Advice needed on pain and arthritis management

angilee

Hi Everyone,
First a Happy New Year to all you wonderful folk here...you have all helped me in the past and given good advice.
I feel I have reached a point where I need to start and take control over the arthritis I have..rather than just plod on in pain and fatigue..and depression with it all.
I have arthritis in both hips,left knee,fingers and spine...this last year,I feel it has moved up a notch on the coping scale...I work full time too which is not helping...but at the moment cannot afford to do any other.
I want to go to my doctor to sort things out..and wondered if anyone can give me advice as to where to go from there. Do I ask for a referal to a pain clinic or arthritis specialist? I am a bit of a pill phobic..but realise I now need some kind of pain relief...I dont just want to swallow pills...but would like advice on other aspects such as exercise and how to look after myself properly.
I would be forever grateful if someone could point me in the right direction with this,so I can be as positive as possible when I visit my GP.

Thank you all so much
Angilee

dreamdaisy

Hello angilee, thank you for your good wishes and well done for carrying on as long as you have with work etc despite the increasing difficulties you are facing.

The best starting point is your GP - do you have OA? He is the one to talk about regarding meds etc - I am sorry to say that it may be time to begin accepting that if you want some degree of control then pills it is because that is really the only way forward if you wish to feel some benefit. I am fortunate in that I have had a lifetime of taking drugs so don't blink twice about any of 'em (and I take a fair few) and although they don't deliver what I'd like viz the arthritis I do know I'd be a darn sight worse without them.

I have never been referred to a pain clinic but I understand that they can be of great value in helping people to come to terms with both coping and dealing with their pain. Pain is very much a fact of life with arthritis and in my view it's the most delibitating aspect. As for an arthritis specialist - I can only think of a rheumatologist coming under that heading but they deal with the auto-immune types such as RA - do you have one of those too? I apologise for not remembering your exact details. :oops: DD

angilee

Hi DD,

Thank you so much for your help and advice.
I have osteo...but have found things have got worse recently...does the pain tend to be worse in the winter months...I was not this bad in the summer.
I just need to be clear on where I am going with this.
Angilee

stickywicket

I don’t think your GP is likely to refer you to a rheumatologist if yours is OA. Normally rheumatologists deal with the auto-immune types of arthritis and GPs deal with OA. ‘Dealing with it’ basically means pain relief and coping strategies until surgery becomes possible/inevitable.

I agree that you’ve done very well to keep working, especially if you’ve not been taking meds. A Pain Clinic could be good as could a referral to a physio for a tailored exercise plan. Swimming and cycling are normally considered good as the body weight is supported while doing them. However, I think you’ll need to take some meds. Having a pill phobia will at least ensure you don’t go popping too many, though

Diet, as in ‘a sensible one’, will play a part. Any excess weight is hard on creaky joints.

Is it worse in winter or summer? I remember I ran a poll on similar lines last year and things were fairly evenly divided though I think more OAers found the winter difficult. I have both types and damp doesn’t help though I don’t mind cold.

Have you read AC’s booklet on OA? You might find it helpful.

acheyaudball

my gp sent me to rheumatoid doctor, after bloods said it wasn't RA. Orthopaedic surgeon after keyhole said arthritis in my hip was too bad for anything except a new hip. He never said what type though. I've made an appt with my doc to see if he can enlighten me. Hope you get something for the pain. I'm on morphine. df118' s and amitriptyline and still get bad pain in joints.

dreamdaisy

I find that my OA worsens considerably in dank, damp weather so the last few weeks have been far from easy, I much prefer the winter cold which is usually accompanied by bright sunshine - that helps on all fronts.

None of us know where we're going with this, we have to take one day at a time, accept the bad days and learn not to overdo things on the better ones just because things feel better: arthritis is an accomplished liar. DD