Doctor recommendations in Essex please

Lippy123

Hello,

My mother has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. She is in a lot of pain and is not getting much help from her GP in managing it. I'd like her to go see a specialist and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a specialist in Essex or London?

Thanks in advance for your help

Lippy

daffy2

Hello Lippy
I am sorry to hear about your mother. OA and OP is not a good combination in terms of getting help from the GP in my experience.I went into OA big time at the beginning of 2012, and then in October got a diagnosis of OP. It will be up to your mother(with your help if necessary) to find out as much as she can about her conditions and the options available, and be persistent with the GP - don't assume that both conditions will be taken into account, e.g if physio is set up to help the OA make sure the exercises are OK for the OP .
The AC courses are good - click the links to see if there are any available in your area.
There is a lot of info about OP from the National Osteoporosis Society, and their helpline nurses are excellent. They also have forums, ( sadly not as good as here,) which you may find it useful to look through.
Did the OP diagnosis come as the result of a fracture, and has she been started on OP treatment?

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you and I hope we can help with information and support.

I am so sorry to read about your mum's situation, I have OA thanks to joint damage caused by my other auto-immune arthritis but not the OP (well, not yet. ) To be honest there is not much to be done about OA, it does come under the GP's remit and the treatment is pain relief, maybe an anti-inflammatory drug and gentle exercise to help to keep the muscles surrounding the affected joints in a better physical shape so that they can better support the joint. Osteoporosis has drug options and again gentle exercise can be useful to help guard against bone thinning, but sometimes that is much easier said than done. How old is your mum and for how long as the OA etc been affecting her? I'm 54 and have been arthritic since I was 37.

I do empathise with you both, arthritis of any form is not an easy thing to deal or live with. Pain is par for the course, the stronger the pain relief the more you are taken away from the pain, not vice versa. I need to be as mentally alert as possible because I still work (after a fashion) so I have to keep the pain dullers to a minimum - that is what they do, the dull the sharper edges but no more. Distraction is a good way to manage pain, for me that involves work, reading, watching telly and coming on here. I wish you and your mum well, I hope you can find a GP who is perhaps kinder towards your mum but their options for help are limited. It's not fair or right, is it? DD