Upsetting Pain

JanetGSG

Hello again,

something I find very upsetting is that I’m in I’m in great pain in both knees, left hip, lower back and neck, and now wrists and fingers. All I’ve ever been told is that I’ve got wear and tear. Eventually I saw a consultant about my hip, which is not bad enough for any help. At that meeting I was told that the the bones in my right knee had crumbled so much that it was too late to do a knee replacement. I’ve never been diagnosed with osteoarthritis only wear and tear. If I’d had a diagnosis I might have been able to get advice for self help etc. I’m now getting help through chronic pain management team. Is this a common thing for folks with arthritis?

sorry for being so moany. Janet GSG

Chris_R

Hi @JanetGSG

Glad you are posting again. you are saying that you are in great pain with your knees, left hip. lower back and neck.

I don't understand why you were not diagnosed with Osteoarthritis it sound your condition is just like my knees were and I have had them both replaced after being diagnosed with Osteoarthritis.

If I were you I would go back to my GP and ask for a second opinion do mention what the consultant said.

Meanwhile here are a few links that may help.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/1257/neck-pain-information-booklet.pdf

https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/1259/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee-information-booklet.pdf

Hope all this helps and please keep in touch and tell us how you get on

Christine

Lilymary

Hi @JanetGSG , I’m sorry to hear you’re having such a tough time, I agree, it’s time to go back to your GP and ask for a second opinion. Being passed off with “just wear and tear” when you’re in so much pain, and when the damage to your knee joint is so advanced, seems very odd to me. I’m glad to hear you are getting some help for the pain, but a diagnosis as to WHY you’re in pain would be helpful in looking for treatment options.

Airwave!

It does seem to be a modern thing, the gps reckon that if they tell us it’s a bit of bad news we hang round our necks for the rest of our lives and suffer for it. Ssoooooo they call it wear and tear, do you feel better for it? No, neither do the rest of the patients! No one has explained to me how wear and tear happened at an early age. In another 100 years the historians will laugh at the medical profession, until then.....

it’s a grin, honest!

Airwave!

P.S. a diagnosis is not a golden bullet, you’ll still have arther on yer back. But that’s another topic.

JanetGSG

Hi folks, thanks for your responses. I think it helps to have a name for it. I recognise problems from people’s posts and that’s why i joined this site. Posts i have read show me that folks are dealing with multiple issues. Some of my other issues, eg mental health and weight issues have made me feel its all been my own fault. If I can get past that i can get on with learning from this forum. I better try to get back to bed. Thanks again.

Twirlywoo5

I too am having trouble sleeping. I have arthritis in my left knee and now my right knee is beginning to hurt too . I don't know what to do . I have not contacted the doctor due to this covid thing . I have low level pain constantly. I feel miserable that this is how its going to be from now on .I too am feeling down and need to lose weight. How do you manage to carry on .

Lilymary

Hi @Twirlywoo5, the doctors are still functioning, so do give them a call. You don't have to suffer pain in silence, I'm sure there's something they will be able to do the manage the pain to some degree. My sister has had both knees replaced, but before that they managed her pain so well she was able to continue teaching aerobics!

Losing weight when you're feeling low, and when you can't exercise, can be difficult, but if your pain levels are reduced, you may be able to get more active, and that together with a few tweaks to your diet may be enough to get you started losing some weight. Exercise will also help improve your moods and your sleep. It doesn't have to be much to start with, but every little helps. Have you tried the "Let's move with Leon" exercises? They're really gentle to start off with, and you can do them in the privacy of your own home. It's not at all scary - he does them with his mum, so you can do the easy versions with her.

frogmorton

Hi @Twirlywoo5

I am glad you are seeing a pain management team at least now. It's so unfair we get fobbed off. I am sure in my surgery it's partly a gender issue. My Husband went with sore knee and got an MRI straight away - no X-ray nothing! No an MRI. I would have been told to exercise 🙄

Take care and join in we will at least distract you🙂

Lilymary

That's awful @frogmorton . It's a throwback to the days when most doctors were men who thought women were the "weaker sex" and therefore moaned at minor conditions that men would have "borner manfully", so when men really complained, it MUST be something serious. Thankfully that gender imbalance is changing, and so is the mentality towards women's medical conditions. Personally, whenever possible, I see a female GP for that reason.

frogmorton

Hear hear I do exactly the same where possible @Lilymary

😘

Airwave!

It doesn’t help to criticise each other. Apart from maintaining a negative point of view , the fact is that pain is pain no matter who suffers from it and each person will deal with it differently. Generalising doesn’t give a truthful assessment.

it’s a grin, honest!