Advice Please

FarHorizon52

Hello Everyone.
My mother is 89 years old and is suffering badly from osteoarthritis in both knees, and less so in one of her ankles. Currently she is taking codeine and paracetamol, and also uses PHOR Pain Cream Gel and/or Difflam Cream.
It is difficult with the medicines because she is also on Warfarin tablets. Her doctor has advised continuing to use the cream if it helps with the pain. At the moment though neither tablets or cream seem to be providing any relief.
She has tried knee bandages but says that the ones she bought are too tight.
The doctor asked her if she would like a replacement operation. But my mother has declined this as she is very afraid of the procedure and possible outcomes.
So, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions with regard to pain relief medicines that she could try, and any recommendations for knee straps/bandages.
Thanks for your time in reading this.

[Deleted User]

Hi FarHorizon52 & welcome to the Arthritis Care Forums.

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

If you haven't already done so, do take a look at the section on "Coping With Pain" on the website: https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/managing-arthritis/coping-with-pain

The section has a booklet you can download that has some quite extensive suggestions that may be of some help.

Additionally, there are lots of lovely people here with a wide range of experiences with arthritis and the problems of living with the condition who will have good practical advice.

I look forward to reading your posts on the forums
Best wishes
Mod Bryn

stickywicket

Hello Farhorizon82 and welcome from me too.

This is difficult, isn't it? My Mum had very bad back pain (osteoporosis and slipped discs) in her latter years and we want to do all we can for our mothers.

I can understand her not wanting new knees at her age though, having had 3 myself, I would heartily recommend them. If that's not what she wants though it really is just a matter of relieving pain as best she can.

There are all sorts of knee supports about. I have one similar to this http://tinyurl.com/zxp2fna But they can be quite uncomfortable and shouldn't be worn for long periods as that can encourage muscle wastage.

The most useful thing with arthritis is to keep exercising the joints as that makes the muscles stronger and strong muscles give support to the damaged joint. Having said that, I can imagine my own mother's reply had I suggested it to her However, it really does help. I wonder if some physio would be useful. Her GP could refer her or, if you went down the private route, try to get one who specialises in musculo-skeletal problems.

Good luck!

daffy2

It might be worth seeing if there are pain management courses/clinics that your mother could go to - the GP should be able to help with that. Does warmth help? - hot water bottles can be a great comfort to sore OA joints.Also it may be worth having a chat with a pharmacist about what medication might be suitable and also the best way to take the drugs, as they are better placed to know about drug interactions etc , as it's their job. Things like not waiting until the pain is bad before taking anything, and trying different combinations can sometimes make a difference to how effective the pain relief is.
I expect other forum members will be along in due course to suggest things that might help.
I see that Sticky has also posted with her usual wise words - she's been there etc so knows her stuff!

FarHorizon52

Thanks everyone so far. I will follow up on your advice. Mother was back at the doctor's this morning and has now been given Tramadol. She is feeling a bit woozy from the dose thus far, in addition to getting very little sleep last night. Her doctor also touched on the pain management clinic, so we will see how things progress.
Many thanks again.