it is sad seeing how much pain many are having

nick55

I am posting this as a reflection, and hope it may give food for thought to others.

firstly, last week it was, I went for a long long walk, such as I used to before the osteo set in. now, I refuse point blank to give arthur ritus the upper hand, in anything unless my body genuinely tells me to rest a few days. resting is for bedtime usually. well, not quite...
my fear was walking too far and doing my joints a permanent injury. so far this has not happened. They have recovered nicely.

what saddens me is seeing some people, here, my step mother, in so much crippling pain, she has arthritis and all sorts. my thoughts are, if only she would have walked a lot more, been far more active. I wonder how many who suffer would have fared much better of only they had left the old arm chair for a bit, and forcibly taken a country stroll, it sadden me that she is in such a state, now walking is almost impossible for her.

with these facts in mind, i had a very good walk today then even went into Bangor. I have reached the stage now when I moan and groan about the house, when getting out of the chair, occasionally, have some rather nasty pain in the knee or hip, but will I let this stop me?? so far no!!

I think , depending on what we are suffering from we should put self pity to one side learn to laugh more at our condition and incorporate it into our life style. this is living with the pain. And in the end it is we who must rule our own bodies and it is amazing just how with thus attitude we can come to terms with arthritis , osteo at least. A few pains , aches, now I say so what,---- and just keep on walking. at least old age may not be so bad after all, I hope. My attitude is it is I who take my limbs with me when I walk,--- not I who am at the behest of my limbs when I walk!!!!!!

one last point, I have long noticed what a marvelous conversation piece having oseto is. apart from sympathy, you really get to know people , by way of mentioning it. so many are only too happy to talk to you. In this sense arthritis has been a great boon for me!!!!!!!

angel1

I am absolutely delighted that you are still able to walk for your own pleasure Nick, and long may it continue.

I feel, however, that you are doing a great disservice to many people, especially those on this wonderful Forum, in suggesting that, had everyone just walked more, we would not now be suffering the crippling pain that arthritis brings.

I am now in my sixties, and widowed. I still work - much of it voluntary - as a Counsellor. I became a Mum - the most important job in the world in my humble opinion - at twenty. In all of that time in between, I can assure you, I have walked, run, played with my family, brought up two wonderful boys - now in their forties - looked after the home, and cared for my sick husband. I obtained a degree at the age of sixty. Believe me an armchair was not somewhere I spent much time! I have still ended up with arthritis, and unable to walk very far without pain. This all rather disproves your theory, I believe, which, in my humble opinion, does nothing for the morale of sufferers such as myself.

I wish you well, and long may you enjoy your walking........Ange.

quietwaters

Well said Ange, and good for you Nick being able to get on with life and be able to walk so far.
I've never been a lazy armchair person, I used to run like the wind (have medals for it), but unfortunatley OA has stopped all that, and it annoys and frustrates me that I can't do the simplest of things anymore, like bending to get dressed, let alone walk across a car park to do shopping!
I think your body tells you how much you can or can't do, not the mind. My mind wants to do lots, unfortunatley the hips and knees wont let me.

I hope you continue walking for as long as you are able Nick.
Kind regards
Jay

speedalong

Hi Nick, it very much depends on how advanced your arther is.

At 25 I got OA of the hip. I battled on until the age of 30 ... and although I tried doing all I had always done - walking, swimming, riding bike, Tai Chi, yoga, working etc - the OA caused the actual joint to disintegrate, the movement was increasingly restricted by the chips and cysts of bone ... and I had to have a THR. I was fine again ... went back to being active. OA came on gradually in the other hip ... kept as active as poss ... now awaiting another op - as once again head of femur and socket crumbling...

Enjoy your walking and keep as active as you can ... but OA is "wear and tear" of the joint - either due to being v active (ie footballers etc,) due to your joints wearing out as you get older or due to an injury or other joint problems ... I think you will find most people do as much as they are able ...

I know less about RA - but I believe it is a balancing act - not enough movement and the joints cease up - overdo it and cause a flare up...

Speedalong

elnafinn

Thank you Ange.

I am happy for you Nick that you are able to go on walks, dig and cultivate your land, look after your home, are financially ok and only have yourself to think about and I also hope this continues for you.

I am sorry to hear about your step mother and I am sure she was active in her youth. I hope you look after and help her as much as you can now that she is in pain and unable to get about.

I presume you discuss arthritis with other walkers you meet. For them to understand they must be sufferers. I wonder why so many ardent walkers suffer from arthritis.....

I wish you all the best

Elna x

annebr

Nick,

I find your post a bit condescending. If only it was as easy as going for a walk would cure all the pain of arthritis it would be a much happier world for us all.

I am 39 have OA in both hips as well as FAI and other conditions, I work full time and try to keep life as normal as possible but, as others have said it's a balancing act.

According to your theory maybe if I had walked more when I was younger I wouldn't be suffering the way I am now - I find this hard to believe.

My OA and others on this forum isn't just a few aches and pains maybe yours isn't at that stage yet but when it is you will know how we feel.

Maybe you haven't read a lot of the thread on this forum but you will find that no-one wallows. We can come on ask advice, moan, groan, laugh and most important of all cry together knowing how the other person is suffering/feeling.

Anne

dorcas

Nick,

If walking and exercise was the key to preventing the advance of arther...none of us would be on this forum and the rheumatologists and osteos would not be needed either.

good luck to you but do not patronise or demean others who find themselves limited by their condition. Iris

dolittle

Nick,
Two words ........ if only!

I have taught ballet and tap dancing, ice skated, played hockey for Liverpool, Ballroom and Latin danced all my life, did a full time job (10-14 hours a day at times), looked after a huge 3-storey town house, as well as looking after my husband and my mum for years and went to work on the bus.

Some years ago I lived on Newmarket Heath and walked 4 miles a day to work and back, hail, rain and snow. In the good weather I went on my bike.

I have RA because some lunatic in a car drove full tilt into the back of me while I was stationary at a roundabout, stood the car up on the front wheels and nearly sent me and the car under a lorry. They said the trauma was so bad I would develop arthritis. It took 10 years to come out. So no, I'm not lazy.

By the way ....... I haven't got time to sit on my couch. Don't be judgemental, luv, there's a good girl.
Do

lindalegs

Well, all I can say Nick either you don't have the pain that the rest of us have or you don't have arthritis at all, oesteo or otherwise! :x

bubbles

I am very happy that you continue to walk and can carry on through the pain, that is obviously ok for you. A lot of people cannot do that, much as we would want to. A country walk for me is about 50 yards, then stop for few minutes, then perhaps another 50 yards and stop, usually with pain, angina and being short of breath. It is great to get out and see the world and we are fortunate to live within a lovely wooded area, so nature is on our doorstep.
I cannot agree that if we had all walked and carried on regardless of pain, then OA or RA would be less apparent. It affects each person differently, although a common range of symptoms binds us all.
We all handle it differently, we all have coping mechanisms and most of all we don't give up, much as it gets you down to a lowest ebb at times, we do what we can.
It would be a joy to step out and walk up hill and down dale, mow the lawn, wash the car, change the beds, drive or sit in a car for more than 20 minutes without being chair shaped. At 48 I should and would be doing all of these things, but, annoying as it is, I, like many others, cannot.

minky67

I Agree with all thats been said to Nick.
Dont judge us.
I have Osteo & a muscle condition called Fibromyalgia.
The OA causes joint pain & i can hadrly get out of bed most mornings. I cant bath myself or walk outside without my crutch or crutches depending on the pain.
Ive ben active all my life & until my neck totally seized up i was working 6 days a week full time & before that running a pub from 7am morning til at least 2am the following morning to trying to earn some kind of living, 7 days a week, try that. :x I now cant & wont be able to work again, ever... :x
My knees are shot so is my back as i have a prolaspe disc there. My hands are deforming which makes chopping veg & even wiping me own bum painful.
The Fibro causes cronic fatique, muscle wasting & also affects my tendons & ligaments. I alsso have IBS. Getting up stairs to the toilet is the simplist of things to most people but to me its a mountain that i really cant climb.
So think me lazy if you want, i try to keep as active as i possible can. Im 42 now & find it so hard to deal with my disablitys with out partonising people tell us how to walk, exercise & climb a blooody mountains :x The last thing on my want list is a wheel chair & it has been said that thats were i'll be in xx amount of time. I dont & wont be there as long as i can keep it at bay..
Its not the first time its ben said on here but you really upset people... :x :x :x

skezier

lindalegs wrote:

Well, all I can say Nick either you don't have the pain that the rest of us have or you don't have arthritis at all, oesteo or otherwise! :x

Legs I so echo this!!!! x

In addition Nick why is it every time you post you go out of your way to upset people? I so wish you would develop a modicum of understanding and compassion, after all you were here recently moaning about your pains!

nick55

all I say is according to one abilities. there are many obese people out there who never exercises, and also many who do too much my point is simply a refection, nothing more. for me if I sat down which would be easy, my life would be easier, I am able to be lazy. it needs effort to go out sometimes, for me.. I reflect that my stepmother, if only she had have walked a lot more, at least her condition would have been improved to the point where more mobility of the limbs would be had. she may have pain but at least walking and shopping would be easier. for myself, if I stopped walking, it would be a bad thing, I do too much but so far have done no harm to my joints. this is the point I was making, that we are often far more resilient than we believe ourselves to be. again these are just reflections. I do not expect anyone to go past what nature allows them to do, this would be foolish expectation on my part, but, it is amazing what we are able to do, unsuspectingly.

these are the points I was making, just reflections.



last reflection, this is my last posting, so, sorry if the wrong point was made, but it is time to move on

janie68

Hi Nick

I do understand what you are saying yes there is a but, you cannot presume that if my stepmum would have done more then her arthritis wouldn't be as bad. How can you prove this? I am obese but that's because of the RA and all the steriods, medication I take that has made me like this. Put less in my mouth you might think, but for me food is a comfort as well and I may be partly to blame, the mental aspect of arthritis is very complex as well. It is very hard for us all to keep positive 24/7 and some people are in the depths of despair with it, the pain can be excruciating and debillitating. Plus there are many other problems associated with RA that we suffer from. Perhaps try not to think so black and white, it's not as simple for others.

I know you don't mean to upset people but it is obvious your reflection has done this.

Janie

sharmaine

Hi Nick
It truly is wonderful that you are able to enjoy your long walks.

I have OA in my knees, hands and shoulder. I worked as a very busy Librarian Manager for 25 years and spent most of the day on my feet; managed my home; cared for my family did all the gardening and decorating. Prior to this I swam 3 times a week and jogged 3 miles a day. I also enjoyed long walks.
However, having advanced OA in both knees (I had my first TKR 4 weeks ago) my whole active life took a turn for the worse. I had trouble sitting; standing; bending; lifting etc. Last year I became so disabled as a result of OA that I was confined to a wheelchair.

Believe me if I could I would've walked but simply putting one foot in front of the other was a problem. I'm a fighter and didn't give in very easily to arthritis.

You are one of the lucky ones to be able to still enjoy your walks despite having arthritis.

Sharmaine

ailsamary

i think folks should look at the fact that its called a reflection piece, and yes everyone is different, experiences are different and how folks respond to pain both emotionally and physically are different, i've seen folks hobble on in obvious agony and others whom sit back and expect to be waited on, neither are necessarily wrong it depends on their learned responses I've had the comment whilst using a scooter for shopping she doesnt look disabled and i dont, until i start walking, people shouldnt judge others as much cannot be seen, and that includes the written word on here, we dont know what expereinces others have had

tkachev

I certainly laugh at myself especially when the old lady with a slight hunch overtook me walking up the road!She was out of sight before I had got halfway up the road.
Elizabeth

angel1

Sorry Nick, but your last posting seems to be just someone wanting to have the last word.

I am so glad that YOU say you are arrogant, as that is exactly how your "reflections" come across. Not, necessarily the content - although some of that is downright daft! - but the manner in which they are stated.

I have come to know some of the people on this Forum extremely well, and they fight with all their being, daily, to be as positive as it is possible to be, in the fight against this creature we laughingly call Arthur. I feel that you confuse positivity with realism, something that has to be part of our lives. We have to accept the reality of this disease in order to have any shape to our lives. THEN we apply the positive, in a constant effort to get through each day. The reality for me is that I`m getting older, I`m alone, and I get bloody scared. On a positive note, I did NOTHING to contribute to the aquisition of arthritis, and I am a fighter, and refuse to be beaten. I don`t need you or any one else telling me how to do this.

You may be surprised to learn - though my friends on here will not be - that I am the greatest believer in positive thinking. I also believe that emotional pain manifests itself physically. What are we supposed to do? Become devoid of all feeling? Not me! My spirituality is very important to me. I love, and thankfully, am loved.

I actually can see a little of what you are trying to say. During the course of my work, I come into contact with people in great distress. Occasionally, when they have told me their story, I
may feel that they themselves have contributed to that distress. Do I tell them that? NEVER! That is not at all helpful. We cannot go back and change anything. The only way to do that is to move forward. Something we on this Forum are trying to do daily.

I wish you many more happy walks Nick........Ange.


This should have been posted in your Apology Post.

dorcas

well said Ange. Iris x

09angel11

I must agree with what Ange has said. I also am a very spiritual person, but i learn to live and cope with my pain the best way i can. I leave other people to cope with their pain, if i can help in anyway through answering a problem or question, like most of us on this site, i will. Being spiritual does not give anyone the right to say how others should live their lives, or assume that other people are just sitting, over eating, or not exercising enough. That is being arrogant, and not very spiritual at all. Every one has free will to live, and cope with their lives the best way thy can with arthritis, Nick nobody wants this disease, but for what ever reason we have it.

Monica :?:

only49

i agree i would love to be able to do more and if i had a magic wand i wave over us all and wish arthritis away like a shot i can tell you, no one should have to put up with it but no point in moaning just have to make the best of it and not let it beat us and be stuborn and keep going until we have really no chioce, and even then you still fight it, after i would rather put up with this than have cancer, that poor jade goody must of went through hell.