help

kelly81

hi im new on here not sure if im on the rite thing but i need some help and advice re:my condition
i was diganoised with Bilateral degeneration with underlying instability in july last year.
before the diganosis i had this condition from the age of ten now iam in my thirtys,
i have attended physiothearpy,pain management clinic and seen orthopaedic surgeons with no help
i have tried various pain relief but none has helped and i am in severe pain consistenly my symptons include swelling ,cracking and grinding unable to walk very far or very fast iam unable to get up and down stairs and my knees are starting to point outwards and look deformed i have had blood test in the past for rhuemoid but there have came back clear but when l have done research i have all symptons of this im very confused i dunno what i can do next and to top things off my gp thinks im lying about my pain as no pain killers i have been prescribes has helped is there any advice that you could give me of this as my gp is not helping

helpline_team

Dear Kelly81,

Thank you for your post to Helplines. I'm sorry to hear about your arthritis and that nothing seems to be very helpful at the moment. I'm going to reflect back a little what I've understood. So it sounds as though part of the picture is known - that there are degenerative issues on both sides (of your back?) And it's also unstable. I wonder where abouts that all is? And also you are seeing changes - deformity with your knees and difficulty walking. And joints are noisy and painful.

You've been taken seriously as you've been referred to physiotherapy, orthopaedics and the pain clinic. But you don't seem to be finding things helpful yet. Blood tests for inflammatory arthritis have been negative.

Both you and the GP sound frustrated. I wonder whether you'd like to ring us up and have a chat about things?

We are not able to offer you medical advice, but we are here to listen. And a lot of self managing arthritis, involves exploring different gentle exercise, finding out hints and tips and gradually learning what helps your own arthritis.

Also you might like to try to post on the living with arthritis forum - and see what other people suggest.

Kind regards

Guy

kelly81

hi Guy thank you for your reply its good to have someone talk to cos i feel as though no one understands not even my gp at the minute
the problem is in both my knees and it started when i was around 10 years old but i was only diganoised last july

helpline_team

Hi Kelly,

Well do feel free to give us a ring.

Very best wishes

Guy