Feeling alone

23455

Have been diagnosed wth OA in R knee and L thumb but strongly suspect its in most of my joints as I hurt from neck to (all) toes. My GP only deals with one thing at a time. Its frustrating and I feel a nuisance , I seem to live at the surgery, get naproxen and sent to physio for 10 mins.
I don't really know what I am asking of you all. I just feel, alone and slightly low at the moment so giving vent. Don't know if this is allowed.
Also wondering if when you have a knee replacement your leg feels longer. I already have a leg length discrepancy and worried this will make it worse

moderator

Welcome to Arthritis Care Forums 23455 from the moderation team.

As moderators we are here to help with any problems you may have using the message boards.

I am sorry to hear you are struggling and of course this is a place where you can vent your frustrations everyone here understands.

There are lots of lovely members who have a wide range of experiences with arthritis and the problems of living with the condition. Hopefully someone who has a similar experience to you will be along soon.

Please join in wherever you like you will be made very welcome.

I look forward to seeing you posting on the boards.

Best wishes

Moderator AC

daffy2

Welcome and I hope that soon you will feel not quite so alone now that you have joined the forum. It may be the club no-one wants to belong to, but the friends you'll 'meet' will be the ones you'll want when things get hard. I sympathise with the one thing at a time approach from your GP, unfortunately it's the way the NHS works. I've had piecemeal OA diagnoses for feet, ankles, knees, wrists and hands. I got lucky(!) with my spine which was x-rayed for another reason so that diagnosis was done as a whole, rather than lower back then neck etc. Dealing with pain is a mixture of methods for most people. There are options available but it may take a while to find the right combination for you, and non-drug approaches are as important in many cases as the medications. There will be other folks along to give you more details than I can, since at present I only need occasional pharma input.
Is your leglength discrepancy actually in the leg or the result of other issues? I have scoliosis which tilts my pelvis so I appear to have one short leg, but in fact it isn't. Whichever, the effect on the way you use your body may add to the OA and/or pain problems, and appropriate physio might be of benefit. The members with bionic knees will be able to answer your specific query.

stickywicket

Hello again Of course it's OK to write about our feelings on here. Arthritis is a frustrating business. We all understand that so there's absolutely no need to feel alone here.

There isn't a great deal GPs can do for OA other than prescribe pain relief and physio. The physio only helps if we continue to do the exercises regularly. You may find some useful ones here http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/Search/search_results_page_view?SearchableText=exercises on the left side of the page. The pills dull the outer edges of the pain but never remove it completely.

However, there's quite a lot we can do for ourselves. Have a look here
http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Selfmanagement

As for your question on knee replacements – no, a good surgeon can reduce, if not eliminate, leg length discrepancy while doing a TKR. However that will depend on other factors such as how well other joints articulate. As the proud owner of two TKRs and two THRs, and the not-so-proud owner of fused ankles and rubbishy foot bones, my legs are always a more matching length post-op though not usually perfect. (Perfect? What's perfect )

23455

yes Daffy2 its an actual leg length discrepancy which has caused a scoliosis of the spine. Obviously born with it but not diagnosed till I was 50, am now 60. ridiculous really as now it is so noticeable, I am completely lopsided.
\I am continuing with all my physio exercises, seem to add another joint each week.
am usually a pragmatic and realistic person, just bit down at the moment. Do you find that friends don't understand, mine keep organising things I cannot do. I think they think I just have a twinge now and again.
Anyway I hope I can get to the stage of offering advice to others.
Thank you for listening

stickywicket

I'm 69 and I think things like leg length just weren't diagnosed readily back in the day. I distinctly remember a little 4-5 yr old girl opposite us being knocked down by a car when I was about 10. It was only because of that that it was discovered she'd been born with a hip dislocation. Back then, X-rays delivered a very powerful dose of radiation so weren't used so much.

I don't know if a TKR could correct a leg length discrepancy due to scoliosis of the spine. I doubt it but it might make things a bit better. (It certainly would for the knee )

No, people don't understand and there's no real reason why they should. I don't understand how MS or MD or a whole host of other diseases affect people. We only become experts when we are affected. I've learned, over many years, to just tell it like it is. I try to do most things but if, on the day, I can't I just explain and say I'll hope to manage better next time. The trouble is that many older people have 'a touch of OA' so they think they know all about it. They don't.

barbara12

Hello and I understand the feeling, when you have lots of joints effected , you just think were will it end..and has for going to your GPs mine never saw me till I got arthritis..now its most weeks..and I am 65 so other things are appearing and I hate to mention them to him...dont fell alone with us lot here..talking about things will really help you...sorry I cant help with the knee .now if it was hips I know all about them.... I do wish you well ..

dibdab

Just wanted to say hello. Really sorry that you're struggling, but this is a place where it's safe to voice your worries, fears and frustrations, and those listening/reading will empathise and understand. That feeling of being constantly at the doctor's surgery is familiar to many of us........

Deb x

dreamdaisy

Those of us who are doing this arthritis malarkey properly don't get the odd twinge after four hours of gardening or a ten mile cross-country hike. We 'enjoy' full-on pain all day, every day, and more joints join in as others are thrown out of kilter because we change the way we move, sit, stand etc. all in a vain attempt to make things hurt less. As if.

Rest assured that when you post on here you are not alone and are talking to the very reluctantly initiated. We understand the ups and downs, we know that the GPs cannot do much but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with, we know the physio hurts but it is necessary, we have all had to alter what we do, how we do it and to learn to pace ourselves. Living with arthritis is a challenge but not one that has to be met every day: a slump is permissible (if not necessary) every now and again. I hope you feel better soon - keep talking to us, we know what it's like. DD

GraceB

Hi,

I've got a partial knee replacement and that leg is shorter than my other one! Found this out when I had to see an NHS Podatrist. I've got a 2cm difference in leg length.

All you can do is keep talking to your GP. Have you thought about keeping a basic pain diary so you can use this to explain to your GP how things are? It may help.

In the meantime, keep reading this forum and keep posting. I've had fantastic support from the wonderful people here.

Take care,
GraceB

Helenbothknees

Hi. I've had two knee replacements so I know about them. I don't know about leg length, but I was extremely bow-legged - possibly what caused the arthritis in my knees in the first place, but it certainly got worse over the years. During the operation the consultant said he'd straightened my legs a bit, and I think it was more than a bit - I'm now the owner of two painfree and more-or-less-straight legs.

I can't help with much else, but lots of people on here can!

bubbadog

Hi and welcome to Arthritis Care, I think we have all gone through times when we feel alone but here we are always there for one another. Your among friends here.

stickywicket

Hello again. How's stuff today? Any better? Any worse?