When you are told you have wear and tear

dachshund

is it arthritis
i have not been told i have it as i have cerabral palsy.the doctor always says its wear and tear or your condition. i have a tkr because the cartlege worn out.
joan xx

elnafinn

Hi Joan

As I understand it, osteo arthritis and wear and tear are the same. I think there is now more of a trend amongst the medics to call OA ,wear and tear.......

Luv
Elna x

joanlawson

Hi Joan

I'm sure it is the same thing, but some doctors seem to use the term "wear and tear". It is a bit confusing really, and they would be better to stick to the correct name for the condition.

Joan

angel1

I think some medics use the term "wear and year" just to us wrinklies Joan. As if we should expect it at our age, and we wouldn`t understand big words like Osteoarthritis anyway. Huh...Cheek!.....Ange.

bailey27

Hi
I have been told I have 'only' wear and tear in my knee and I'm 29. IF I 'only' have wear and tear in my knee why are they replacing it??
You have to laugh otheriwse you cry!!!

valval

told me it was wear and tear in hands but back was a weekness in that area why not call a spade a spade do they think we can not take the truth or some thing when u know what it is u can start to do some thing about it what do u do 4 wear and tear stop moving and lifting so u dont wear in any more

sharmaine

When I saw the specialist he told me that my OA was genetic and it was a result of nothing else but that - genes. My great grandmother; grandmother and mother had OA and I have it and my sister has it.

I wanted to think that my joints have worn out because I've worked them too hard being a woman.... we work pretty hard keeping the home; bringing up kids etc.!!!! But no, it appears to be genetic.

How did you tkr go? I'm looking forward to eventually having both mine replaced.

Sharmaine

quote="dachshund"]is it arthritis
i have not been told i have it as i have cerabral palsy.the doctor always says its wear and tear or your condition. i have a tkr because the cartlege worn out.
joan xx[/quote]

dachshund

Hello Sharmaine.
I had my tkr five years ago i have not had a problem with it since having it done but you have to do the exersises every day to get the muscles working.
good luck i hope you dont have to wait to long to have it done.
joan xx

woodbon

Hello One of my pet hates is 'wear and tear' it seems the medics don't like using the proper name of arthritis, I don't know why.

Ostioarthritis is what I have, my Mother had and seems to be in our family. It doesn't always start when your older and my mum was only in her 40s maybe younger, although to my childhood memory she seemed like an old lady , when she first recieved hospital treatment. Gosh, I have memories of smacking her on the bottom when she stood at the sink, because she used to shout with pain. I must have been a horrible child! Well, its come back to haunt me!

I hope you get pain medication for that helps a bit. Love Sue

PS Perhaps we should start a 'not wear and tear' protest group!

joyful164

Hi all you wearers and tearers

I had another xray on my neck 3/4 months ago now. When I saw my GP for the result, yes, you've guessed it. There is a little bit more wear and tear than last time,he says (he wasn't my usual gp)
as I sit there in excrutiating pain and grinding away. My neck of course :roll:

It has settle down a bit, but after a few minutes sat at this PC, it starts getting stiff and achy.
Added to that pain I have the pain from the Polymyalgeria PMR. and then down my arms and my hands. But the GP didn't come straight out and say, you have Osteo arthritis.

My consultant has told me that if my hip (bursitis) doesn't settle down, he will make an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon. So does that mean I have OA as well as PS, RA, PMR, CPS etc etc.
I just love collecting all these abbreviations. I'm getting more than you

joyful

sharmaine

Hi Joan
I'm just waiting to see another specialist as the last one I saw had to refer me to someone else (that was just over 2 weeks ago). I'm kind of nervous about having it done - I'm going to have both done eventually! I'm glad your op went ok. I will look after my new knees when I get them!

I phoned the hospital today and they said I had to wait until I had a letter and if nothing materialises soon I'll need to go back to my GP. It's like being on a merry go round sometimes!
Sharmaine
X

dachshund wrote:

Hello Sharmaine.
I had my tkr five years ago i have not had a problem with it since having it done but you have to do the exersises every day to get the muscles working.
good luck i hope you dont have to wait to long to have it done.
joan xx

jaspercat

Hi, I was told that I had wear and tear in my knee at 17, by the time I got to 30, I said to my gp that I wish he would tell me the truth that I had OA, now I am told that at 51 I am too young for a knee replacement love Jaspercatxx

pheebs

Hi,

I've also been told it's wear and tear and genetic. My dad is 87 and fit as a fiddle, and my mum has arthritis in her hands, she's 83 and has never had a problem with her other joints. None of my grandparents suffered from joint problems. Must have skipped a few generations and now I'm the lucky one!!

Pheebs

sharmaine

Jaspercat - I'm always being told I'm too young at 53 for a tkr and like you I've been complaining about my left knee for blooming years! Maybe we should start a campaign for the NHS to do research into making artifical knee replacements stronger and better! Instead of spending so much money on wars in other countries we could use it to help people in the UK.

Sharmaine

jaspercat wrote:

Hi, I was told that I had wear and tear in my knee at 17, by the time I got to 30, I said to my gp that I wish he would tell me the truth that I had OA, now I am told that at 51 I am too young for a knee replacement love Jaspercatxx

dachshund

I went to the doctors yesterday to show him the letter i had from the hospital about disc pressing on nerve he said i've got wear and tear but it's not arthritis and to go up the hospital in sept.
joan xx

elnafinn

Hi Joan

Well, well!! That upsets our theory that wear and tear and oa at the same

Perhaps you have osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthrosis means a condition where the joints are affected by degeneration. Osteoarthritis implies the same, but the "itis" adds the meaning that the joints are red, hot, swollen, and painful (inflamed). It is more common to use the word osteoarthritis for both though.

I hope you do not mind having to wait until your September appointment.

Take care
Elna x

dachshund

Thank you Elna.
i have a disc in my spine pressing on a nerve and people have told me it will mean injection or op
i'm in pain all the time in my back and down my legs. joan xx

jordan7j

dachshund wrote:

I went to the doctors yesterday to show him the letter i had from the hospital about disc pressing on nerve he said i've got wear and tear but it's not arthritis and to go up the hospital in sept.
joan xx

Hi, I saw my rheumy on 3.7.09. he was not very articulate, but informed me that i have wear and tear in my knees, shoulders, which i asked is that osteo arthritis, he said well yes. He then looked at x rays and told me I have RA in my feet and hips. Why cant they give you simple answers? Its a complete nightmare. Even the specialists dont give straight answers. He was the consultant, and not very helpful or friendly. I saw a different one 3 weeks earlier who was more straight forward and listened to what I had to say. I asked about podiatry and got no reply, so stilol unsure about that. Good luck everyone, lets hope we can keep each other going!!!!

woodbine

I first started having problems with my lumbar spine about 15 years ago, and was told that an x-ray revealed 'excessive wear and tear for my age'. Eventually, after another 10 years or so of pain, and after developing pain in my hands, I asked my GP directly if that's the same thing as OA, and he said that it is. :!:

My OA is hereitary too!

Naomi

wobbly1

dachshund wrote:

Thank you Elna.
i have a disc in my spine pressing on a nerve and people have told me it will mean injection or op
i'm in pain all the time in my back and down my legs. joan xx

the pain is awful i know. I went to see the nuro surgeon and he said that once my disc had deterated completely the nerve will be released and the pain will ease. He didnt say how long it would take and seemed almost dismissive as i have RA and he doesnt like to do surgery on people who are young (iam 44) and has RA apparently. Dont want the surgery just want the consant pain tingling and numbness to ease.
I didnt ask him if he had cronic pain and could he live with the pain while his discs shrivelled up and died.
tut i am a whimp.
i hope you manage to get some relief some...i am thinking of you.

elnafinn

Hi wobbly

Does that mean that it does not matter if your disc deteriorates completely? I would have thought that may be a matter for a little concern but according to your neurosurgeon, obviously not!! It will be the answer for you as you will experience less or no pain any longer.

I saw my consultant today to discuss the mri I had on my lower back, because of 9 months of daily off and on sciatica. He has suggested injections under xray direction and I said, thank you asap please.

I hope things improve for you soon. It really drags one down, this constant or intermittent pain.

Look after yourself,
Elna x

skezier

Hi Wobbly1

For what it worth when they finish going the pain does ease. Take care, I hope you all find some pain relief that works soon, Take care Cris

wobbly1

elnafinn wrote:

Hi wobbly

Does that mean that it does not matter if your disc deteriorates completely? I would have thought that may be a matter for a little concern but according to your neurosurgeon, obviously not!! It will be the answer for you as you will experience less or no pain any longer.

I saw my consultant today to discuss the mri I had on my lower back, because of 9 months of daily off and on sciatica. He has suggested injections under xray direction and I said, thank you asap please.

I hope things improve for you soon. It really drags one down, this constant or intermittent pain.

Look after yourself,
Elna x

hi Elna
thanks for your reply, i am sorry to hear you are suffering so much.
I dont know what the long term effects are of your disc shrinking and dying off I can only go on what the dr said, when the disc shrinks its releases the nerve. I dont want my back to deterate more and worry about that but i do want the pain to stop.
I had the injections and they helped but they did take a while to take effect.
I wish you well Elna and i hope you feel better real soon.
take care and let me know how you get on

wobbly1

skezier wrote:

Hi Wobbly1

For what it worth when they finish going the pain does ease. Take care, I hope you all find some pain relief that works soon, Take care Cris

thanks for your reply...it is a comfort to hear that the dr is right and i will get some relief soon.
It does seem odd though that i will have to wait for my back to deterate more before i feel better :shock:
I hope your ok though and you are not suffering as much now.
takecare and thanks again

skezier

Hi Wobbly,

I promise you backs function ok with out disc. I have had 3 surgically removed and 3 rotted out with another one going the same, you lose a bit of mobility in terms of flexibility but it does hurt less. Its more of a low grade pain than a quick snap pain if you see what I mean. Mine also has grown a lot of extra bone trying to repair its self and that also has helped in a round about way so don't go worrying about what it means cus to me it sort of brought a degree of relief from pain. The bone rubbing is not as bad as the discs as its a less stabbing pain and now its fusing up it can't rub together as well as it did. Take care, Cris