NEW MEMBER LOOKING FOR ADVICE

joirvine

Hi there hopefully someone can assist me with advice...i have just been diagnosed with early arthritis in my ankle...i fractured 2 bones in my leg and 3 in my ankle in march and dislocated my foot and its now held together with plates and pins. The last four weeks has seen my joint pain get worse instead of better, and was diagnosed yesterdat with arthritis. Does anyone have any advice on vit/minerals that may help for normal day to day living. I am on paracetamol, diclofenac and oxynorm for pain just now. But pain is keeping me up at night... Really appreciate anyone taking there time to read this.

many thanks
joanne

Welcome to the forum Joanne, I hope you do not mind but I changed the colour from mauve/pink to black, because some forum members have eye problems and have difficulty in reading the posts in lighter colours.
Moderator EH

dreamdaisy

Hi, it's nice to meet you. I guess you have OA - that can result after injury to a joint. To be honest there is not much that can be achieved by taking 'natural' things, some people swear by glucosamine, cod liver oil etc but I reckon those are people who like (for some bizarre reason) to think they have arthritis. There is no empirical evidence that supplements etc help but ultimately it comes down to personal choice. I have an inflammatory arthritis (PA) in a number of joints and I have developed OA in my knees, probably as a result of the PA damage. As for the pain, well, the only option is to take the pain dullers on a regular basis and try to adjust to it. Paracetamol may not have the clout you require, there are other options to try. It may be worth considering using a stick (on the opposite side to the affected joint) to ease the strain when walking. I wish you well. DD

dachshund

Hi Joanne.
welcome to this lovely helpfull forum.
i was on 15 m co-codamol it did not work a nice lady called barbara on here said go back to doc and it was put up to 30 m
now its cope able.
take care. joan xx

hileena111

Hi Joanne
Welcome to the forum.....I have plates screw and pins in my ankle due to a car going over my ankle and smashing it badly....I've now got OA in that. {That was about 3 yrs ago} got to admit apart from the shape of it it doesnt bother me much but I do have OA in my hips, lower spine and neck as well.....After my first hip replacement I could not sleep...kept waking up about 5 times during the night with pain.....they tried all sorts of tablets and eventually the thing that worked was slow release diclofenic......if that is any help to you..
Hope you enjoy the forum

Love
Hileena

Ankyspond

Hi,

Have been down the natural route and didn't do anything for me to be honest but welcome and hope you enjoy the forum. xx

julie47

Hi joanne

Just wanted to welcome you to this lovely forum and hope you find it helpful.

sorry I can't help I have ra and not on the same meds.

Hope your pain eases soon

take care
juliepf x

barbara12

Hi joanne
And a very warm welcome from me, you really have come to the right place, everyone are so friendly, and we all support one another.
The only things that helps me at night is amitryptaline, its an antidepressant, but in a lower does really does give me a good night.
I know that meds are not always the answer, but I believe if you get a good sleep then you feel more human and the pain doesn't seem has bad.
You take care, and I hope to see you posting more very soon.

rugbygirl

hi Joanne

Welcome to the forum it's nice to meet you, although it would have been better to meet you under different circumstances. DD is right about one thing for certain with Arthur you never take painkillers they are always pain dullers :-)

I find one thing very useful and although it means taking another tablet it is a very useful tablet. Every night before bed I take 50 MG of amitriptyline. They were prescribed to me to help with nerve pain but I believe there are others on this forum who also take them although I'm not sure if it's solely for nerve pain.

My father, who also has the same problem as myself (osteoarthritis of the spine) has always said to me that I should be taking cod liver oil and not doctors medicines. I personally think that he has made matters worse himself. Now because of the pain he is on so many different medications he spends most of his time asleep but does not agree with his doctor who has told him that if he had taken his medication sooner he would not have made matters worse. In my opinion I believe that although he hasn't helped himself it was likely to happen but he has made it happen sooner than maybe it would have although we will never know.

I know how difficult it can be to actually sleep when you are in pain and how frustrating it is for others because they cannot help you. I would be inclined to go back to the doctors and explain your problem so that they can give you the best advice. Have you been referred to a pain specialist or pain clinic? If not it may be worth asking your GP to refer you so that you can get the right treatment rather than a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to the doctors. Having said that though be warned, you are into the long haul no matter where you go.

I hope you manage to get some sleep soon and you are soon feeling better about things and coping more.

joirvine

thanks everyone for your welcome and advice ...im desperate to get off my crutches but cant seem to get around without them since my accident. oxycodone really helps the pain but makes feel like ive had a few gin and tonics too many.

wish you all well

joanne

bubbadog

Hi Jorvine, I have osteo-porosis and I take Amitriptyline at night and it really helps like the others along with a varied array of other drugs! The only thing I have tried was in a magizine it did a write up about food that is helpful in illnesses and blueberries are supose to help arthritis I do love blueberries so I do eat them not sure if that helps due to the other meds I take!! Hope you enjoy the forum as much as I do!