My patience is wearing thin!

angilee

Hi Everyone,

I am here again! it seems I am going round and round in circles and getting nowhere..I still have the back of knee pain which I posted about ages ago..the NHS physio I saw did not get back to me and I ended up chasing him around to see if if he re-looked at my scans. The Amytriptyline the GP gave me I have had to stop taking it...it is knocking me out and I cannot function. So I still have no pain relief...but have made an app with another GP tomorrow...I am going to ask to be referred to the pain clinic...as I am now just totally fed up...

My hip and knee pain seem to have got so bad in the last couple of months, I cannot quite believe the difference..is it possible to get flare-ups with osteoarthritis? Maybe the joints are just getting worse...I really don't know.

So sorry if all this seems like a jumbled up mess..you are the only people who understand. Anyone have experience of pain clinics and the sort of treatments they can offer?

Thank you
Angilee

barbara12

Hello Angilee
Sorry you are suffering like this, its possible it could be the change in the weather..it certainly effects me..mostly the warmer weather..and the answer to your question about can you get flares with OA.we had this a while ago and the answer was yes..I get them but they seem to last days and not weeks like those with RA..
I am along term member of the pain clinic , I think its 4 years now..they have done lots for me ie injections in my spine my hips, knees and thumbs..and also look at my meds, but sadly I seem to have come to the end of what they can do, but it was good while it lasted..
Ask your GP to refer you , and I do hope you get some relief very soon..

angilee

Hi Barbara,

Good to hear from you...and your advice is very helpful. I have managed quite well up to now with just over the counter meds...but this last couple of months have been a nightmare...I lost my mum in Feb and not sure if that has contributed..

Pain clinic is the only way to go now I think...before numerous joint replacements!

Thank you again for your help

Angilee

barbara12

Oh lovey I am so sorry, its nearly 30 years since I lost my mum, and remember that day very well..you are right about it effecting you,it was around 3 months after... and I was quite poorly..it was only when a friend pointed it out the link to my mum..you look after yourself and try and get some me time..xx

angilee

Hi Barbara,

Thank you so much for your reply and support. I have been through the mill a bit recently and mum passing away was so sudden and unexpected...then the arthritis pain on top of it all...well. you probably understand all too well.

Angilee

mig

Sorry to hear about your mum like Barbara i lost mine a long time ago but grief and stress can do strange things to our bodies and minds,i hope you get some help soon. Sending some hugs (((()))) Mig

Ladybrown

Hi Angilee
I am so sorry to hear about your mum - such a hard thing to go through.

As a fellow OA sufferer I definitely do have flare-ups and I have noticed that mood can absolutely be linked. When I am miserable, stressed, tired etc. the pain is worse and a recent bout of depression hit me hard, so the loss of someone so important is probably having a huge impact on you.

I hope you can find some relief. If you are coping with over the counter meds it might be worth trying something stronger from the GP in the meantime. I take co-codamol on prescription and although it took me a while to get used to it, I don't feel so 'spacy' any more and it is worth it to get the pain down to a manageable level. My GP was also very firm with me about not waiting until the pain gets bad before taking the meds and that seems to help too (sorry I expect you've already heard this)

Look after yourself
x

GraceB

Push your GP and say you need to have effective pain control. Can you organise that you have a return visit booked to see him/her?

Yes, OA can flare and yes, grief can cause this to happen. I flared badly in February 2013 when we lost my sister to pancreatic cancer; my Uncle then passed away June 2013; my dearly loved Dad passed away October 2013; and my Aunt (Dad's sister) died 6 weeks practically to the day after Dad went. My elderly (18.5 yr old) cat had a stroke that December so we lost her as well. With each loss, my joints flared badly and it seemed as if I was just getting things under control when another hammer blow hit us.

You have my deepest condolences on the loss of your Mum. It takes time to come to terms with the loss of such an important family member.

Try to take care of yourself and please - let us know how you get on with your pain meds and Pain Clinic referral.

Take care,
GraceB

angilee

Hi,

Wanted to say a huge thank you to you all for the support and advice you have given me...it seems I get more support here than I do from my own GP.

I will be sure to let you all know how I get on with my appointment tomorrow

Thank you all again...it means so much

Angilee

dreamdaisy

It's upsetting but true: any form of arthritis is progressive and degenerative but how fast one is affected varies from person to person. With OA one has to reach a certain point before joint replacements might be offered, and the time waiting for that point to be reached is characterised by increasing pain, decreasing mobility or ability (depending on what is affected) and yes, the general sense that one is forgotten by health professionals. There is only so much they can do - the rest is up to us. I find that the cold and damp makes my OA worse, whereas the heat and humidity of summer causes my PsA go have a go.

I finally went to a pain clinic and wasn't told anything new - I was already practising what they were preaching and I know that pain relief is not all it is cracked up to be, mind you neither is living with continual, grinding, on-going pain but that is part-and-parcel of arthritic life. We live in an indignant age where disease is not supposed to happen to us and doctors are meant to have an answer for everything. They don't and it does. The commonality of OA doesn't help it to be taken 'seriously' by docs or others but us on here know all about it and how challenging it can be. DD

Slosh

I do hope your GP can sort you out with some more effective medication. I was on amitriptyline for a while for my neuropathic pain before a consultant changed me to duloxetine, I wasn't havimg any problems with it, and it did help me sleep, but as I needed quite a high dose he changed it. I was on codydramol as well for quite a while along with Naproxen as an anti-inflammatory. While I haven't been to a pain clinic I have been lucky with my GP who has worked with me to adjust my meds until we found a combination that makes the pain livable with, most of the time at least.

I'm sorry to hear about your Mum, mine died 8 years ago and I always remember her saying to me that you never really grow up until your Mum dies. Look after yourself.