Knowing one's arthritis from one's elbow

stickywicket

Mr SW handed me his mobile. "C wants to ask you if she has OA."

:? :roll: Firstly, as we keep saying on here, I can't diagnose and secondly I'm no good at holding mobile phones. They are entirely the wrong size and shape and wrongly weighted for me. Even with a normal landline I have to hold the phone to my left ear using my right hand. Mobiles are much worse. Reluctantly I took hold of his mobile and supported my own right elbow with my left hand.

C had pain in her elbow following a fall. Well, not in her elbow. Either side of it. She'd been to the doc three times. First time she was prescribed paracetamol, second time cocos and third time laxatives to deal with the coco side-effects and a urine test to ensure it was only constipation and not a bladder infection. No bladder infection. She had now decided the elbow pain wasn't as bad as the constipation pain so had abandoned pain relief but wanted to know why her elbow was hurting and 'because you fell heavily on it' wasn't enough.

We went round in circles for several minutes her asking me if it was OA and what my pain felt like and me insisting she must return to the GP if she wanted a diagnosis and maybe ask for an x-ray and/or physio. After 6-7 minutes I knew I couldn't hold the phone any longer so explained and said I'd hand her back to Mr SW.

Except that, I couldn't :? Now my own elbow wouldn't move :roll: He took the phone and I, slowly, notch by notch, and ouch by ouch, took my arm down from my ear.

Now that, to me, is arthritis in the elbow

palo

Maybe I'm just very slow, I waited for about 3 years of pain before going to the GP about it when I suspected arthritis, as everyone says there's nothing much they can do about it..and then only because I was desperate and needed help managing day to day tasks.

dreamdaisy

I suppose that having clocked up a good few years of living with the malarkeys selected for us by the vagaries of life we are maybe more informed rather than vaguely knowledgeable about arthritic stuff but, as you rightly say, that doesn't make us experts or diagnostic whizzers. (I love this definition of expert - 'ex' means has-been and 'spert' is a drip under pressure.)

My friends are reaching ages where Voltarol gel is appearing on the bathroom shelves ('Daisy, have you tried that 12 hour stuff? It's wonderful!') and the odd paracetamol is swallowed with much drama and moaning ('I'm really worried about addiction, I'm taking two a day'). Get over yourselves, twerps. Your good years are far from behind you, I can see you are still living them but you cannot see the non-existent wood for the non-existent trees. DD

palo

DD I do have to say I do long for such ignorance...

My neighbour is in his 80s about 30 years older than I, and he is profoundly upset that he has to take 3 tablets a day!! Whereas I am delighted to be down to about 10... 3 is never going to happen for me...

dreamdaisy

One of my favourite quotes comes from Kathy Lette: it vaguely went like this: 'Love prepares you for marriage like lace-making does for round-the-world yachting.' My version would be 'Good health prepares you for its loss like . . ditto . . '

Health is the first lottery one joins but without choosing whether to play or not. DD