Hi I'm new to the forum

Brandon69

I have osteoarthritis in my lower spine and my cervical spine due to 30 years working in care and especially when I was in my early twenties when there wasn't the moving and handling policies and equipment there is today Im suffering bad these last few days and my longtec tablets may need increasing in tears the last two evenings with the pain 😪

[Deleted User]

Good morning.

Welcome to our Versus Arthritis forum. You will find the members of this forum are friendly, will support you, offer suggestions to help you, offer advice about how they deal with the problems. They will emphasis with you but will also offer light relief. There are several people on here that have osteoarthritis.

At the top of th page there are buttons that will lead you the various Arthritis subjects that offer you help and advice. If you ever need to talk to someone about anything related to your condition you can ring the dedicated helpline on 0800 520 0520. The only thing to remember is no one on the helpline or on this forum is medically trained.

I am one of the moderation team and we all have one or more of the arthritis "hanger ons" or look after family members with similar problems.

I look forward to reading future posts on the forum from you and to see how you are getting on.

Best wishes
ChrisK

stickywicket

Hi Brandon. I feel for you because, over the years, I have seen how much has improved in moving patients about but, even now, when a nurse recently said “Oh you're ónly a little one. I can pull you up the bed on my own.” I wanted to shout “No. Don't. Think of your back.”

Are you still working? If you're on longtec tablets I don't know how. I had to take oxycodone briefly and I was comatose for half the day. They certainly did a good job but, at what cost?

Personally, I try to rely more on exercises and distraction. They don't always work but, after my experience with oxycodone, I much prefer them, and the pain. I guess your GP could increase yours if it's really what you want but have you tried physio?

dreamdaisy

Hello, I have two kinds of arthritis. I began with an auto-immune one, triggered by the faulty genes my parents kindly donated, and the damage that caused has led to OA; some joints have one, some the other and others both. Life became easier once the pain was from top to toe and I have learned over the years to keep my pain relief to a minimum so that I have room to maneouvre when things escalate. I can still count my blessings however and realise I am very fortunate in that my spine is not affected.

Like Sticky I am a great believer in distraction because when the mind is not focused on the pain it diminishes but I have had years of not focusing on what's going on so for me it's second nature. (I was a very sickly child in the 60s, before many of the meds we now take for granted had been invented.) It could well be that if the lifting practices were about in your younger days you may not have taken much notice of them unless a superior was on the prowl: youth is shrouded in an illusion of invincibility, as one ages the shroud fades and the horrid truth of life begins to hit.

Exercise seems counter-intuitive; move bits of me that hurt and maybe make them hurt more? Yup, that's right but if it is the right kind of exercise it will help. It may not eradicate the pain (and indeed cause different aches as slumbering muscle groups are prodded back into consciousness) but it's worth doing properly and regularly. We are not qualified to advise but physios are. Has your GP ever suggested a referral? People think that six weeks of physio is all it takes but it's actually a life-long commitment. DD