limit walks to 10-20 mins round the block where I live.
I've been allowed DLA which means I can book a taxi when needed, no car here I've used buses all my life so the extra amount has been very useful. It was called the "lowest care component" when I first applied for it, now its DLA which makes me feel very old....its been a long and painful journey...Codeine is the current pill I use prescribed by a rheumatologist and I take one capsule of gabapentin at night which helps with nerve pain. Seen various consultants over the years but they've all been rheumatolgists in the one department.
I'm prescribed Adcal for vitD when levels dropped. I have to take that supplement for whats left of my life but I don't look for anything else, just try and eat a healthy diet to keep my weight stable...and inflammation markers are always raised in my blood tests but unless they are very high they don't worry me about them. Learn to pace yourself, don't push things too much as I've done and be kind to yourself and your body xxx
Should add I have systemic lupus thats now stable but as far as I know it hasn't affected the OA.
Good advice and agree we have to be kind to ourselves….
Yes it’s genetic. I lucked into a meeting with a semi-retired orthopedic at our medical school hospital in 2013. He was weighting and extended research paper for JAMA regards athletes and OA post ACL tears. Finally he expanded to classify OA. OA is much like RA and not just “old peoples arthritis.” It is carried in a recessive gene and can just “spring” on a person when gene is triggered similar to heart disease, HBP etc. i had my first surgery in ‘97 my 22nd in ‘14 culminating from 2004-2014 in 2 total knee replacements, 2 total hip replacements and two ankle arthrodesis. 2004,2008.2009, 2012, 2013, and 2014. It is in every joint I have. S1-L4 lumbar with vacuum syndrome causing hip displacement. Above my scoliosis in my thoracic spine, C-1-C-6. Causes the entire left side of my head and face to stay numb. Both shoulders, elbows, wrists everywhere. Much like y’all I had a rheumatologist try to classify it RA but after this encounter and the genetic testing I understood. He classified me as stage 5 and only about 2-5% of the population have stage 5 so aggressively. He predicted by age 55 I would be wheelchair bound. He didn’t miss much, I was 54. I qualified for Social Security disability this year after owning my own business for over 30 years. I’m also a USArmy Veteran of the Persian Gulf War so I have “those issues” as well. Gulf war syndrome and surprisingly make a halfway decent living again after losing everything.
So I’m one of the lucky ones and OA devastated my life finally took away my value as a man and a husband. Never did I think I’d be homeless in my 50s. I always said I’d “flip burgers” to provide but not when you can’t stand or hold your head up! I have discovered that most people are jealous of you if you are in a wheelchair or suspicious and I’ve been accused of being a “suck on the government dole!” Because I don’t look sick enough to be in the chair. Anyway I digress, my bad. Yes OA can do that and exercise is how I staved off the inevitable as long as i did. 5/6 days 45/50 minutes recumbent bike and 3/4 20/25 minutes resistance training light weight high reps. Finally got me and place me in a wheelchair permanently last year.
Oh I was 30 when I had my first knee scope in ‘97 and 47 in 2014. I’d recommend putting of joint replacement as long as you can. I’ve been addicted to OxyContin and quit cold turkey…it sucked. I got hooked on that devil after the freaking last surgery in ‘14. In September 2017 I went to a Suboxone clinic to help with the physical dependence but I was don’t with that wicked stuff. Since they find it’s not real effective against chronic pain thank you very much. Just a lie propagated by Purdue and bid pharama to get rich. Anyway. My best to you all! Tylenol and ice/heat!
Wow. Thanks for the no holds barred post! That's taught me to celebrate the victories along the way. Just had my 1st hip replacement having managed 2 of those OA hips for the last 5 years with the critical inclusion of daily excercise to keep mobile (swimming and countryside wanders). I feel that aspect has been so much more important than the dietary and supplement world I've been encouraged to inhabit.
I look forward to the other hip op and some spinal disc fusion with the hope that I can return to a more active role in my local 'drinking club with a running problem' (Hash House Harriers) which I've carried on leading despite the mental as well as physical hills to climb.
Hope you get to have as good a life as you can make out of it.
I too have OA everywhere and has recently been worse since I had a stroke in june. Worst is getting up in morning but getting stretching / moving def helps! I used to walk 60km a week but lost the habit due to lockdown..... need to start again s!eriously esp now temperature dropping a bit! i do an hour a day of yoga twice a week and the same of gym (new to this so slowly at the mo). Other recommendation is swimming - which is on my list,possibly pensioners' aqua-aerobics
I take various supplements on the basis that they can't do harm and may be doing some good - .glucosomine + condroitin, turmeric, collagen, cod liver oil ...and CBD oil (produced locally!). I reckon it works out to less than 1euro a day so why not!
isn't it remarkable that no cure has been found for something suffered by millions!
Good luck and try to keep moving x
Hi Lunamothnmonarch, so sorry to hear of your sudden OA.
While I haven't had your experience with the "sudden"part of the OA, I've had decades of back pain post-accident, and in recent years, broken bits of bone and neck cracking from OA (diagnosed by xray after thumb bone broken bits).
Besides water therapy in a public swimming pool which helps with pain and the ability to exercise, I use 750mg glucosamine HCL (hydrochloride, not sulfate) +250mg shark chondroiton to reduce pain. Without the glucosamineHCL+chondroitin, my hands become too painful to move and my neck cracks every time I turn over in bed at night.
Wishing you the best in the future, Lunamothnmonarch.
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