Councillor

Marcia

Hi everyone
Thank you for welcoming me on board.
Just to clear up a few things. I had a bunion removed and a infusion inserted in my foot. I.have Osteoarthritis in my lower back and hip but I did not have a hip replacement operation thank God.
I emailed my local Councillor in regards to theiron being no groups within my area or Community for people who have Arthritis. I.explained to Harriet German that there is support for people with Mental Health issues and support for Carers and there was a Coffee morning for people who duffer with Dementia but what about people who suffer from Arthritis. I am waiting for her response.
I'm will be making a start to change my diet when I finish my red meat in my freezer

A Freedom Pass is from your local council this can be done on line because of mobility disability and a please offer me a seat badge can get on line from LET London for Transport. I have been taking tumeric tablets and Syno-Vital sachet,I find that it has been helpful for me.

I am hoping when I go back to work that the OTHER will be beneficial for me at work and I hope helpful for me with support at home.

I purchased my own toilet seat because the one they offered me had no lid and I refusedon't it for hygiene purposes, as for the bath board I use the bath steps that was given to me yet there is no handle on the bath board only on the wall for when I sit on the bath board to help me to stand. However coming out of the bath there is nothing to hold onto when coming off the bath board as for having a bath which I would love to have a good soak the bath is too deep for me to sit in that I eouldon't not be able to help myself out. I find the waiting list for support is unfair and unbelievable.
I will keep trying to help myself with arthritis socks slippers and shoes.
I am still struggling to get a good night sleep which has been going on for a long time. I'm hoping that I will find something that can help me to get a good night sleep maybe when I change my diet and be more active it might help.

We are more than conquerors we can do this together.

stickywicket

Hello again, Marcia.

I think you're trying to reply to all your posts and threads by starting a new one. I doubt that will work as not everyone will see this. You need to answer each thread individually and, if you have something new to say or ask, start a new one on the relevant forum. Sorry, I'm pushed for time right now so can't go into more detail.

dreamdaisy

Hello again, it's nice to hear back from you,

I'm not sure what an insertion into the foot is, could you explain please? I'm also not sure why you are pleased not to have had a hip replacement, it's a very straightforward joint and operation and leads to greatly improved mobility and greatly reduced pain, both of which I'd have thought desirable, especially as I have been refused such luxuries! I had to laugh when a neighbour recommended one to me (this was in the days before my hips properly joined the party). I explained why it wouldn't be an option and she was amazed that one could have more than one arthritis in more than one joint because her experience was the complete opposite. As for emailing your MP, well done but I'm certain nothing will happen: if your heart is set on a support group then start it but don't forget you will be dealing with and supporting people who are ill and, in some ways, unreliable - it's hard work as I explained in another thread somewhere.

I guess you live in a big city, maybe London? I live in a largely rural county, the council does not offer a Freedom Pass, nowadays it can barely afford to run local buses. Some villages have the luxury of one bus a week into the local big town but, once you're there, you've missed the weekly bus home as that leaves before the other arrives.

The active ingredient of turmeric is miniscule, it should be eaten in industrial quantities to have a positive impact but the placebo effect is one of the best ones out there as it is a powerful force: if you believe you are better you will be.

I haven't had a bath since 1997 and don't miss it. Bath boards are far from ideal but it can solve a problem for some whose mobility and strength is not too badly impaired. I know that bath lifts can be provided, you might have to make a contribution and you will need access to a safe power point for charging the battery. My raised toilet seat with lid was less than £20 from Amazon, hardly a massive expense but to supply such a thing to all and sundry is a huge cost.

The waiting list might be unfair but why we have the notion that life should be fair is beyond me. It palpably is not, never has been and never will be but for many reality is far too uncomfortable to contemplate. We have an ever-increasing and ageing population of which are a part. We cannot help getting older and more frail, 'twas ever the way, but now our expectations of government-supplied assistance are way out of proportion. We live in an age of we want and we want now and that is hardly surprising as so much of our needs and wants are supplied by others on a relatively quick basis. Health has never come under that umbrella and never will, there is only so much that can be done by the docs, the rest of the time we have to grit our teeth and get on as best we can.

Ads in the papers are amusing and very clever in the language used: may and could are popular choices but the truth is there is little to be done. Fakery and trickery abounds but I have had a lifetime to find that out; it must be far harder when one is realatively new (as I presume you are) to the strictures and restrictions of pain and ill-health. It's not fun, is it? DD

crinkly1

Hello Marcia.

As someone who has had OA for over 30 years I can understand your frustration about lack of support but I'm afraid there is little option but to accept the facts.

Lack of funding restricts research into OA as well as its treatment, with organisations like Versus Arthritis doing their best to fund-raise, support medics and patients alike and raise public awareness of the many arthritic conditions.

VA provides excellent information for anyone able to start up a local support group but it requires volunteers with commitment to do so and it's doubtful that the Council could help although it might suggest a venue.

As you have found basic aids, like your bath board, are sometimes available but getting hand rails installed in exactly the places you need them and funding a battery-operated bath seat may be entirely your own responsibility. (I have one, really appreciate it and paid well under £200 for it - out of my DLA. The removable battery unit is recharged in another room.)

It's good that you have been able to avoid a THR so far but there may come a time when the level of pain and disability makes you very glad to have it done. Meanwhile keeping the muscles strong is a priority.

In the end we each need to take responsibility for our own well-being, thankfully utilising whatever the NHS can offer but listening to our own bodies and responding accordingly. Tapping into the expertise of VA and the mutual support of its forums has an important part to play through reading others' posts and adding your own when you feel the need to share your own experiences.

I hope your journey with OA becomes easier and that you are able to find compromises/solutions to decrease your levels of stress. It's certainly a 'challenge' but not all bad!

dreamdaisy

Hello, we haven't heard from you for a while and I hope that means that things are going better than they were. Have you started the carer work yet? DD