Hi

dotty123

Hi all.. I am 42 and in early stages of Oestoarthritis. At the moment I can't come to terms about it and find it hard to talk about and to be honest I have pooped myself more reading some posts.. I suffer with my hands mostly and 3/4 of my knuckes are really starting to look deformed.. I just can't bare looking at them at the mo.. I feel quite cheated that I am only 42 and this something I could accept if I was older ( if that makes sense )

I already struggle doing simple taskes like peeling potato's, using keys, picking up small objects, putting my earring in. Carrying carrier bags with shopping hurts like hell. My strengh is going and I can't bare it. Even holding hot mugs I have to be careful.

And to be honest I don't really feel that the hospital has done enough for me. It was a case of you have oestoarthiritis and nothing can be done and to avoid injections at this stage.. come again in a years time.. but have least been referred for hand exercise.

Does the swelling ever go away and the pain ? What should I expect to happen from now on .

carola

Hi Dotty

So sorry to hear about your situation.

I do not have OA so cannot offer advice. There are plenty people on here who will be able to help. For specific topics about it, post a thread on the Living with Arthritis page.

Through experience with my own illness I always advise everyone to keep as positive as possible, be kind to yourself and NEVER EVER be afraid to question your GP and Specialists so that you can improve your day to day.

Keep smiling, Carol

dotty123

Thank you Carol.. At the moment I find it difficult to read as I don't like what I am reading and feel depressed enough as it is.. thanks again

tillytop

Hi Dotty and welcome to the forum.

So sorry you are struggling, but hopefully now you have found the forum you will feel less alone. I am 43 I have RA, not OA but there are lots with OA on the forum who will be able to share their experiences with you.

The Living with Arthritis forum is the place to post specific questions cos more people look on there.

Please do keep posting - we are here to listen and support you as best we can.

Lots love Tilly x

dotty123 wrote:

Hi all.. I am 42 and in early stages of Oestoarthritis. At the moment I can't come to terms about it and find it hard to talk about and to be honest I have pooped myself more reading some posts.. I suffer with my hands mostly and 3/4 of my knuckes are really starting to look deformed.. I just can't bare looking at them at the mo.. I feel quite cheated that I am only 42 and this something I could accept if I was older ( if that makes sense )

I already struggle doing simple taskes like peeling potato's, using keys, picking up small objects, putting my earring in. Carrying carrier bags with shopping hurts like hell. My strengh is going and I can't bare it. Even holding hot mugs I have to be careful.

And to be honest I don't really feel that the hospital has done enough for me. It was a case of you have oestoarthiritis and nothing can be done and to avoid injections at this stage.. come again in a years time.. but have least been referred for hand exercise.

Does the swelling ever go away and the pain ? What should I expect to happen from now on .

dotty123

tillytop wrote:

Hi Dotty and welcome to the forum.Thank you for kind words... At the moment I can't bare to even look at my hands , I can't bare the thought of it and pain and strugglin ahead. I don't want to rely on anyone to help me as I am far too independant. The doc says it can be painful then the pain goes away.. Is this right ? It really hurts if I knock my fingers , its really scarey. I feel so depressed at the moment. I want to know what to expect but also scared to know too. x

So sorry you are struggling, but hopefully now you have found the forum you will feel less alone. I am 43 I have RA, not OA but there are lots with OA on the forum who will be able to share their experiences with you.

The Living with Arthritis forum is the place to post specific questions cos more people look on there.

Please do keep posting - we are here to listen and support you as best we can.

Lots love Tilly x

dotty123 wrote:

Hi all.. I am 42 and in early stages of Oestoarthritis. At the moment I can't come to terms about it and find it hard to talk about and to be honest I have pooped myself more reading some posts.. I suffer with my hands mostly and 3/4 of my knuckes are really starting to look deformed.. I just can't bare looking at them at the mo.. I feel quite cheated that I am only 42 and this something I could accept if I was older ( if that makes sense )

I already struggle doing simple taskes like peeling potato's, using keys, picking up small objects, putting my earring in. Carrying carrier bags with shopping hurts like hell. My strengh is going and I can't bare it. Even holding hot mugs I have to be careful.

And to be honest I don't really feel that the hospital has done enough for me. It was a case of you have oestoarthiritis and nothing can be done and to avoid injections at this stage.. come again in a years time.. but have least been referred for hand exercise.

Does the swelling ever go away and the pain ? What should I expect to happen from now on .

valval

hi did they give you blood tests to check what the swelling is try ice to help my hands were very bad this time last year but have some inflimation as well as oa since this undercontroll have managed to improve strenth in hands still do not look great (minor disfigeration) but much stronger so do not give up they can and will help but sometimes you have to keep going back to get the help you need val

trisher

Hi Dotty

I have RA and I have that in my hands fingers and knuckles.

They are deformed and although we may have a different type of arthritis it does more or less the same thing.

Yes, I had trouble picking things up. One day I went to pick up a cup of coffee I could no longer hold it.

There are many different aids you can get to help you. You can get items for being able to use the kettle without it being dangerous to you. Cups, knive and fork also spoons.

There are so many aids I could go on and on about them.

I was sent to the Hand Therapist where they made me splints to wear to help me. They also got the OT's to to see me and they sorted out a lot of aids that would give me some independance as well.

I know it is a shock to get this when you are still young but we have mums on here who have young children who have Athrititis too.

Why don't you speak to the Helpline on here? they are very nice people to talk to and very friendly they can help you and give you advice.

You can also put questions you may have on the LWA more people go there to ask questions and get tips and advice from them too.

You can also go on the CChat forum that is where we go to relax and have some fun.

Well hope to see you around the Forums

Love Trish xxx

dotty123

valval wrote:

hi did they give you blood tests to check what the swelling is try ice to help my hands were very bad this time last year but have some inflimation as well as oa since this undercontroll have managed to improve strenth in hands still do not look great (minor disfigeration) but much stronger so do not give up they can and will help but sometimes you have to keep going back to get the help you need val

Hi .. Yes I have had blood test done and CAT scan.. they say the knobbly knucles are caused by my bone pushing my liagaments up and so they can't cut them out ( as I asked .. being desperate ) .. Its just a shock to say you got OA .. go home and deal with it.. No advise or comfort.. I admire you all here for being strong..especially children xx I am selfish to moan . I have thought about accupunture ? would this help?

carola

Hi Dotty

You ask about Acupuncture ..... some people it helps a bit and some people it doesn't.

I love trying all things hippy-dippy although Acupuncture is available on NHS now, isn't it so maybe not now considered hippy-dippy!

I believe in trying hippy-dippy things (as longs as it is safe to do so) as even if it doesn't work or maybe placebo works at least I feel like I am taking action, taking control and therefore reinforces my positive mindset that my illness wil not beat me.

I am always saying the positive mind is the most powerful medicine we have
If you try it, please let us know how you get on.
Carol

barbara12

Hi Dotty
A very warm welcome from me, it is a shock when you are first diagnosed, but hopefully coming on here will help you.
It really does help talking to people that are going through the same.
Post any questions in LWT, believe me you will get more answers then you will get from your GP
And when you are ready come and join us in chit chat.
I hope to see you posting more very soon.
Love
Barbara xx

gemz10

Hi there

sorry to hear about ur condition and also that reading posts here is depressing u. Im new too but from what i can see this site is full of helpful kind people ready to give advice or just 'listen'.

I am 29 and just diagnosed with RA so sorry i can not offer u any advice but just wanted to offer a friendly hello and a smile

dotty123

Thank you everyone I don't mean to sound a right misery guts.. This site is very welcoming and with lots of info. Glad I have found you.

dreamdaisy

Hi dotty123, welcome to the forums. OA is a tricky area as there is not a specific treatment, as such. It is a different beast to RA or PA (rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis) which are treated by various medications as the underlying cause is to do with over-active immune systems. OA has a different causation, and is generally handled by GPs. It is a very painful and distressing condition and I think we are all used to the idea now that when we have something wrong, we go to a doc and he gives us pills and we get better. It seems outrageous that in the 21st century there are still conditions that cannot be treated/cured but arthritis is one of them.

You need to ensure that you have good pain medication, and you should liaise with your GP over this. There are many types of pain relief and it may take time to find the one that suits you. Other health conditions that you may have could impact on your body's ability to cope with, for example, codeine or morphine-based pain relief, so you do need to talk to your GP about this. I think I am right in saying that some OAers take anti-inflammatory meds too, to help with the pain. This is another area for you to explore.

Everyone is affected differently by their individual version of arthritis - what works for one may not work for another, so it may take time to get things sorted for you. I wish you well, talk to your GP and see what he/she can do to help. DD

trisher

valval wrote:

hi did they give you blood tests to check what the swelling is try ice to help my hands were very bad this time last year but have some inflimation as well as oa since this undercontroll have managed to improve strenth in hands still do not look great (minor disfigeration) but much stronger so do not give up they can and will help but sometimes you have to keep going back to get the help you need val

Dotty

I know how bad Val was this time last year. She has improved a lot since then.

So please don't feel alone, we are here for you so you can talk as much as you need to. We don't mind at all if you do it everyday so don't you think you cannot keep telling us. Or asking us questions. OK

Come to the Cafe on CChat have a cuppa with us any time you like talk to the girls. We do talk of arthur there as well.

Take a trip in and see. We are getting a new Cafe on Thursday so we hope it is better than it was. It was the most popular place on here over 23,000 posts on there.

Love Trish xxx

frogmorton

Hi Dotty

welcome to the forums from me too

I hope you find us helpful.

I totally undesrttand where you are coming from about your poor hnads. I hope maybe the hand clinic will be able to help.

Love

Toni xx