Been away

scozzie

Hi all

Sorry I've been off the site for months mainly cos my Arthur is pretty much under control and predictable ... I'd managed to drop my weight a bit more which must've helped (at least two stone since my peak).

This weekend my OH and I returned from a five week holiday to Oz, my homeland, apart from the flights which I could really do without, we had a great time ... Arthur behaved himself for the most part, so much so that I returned home with far more medication than I had expected as I was only taking cocos morning and night, probably more from habit than anything, plus I was forgetting my midday dose (I usually only take three doses a day, leaving the forth for when I'm bad). This has me now considering dropping my dosage down to one tablet at a time to see how I get on ... on the flights however I was taking my full dosage religiously every six hours -- as prevention rather than relief, 24 hours in a tin can isn't fun at all.

Now I'm wondering whether my reduced need for pain dullers was from being away from the humdrum of regular life or the change of climate conditions where we were, which for the most part were sunny and mild.

There was one occasion though where Arthur played up very badly ... if I remember correctly, it was on the way to a family picnic, and one of my knees started aching badly -- worst I'd felt in ages! Within a few hours, on the way home from the picnic, we were hit by I a big cold front storm ... the temperature dropped six degrees in as many minutes and the rain was torrential coupled with a short thunderstorm. So based on this I am now certain that particular weather conditions do affect our arthritis.

Let's hope this finds you all fit and well

Scozzie

dreamdaisy

It's nice to have you back and I am pleased you enjoyed your time away. I recall reading an article in the press concerning a large, Australian university which had spent a huge amount of money investigating and researching claims that weather affects OA, reaching the conclusion that said claims were groundless. Later they had to concede that maybe they didn't have the right climate to make such a judgement. Ah, the gentle, sheltered life of academe.

Many on here find that low pressure weather, damp and cold exacerbate their OA and, living mostly in Tupperware as we do in these northern climes (i.e. grey and damp) it's no wonder that we need our pain dullers and wheat bags. I know for myself that a change of routine can have a positive impact on my conditions as the normal daily stresses are removed, that warmer and sunnier days make a huge difference to how I feel and how I cope: since childhood I could always tell when low pressure weather was approaching as my breathing would deteriorate as its characteristic moulds and spores began to fill the air. Cynics say we make it up but, as they are usually arthritis-or-other-chronic-health-condition-free, we have to understand that they are idiots and twerps. DD

stickywicket

Hi scozzie. Good to see you back though I'm sorry the joints are playing up again. I've stopped trying to work out what makes mine better or worse. It sounds as if Oz was, broadly, good for yours. I suspect atmospheric pressure comes into things but who knows?