Advice needed

rugbygirl

I have been diagnosed with OA of the spine and it is in the lumbar region. Today however I am having problems with my shoulders and arms aching. I havent done anything to cause this that I can think of, and the pain dullers arent doing much to help.

I get to see my ortho specialist on 15th March and at the moment have no one else I can call.

barbara12

Hi Jaki
I have OA of the spine and hips, I do sometimes have pain in my right shoulder especially when lying down, it only started recently, and I just hope it has not spread to there.
I am not sure why OA spreads like it does, my GP said sometimes it can be inflammation and not damage.
Sorry I am not being much help, I hope you are not in to much pain.
Love
Barbara x

rugbygirl

Thanks for that Barbara

It has helped because I wasnt sure if it was a normal thing or not. If it is possible then I can deal with it. I wasnt sure what it was so I thought I would ask the question.

I will mention it to the specialist when I see him just so he is aware and I will see what he has to say about it as well.

marie48

I have OP of my spine and two years ago I had bad shoulder pain. I was sent for a scan and I was diagnosed with arthritis of the neck. Nothing wrong with my shoulder, but it was an awful pain. I feel for you.

caterina57

Snap Jaki - I have Lumbar and cervical Spondylosis/OA (Lumber is lower back Cervical is neck) My neck problems are painful and also affect my shoulders arms and hands.
Sorry you have this new pain!
Cath

frogmorton

Hi Jaki

May well be what the others are suggesting - I have both as well as infalmatory arthritis....in fact it almost seems as though alot of us have both.

All I can say is that you are going to the right place for sure and they will be able to help you.

Love

toni xx

dachshund

Hi Jaki.
i have oa it started in my hips then spine now its in my feet and hands.
good luck with your apontment.
joan xx

rugbygirl

Sounds to me like things are going to get trickier for me. I have enough problems feeling my hands and feet as it is because they keep tingling like pins and needles but with my neck hurting as well its not nice. I thought the increase of pain killers helped the other day but that was only one day. Its now back to normal - still bl***y painful and standing to cook is no go. Hubby is having to do it all for me again.

Sleep is fitful and well I spend more time feeling sleepy than I do awake,

skezier

Hi Jaki,

Oh flower necks hurt!

I got advanced oa in mine and it has touched the shoulder as well but I also got pa in it and they are n=both on all out war trying to be top arthritis in the same joint so that might be why the shoulder has gone so bad. I got 3rd and 4th stage in the spine as well.

You know the lumber being damaged might mean 'all' that is wrong with your neck is its having to compensate for the problems lower down? Its not automatic the whole lot will go the same way. I just wanted you to know that bit flower.

What do the medics say about your neck? Actually what are they doing to help with it all Jaki cus it doesn't sound like its enough to be honest.

I hope it will ease off for you soon and they will help you a but more as well. leaving you a ((( ))) and a hope./ Cris x

rugbygirl

Hi Cris

I only found out on 21st Feb what is wrong with me because the Pain Consultant had to look at my MRI scan and he let me know. I havent had the 'official diagnosis' from the ortho consult and I wont get that until 15th March.

My physio referral has been lost I dont know how many times and I am waiting for the most recent one to get through the system. The pain clinic are going to write to me to make some appointments for injections into my spin but that might not be until April. I have had my Gabapenthin increase but of course the doctor wouldnt give me the other medication because the lettter hadnt reached him and he wont prescribe the change without the letter. The annoying thing is that the pain clinic is in the hospital and the doctors is 100 yards from the actual clinic not even the hospital and the doctor wouldnt even phone for the information.

I dont know if I am on foot or horseback and all I want to do is cry. I feel awful and I feel like giving up. I am in so much pain at the moment but nothing seems to help.

Sorry I think I am feeling a bit sorry for myself today instead of being upbeat about things. :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

dreamdaisy

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a quick dip in the self-pity pool: we have a great deal to tolerate and manage and yes, sometimes it does all become a little too much and it is absolutely fine to shed a few tears and think 'It's not fair!' and 'Why me?' I think you have not, as yet, had a proper diagnosis either, so you must be feeling very confused and a little fearful. I know you are a new member but from the tone of your other posts this bout of weepiness is probably not like the usual you. We know what it is like and we understand. I hope you feel a little brighter tomorrow. DD

rugbygirl

Thanks DD

I am not one to feel sorry for myself. I would sooner push myself and get on with things than sit and feel sorry for me. But you are right. I am confused and fearful doesnt even cover it. I am truly terrified. I dont know what I have got to deal with, if it will get worse, or even if I am going to end up being a burden to someone having to push me about in a wheelchair. This time last year I was looking forward to getting married and now I have this. I think that, and the fact that so many so called friends cant be bothered anymore, is why I am finding it so hard.

I will be better once I have had a good nights sleep I hope

valval

they not true friends if they turn there backs on you so do not give them a second thought. but you are not pushing them away are you it easy to do when you are trying to get your head around it all please do not think about being in a wheel chair it most prob will not happen and if it does well you will find the courage to face it when the time comes we will help val

rugbygirl

I dont think I have pushed them away. I have invited people over but they dont come over or let me know why. I get annoyed with that. I have some really good friends and they are the important ones.

I now have good friends on the forum and they know how I feel.

Thanks for being there and kicking me up the backside

hileena111

Hi,
I have got OA in hips and lower back...also got kypho scoliosis....my shoulders do ache sometimes...quite a lot but it is an eache not a pain

Hileena

skezier

Hi Jaki,.

Its hard when your first told and also akin to limbo as they all write to each other and get the tablets and treatments sorted out for you but it does get easier in time.

fears are horrible as well. It was a very long time ago when they told me but even now I remember the fears i had partly cus they are still there but even after 30 or more years they have remained only fears to some degree. I have lost a lot of ground to it but am also fairly good at fighting it (or ignoring it might be nearer the truth).

I was told the gabapentin wasn't as effective as the pregabalin so you got those in reserve still if the gabs don't help on the higher dose. The jabs in the back I have a few of, used to have them regularly on both the lumber and the neck and sometimes they can really help and help for quite a long time as well. They now use a mix of medron and botox on mine and as yet the bones and muscles haven't found a way round that. it also lasts a lot longer but she told me its very evasive so it can't be done as often. Mind they don't like to do the ordinary ones too often either.

Flower it can all seem totally overwhelming in the beginning, it can from time to time after years as well so be kind to your self over that one,. its normal to feel as you do and it does honestly get easier as you and it learn to adjust to each other.

hang in there and hopefully they will get the tablets sorted, the jabs sorted and you will start to have a lot less pain. I wonder in the meantime if the gp's can help at all with that? letters here take up to 14 weeks to get from one department to the other and the gp might be able or willing to give you a bit of a pain relief help for the interim time? Leaving you another ((( ))) and a hope you will have a better day tomorrow. Cris x

lavenderlady

hi Jaki I do hope you are feeling a little brighter we all feel down and depressed at first its a lot to take in and as for me I remember as a child my nan suffering so much with OA and RA,
I was offered spine injections but they could not do them as i have spondelothesis in my back along with other problems gabapentin has helped enormously, having had OA symptoms from aged around 28 I was 50 yesterday I thought i was OK with it and coped well even having 5 children but last year more then 19 xrays all within a few months showed every joint was affected by OA inc joints like my jaw joints I never gave a 2nd thought to were affected, as you can imagine this hit me quite bad and luckly coming on here has helped me enormously including when last nov I had to have a total wrist replacment again I was given great advice and coped, I now need to have my big toe joints replaced or fused not sure what yet so thats coming up my Rhumatologist told me my right hip and knee were also bad and would need doing in the not too distant future, I've managed to convince myself "so what others manage why not me " basically you've made a great big step by coming on here, we'll all help you though all this arthrtis stuff, medication will help and theres always ops if needed we manage a day at a time and so will you , dont be frightened you'll cope,
Arthritis is a very misunderstood illness/diesase, but you'll cope

julie47

Hi Jaki
just catching up with the forum and have been reading your thread.
I just want to say I hope you are feeling a little better this morning.
I am sending a hug ((((((((((()))))))))) and wish you luck for the 15th
Take care
juliepf x

frogmorton

Jaki

Terrified is one of the manu emotions I went through; fear anxiety blind panic anger sadness...blimey the list went on.

The best idea though is to talk - talk to us and get informed. Far better the devil you understand than fear of the unknown which is far worse.

Also once you have the diagnosis you can get treatment appropriate and you will start to feel more in control of you life.

Love and hugs

toni xx

rugbygirl

Thank you all for your kind words. You have all helped and made me realise that I am not as bad as I think I am. I know there are people out there that are a lot worse off than me. I have nothing to feel bad about after reading some of the stories on here.

My GP isnt very helpful at the moment and is reluctant to do anything more than what they have already done. He has given me the pills that he 'thinks' will help but when I told him that I needed another tablet he was reluctant to give it to me as he has never given them together. I have only got a week to go so hopefully I will be able to get something sorted then.

I am feeling loads better this morning and I hope that you are all feeling ok too.

I was relieved to read that you have all experienced these feelings, and in some respects still do. I mean you all seem to be dealing with arthur and other ailments so well that I thought it was just me. Now I know that it is part and parcel of this disease and everyone feels like it at some point and sometimes later on when things change.

I am facing this with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I am not going to let this get me down. I am going to do everything I can to be the person I used to be - happy and bubbly

frogmorton

Hi Jaki

well done you!!!

you ARE the person you always were

Love

Toni xx

dreamdaisy

Arthritis hits everyone and everything in one's life. Friends have no idea about what it entails - they can become frightened of talking to you, unsure if they might say the wrong things, they don't know much about it anyway and wrongly associate it with elderly folk (youngest one on here with some form of it? 2 years old.) There is also the fact that we can, very easily, become arthritis bores. To us it's a fascinating area for conversations (look at us on here!) but for everyone else it is very, VERY dull.

Luckily for me, never actually having good health in the first place has worked to my advantage with this dross. I have never felt scared about it, if I end up in a wheelchair so be it, it is not the end of life it's just a different life. What I do want to happen is for the bottom of it all to be reached, so I know where I am. This is taking far too long to happen and that is what gets my goat. Mind you, I suspect that very very few people end up with the life they wanted or planned. I know that I am far from being alone as someone who does not have the life they want. I live in an era when there are gadgets and gizmos a-plenty to help and that has to be regarded as a good thing. It may well be not what I want, but it's what I have. DD

skezier

Hui Jaki,

Its helpful to find out its not just you isn't it? I wish the forum had been around when i first was told cus it might have saved me falling apart as much

Its all a kind of process you have to go through and your going to be fine, you really will be. I do understand the fears so much cus they are a permanent fixture and fitting now but one I am used to and so far its not been as bad as i was scared it would be.

I got a lot of last stage now and that's causing a bit of paralyzation here and there but its thankfully only ever been transient.... I guess one day it wont be but that's not today, or as yet today For me that's the only way to look at it cus the fear is the most destructive thing I know.

You will find your own way through it all and honestly it does get easier in time.

Hey glad your feeling a lot better about it, it helps to talk eh? Leaving you an anti-fear draft which can sometimes help and a hope you have a decent day. Cris x

rugbygirl

This might sound a stpuid question, but does anyone who suffers with OA of the spine suffer with numb heels??

I often wake up in the morning to go to the bathroom and I can only feel half of my feet. It comes back slowly via the pins and needles route but quite often during the day I have pins and needles then numb feet again.

I am not sure if this is part of the OA or if I should be concerned in case there is something else going on

summer23

Hi, i have RA, you name it i have it, i was so bad last year that i could not even hold a tooth brush.

When i had it in my shoulders and could not move my arms (frozen shoulder) i telephoned my GP to check which doctor could give me a steroid injection into the shoulder, all practices usually have at least one doctor trained to give these injections.

As soon as i had the steroid injection into my shoulder, it helped straight away.

Never have too many injections in a year though as it can weaken the bones, i usually have 2 or 3 a year.

Ibufern is a good tablet for inflamation of the shoulder.

Hope this helps.

dreamdaisy

Steroid injections can help but they don't always work. I don't know about the heel thing - all parts of my feet hurt all the time, I would welcome some numbness! I think go and see your GP is the best thing, it could be a trapped nerve or somesuch. I wish you well. DD