Introduction

johnbluefin

Hi, Just a quick note to introduce myself. My name is John and I am 52 years old and recently diagnosed with Osteoarthritis. I am struggling to come to terms with it a bit and I am hoping to find out in due course how other people cope with the constant nagging pains, lethargy and sheer despondency that the condition can bring. I don't know if I have a lot to offer other users yet but I will certainly try and contribute where I can. Cheers.

[Deleted User]

Hi John
and welcome to the forum, I am sorry to hear that you have osteoarthritis. It can indeed be extremely hard to come to terms with the constant nagging pain and the lethargy. We have a very useful booklet on managing pain which you may find useful, here is a link. It is also best to post in the 'living with arthritis forum' as more people will see your post there.
I am sure our forum members will make you very welcome and offer you support from their wealth of experience. I am going to move you post to the 'say hello' forum where more people will see it but I will leave a link here to
Best Wishes
Sharon

TheLordFlasheart

Hi John

I too have OA in my left knee, and im only 35 and yes it has been hard living with this on a day to day basis. I at first struggled to come to terms with it, and at times I still do, but coming here has been a massive help towards acceptance.

The nagging pains, fatigue are all part of OA (or any arthritis), and its all about finding ways to live with this. I would suggest you get some of the booklets that Arthirtis Care provide, as they are full of useful tips - you can either call the helpline or go here to download them;
https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/living-with-arthritis.

Others will post here and offer advice.

johnbluefin

moderator wrote:

Hi John
and welcome to the forum, I am sorry to hear that you have osteoarthritis. It can indeed be extremely hard to come to terms with the constant nagging pain and the lethargy. We have a very useful booklet on managing pain which you may find useful, here is a link. It is also best to post in the 'living with arthritis forum' as more people will see your post there.
I am sure our forum members will make you very welcome and offer you support from their wealth of experience. I am going to move you post to the 'say hello' forum where more people will see it but I will leave a link here to
Best Wishes
Sharon

johnbluefin

TheLordFlasheart wrote:

Hi John

I too have OA in my left knee, and im only 35 and yes it has been hard living with this on a day to day basis. I at first struggled to come to terms with it, and at times I still do, but coming here has been a massive help towards acceptance.

The nagging pains, fatigue are all part of OA (or any arthritis), and its all about finding ways to live with this. I would suggest you get some of the booklets that Arthirtis Care provide, as they are full of useful tips - you can either call the helpline or go here to download them;
https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/living-with-arthritis.

Others will post here and offer advice.

johnbluefin

TheLordFlasheart wrote:

Hi John

I too have OA in my left knee, and im only 35 and yes it has been hard living with this on a day to day basis. I at first struggled to come to terms with it, and at times I still do, but coming here has been a massive help towards acceptance.

The nagging pains, fatigue are all part of OA (or any arthritis), and its all about finding ways to live with this. I would suggest you get some of the booklets that Arthirtis Care provide, as they are full of useful tips - you can either call the helpline or go here to download them;
https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/living-with-arthritis.

Others will post here and offer advice.

stickywicket

Hi John and welcome from me too.

I'm not sure I have much to add to what Sharon and 'TheLordFlasheart' have written. Besides, you seem to have nailed it yourself. It is, indeed, the 'constant nagging pains, lethargy and sheer despondency that the condition can bring.'

The thing about these forums is that we all get it. We do understand. And, every so often, some new bit of nastiness chips in to remind even us old hands.

It seems to me you're dealing with it well and, believe me, you can be of help to others because some of the most valuable posts on the forums are when one person just wishes another well with their current appointment or new medication or feared operation.

I hope you'll feel at home here and please do join in elsewhere on other threads

johnbluefin

stickywicket wrote:

Hi John and welcome from me too.

I'm not sure I have much to add to what Sharon and 'TheLordFlasheart' have written. Besides, you seem to have nailed it yourself. It is, indeed, the 'constant nagging pains, lethargy and sheer despondency that the condition can bring.'

The thing about these forums is that we all get it. We do understand. And, every so often, some new bit of nastiness chips in to remind even us old hands.

It seems to me you're dealing with it well and, believe me, you can be of help to others because some of the most valuable posts on the forums are when one person just wishes another well with their current appointment or new medication or feared operation.

I hope you'll feel at home here and please do join in elsewhere on other threads

stickywicket

Hi again, John. It looks as if you're trying to reply to us. It's a bit tricky getting to grips with the forum. I suggest you ignore the 'reply with quote' tab and just click on the red 'reply' tab lower down and on the left. I hope you have better luck

dreamdaisy

Hello, I too have OA and can empathise with everything you said in your post. I'm twenty years in (I am 57, soon to be 58) and very accustomed to living with the lethargy and pain (it takes too much energy to rail against it and I don't have much to spare )

There are a couple of articles on the web which you might find of interest; one is 'The Spoon Theory', the other 'There's a Gorilla in my House'. They give an informed perspective on living with long-term chronic conditions and I still find them helpful to read every now and again. DD

johnbluefin

Many thanks. It's a pity the Gorrila glue advertised on T.V cannot make it stick somewhere so you could walk away from it!!

julioalmeda219

Welcome John