Newbie with hip and knee OA

AmandaJones

Hello people,
Newbie here with osteoarthritis of hips discovered 2 years back. With no history in family, quite healthy and nutritious diet for years and adequate exercise, diagnosis came as a shock at the age of 35 :oops: .
Currently I am on ibuprofen and paracetamol to manage pain and few nutritional supplements. My worry is, both of my knees are also damaged severely in last 2 years and I am due for my Ortho appointment next week, though damn sure about the diagnosis. Being from a medical background, I know I am at more risk of knee OA being an overweight
I am not able walk for past few months and both of my knees swells and heat up in the night. Limited mobility and frequent flares has disturbed my routine, just thankful to god for having wonderful family support, without them it would have been much much difficult :roll: .
Hmm..coming to point, I am glad I found this forum where I can share and get advice from other OA people . Can anyone suggest me non surgical management for my knee OA .
Amanda

tjt6768

Welcome to the forum Amanda. . (Sorry, I wrote Angela for some reason :oops: )
I have OA in lower spine and both knees along with pseudo gout in the knees and rheumatoid arthritis in a few joints :roll: lucky boy lol
I've had a few knee clean outs with varying degrees of success. I think maybe trying aqua robics of the very gentle kind may help? With the consent of the specialist of course.

You've found the right place as we all understand what it's like living with this disease.

The pain clinic could help too. You would need a referral from gp or specialist I think.

Best wishes

stickywicket

Hello Amanda and welcome to the forum though, as we say on here, sorry you had to find us.

I've had RA for 50+ years and OA for most of that as a result. There was no RA in my family. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. I've had three knee replacement ops (My first TKR lasted 27 years and it's fellow is currently an aged 33) and two THRs so I'm a bit of a veteran in ortho surgery :roll:

Non-surgical management? This is going to be hard but not walking is about the worst thing you can do for arthritis. In fact surgeons are now recommending exercise bikes for those with arthritic knees http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/NewsRoom/Latestnewsstories/z62G
It's essential to keep the muscles that support a knee or hip strong, partly to reduce pain before an op but also to ensure success after. Apart from when I broke a hip I exercised daily right up to every op.

For non-surgical help and self-management try here http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Selfmanagement
and also here http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/NewsRoom/Latestnewsstories/eXUv

One final point – the nutritional supplements. Are they prescribed by your GP? I ask because some can interfere with, or augment, the action of prescribed meds. Your local pharmacist will be able to advise you on that. Also Tony's sugestion of hydrotherapy is a good one but it can be quite hard to get on the NHS. If you can just paddle around a bit in your local swimming pool that would be better than nothing as the water supports the joints while they're being exercised.

I hope the orthopaedic appt goes well. Please keep us informed.

dreamdaisy

I am sorry you have had to find us because this is not a good time in your life, yes? It's one of life's truths that health dross will hit as and when it chooses; when you are the one dealing with the results, well, it's not fun.

I have ankle, knee, hip plus other OA stuff thanks to the damage caused by my auto-immune arthritis. If non-medical things worked then this forum would not exist but it does because they don't. What kind of medical background do you have? DD

bubbadog

Hi Amanda, Welcome to the Arthritis care forum family! The others have given you a lot of advice to go through. I wanted to welcome you and I'm sure this site will help you understand and advise you. We do try to bring a smile to everyone's face as it's not just a serious site we do try and have a little fun!!

AmandaJones

Thank you everyone for your kind words. Ya, it really feels good to be with people who are going through the same phase. I will make sure to be in regular touch with you all.
DD - I have done a short course of health and well-being and in human medicine too, I believe it will help me to add value to forum, though personal experiences too, matters a lot. Thanks.
SW - Thanks for links. Overall, this forum is very informative.
Tony - hydrotherapy seems an interesting option to look for. I will surely give it a try, when my knees are in better health as they do on some days . Thanks for your advice.

Amanda.

tjt6768

You are most welcome hun. And again, welcome to the arthritic family. .