Hello All!

sunkenoctober

Hi all! I'm 27 and have just been diagnosed with OA. I'll give you all a very brief medical history.

I have had trouble with my knees for the past 5 years.

I first went to my doctor with knee pain in 2010, was told to do some exercises as my thigh muscles were not strong enough, this didn't work.
After this I was referred for Physio, which didn't work and I also had Acupuncture from the physio.
I went back to my doctor and they referred me for a blood test for RA, came back negative.
I was then referred to a podiatrist to see if there was something they could help with.
I was diagnosed with Hallux Limitus and given orthopedics to wear. Pain seemed to ease off. Until....

In October 2014 my knees for some reason got incredibly worse/disabling and I had enough, I went to the doctor who referred me to the orthopedic triage clinic as there was clearly something wrong and she promised they would get to the bottom of what ever that may be. I then had an X-Ray and the results were that I had OA in both the insides of my knees. I have since been for an MRI to see what sort of condition my cartilage is and I await the results tomorrow. My condition seems to be getting progressively worse the pain is unbearable and the fact I'm able to do less and its hard to get depressed.
I always knew that I had something wrong with me, no one seemed to listen. I didn't have any normal signs, like my knees were swollen or red. Just incredible pain and my knee's felt as if they were going to give away. Although it didn't make the diagnosis any easier to understand. I am still full of uncertainty and the "unknown".
I want to talk to some other people who understand what I'm going through and can offer advice.

Hello to you all!

[Deleted User]

Welcome to the forum Sunkenoctober I am sure you will find support, advice and light relief.

I am one of the moderation team, we all have one or more arthritis conditions or look after family with the same. If you need help with the technicalities of the forum just get in touch via a personal message.
Best wishes Modonfriday :loverain:

stickywicket

Hello again. I replied to your thread on Living With Arthritis last night but hadn't read this one.

I can hear your frustration and it does seem an outrage that there are still diseases that not much can be done about but, unfortunately that's the case. People think arthritis is just an old person's disease but it's not.

Physio does help in that it keeps muscles strong. Strong muscles support the joints better and well-supported joints are less painful and deteriorate more slowly. Nothing will reverse the damage done. We're just playing catch-up and fighting fires all the time.

'The unknown' is scarey. I agree. The way I've always looked at it (I was diagnosed with RA aged 15) is that it's only pain. Pain is usually a sign that we need to sort something out. Arthritis can't be sorted. If we plough through the pain it hurts more but if we retire to a sedentary life, other stuff will go wrong.

Other people will have different takes on it and please keep asking questions if you think we can help. (Better on LWA forum where more will see them.)

Let's know how you get on with the MRI result. I hope there will be some good news at least.