Hi, Newbie here.

Kittylou

Hi, I’m 52 years old and have severe osteoarthritis arthritis in both knees and am really struggling with the intense pain 24/7. My pain literally started overnight in November 2019 and by January 2020, I was as really struggling to walk. I had an injection in my left knee in February 2020 but it didnt help. I now have crutches and a knee brace (second knee brace being fitted later this month) yet can still barely walk. I’m under the hospital physio (just telephone appointments so far) and have a physio regime called Escape Pain, which I do twice a week, but I find it makes my pain worse for hours after it. It’s meant to take 40/45 minutes but takes me almost and hour and a half because the pain from some exercises is too intense to move quickly on to the next. I’m on Naproxen and co-codamol, but they barely touch the pain, which wakes me up constantly through the night and has me virtually housebound as something as simple as a trip to Tesco on a Friday wipes out my weekend, the pain is so unbearable after it. I know exercise is important but I can’t describe how agonising it is even putting one foot in front of the other each day. I’m very overweight and trying hard to lose; my current bmi is 40, down from 43, but I know the orthopaedic surgeon (who I haven’t met yet) will only consider surgery when bmi is 34 or below. I’ve managed to keep working as my job became 99% desk work, and at home, due to covid, but as the world returns slowly to normal, I have no idea how I will cope, so am seeing my manager tomorrow to request an Occ Health referral.

I look forward to benefiting from the great advice and support that seems to be on offer here!

Anna

Hi @Kittylou and welcome to the online community,

You have severe osteoarthritis and are struggling with the pain 24/7. It certainly sounds like you faces some great challenges at the moment, but you’ve made a great first step by joining the online community. Everyone here has experienced arthritis in some form, and we can all empathise with what you’re going through. You’re right though, the members here are friendly and supportive and I’m sure they will be happy to share the benefit of their experience with you.

You might like to read the response below that was written in answer to a new member who is also struggling at the moment. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did:

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/678999#Comment_678999

You mention wanting to exercise but being in too much pain. This might be something you could talk to your GP about, to see if your meds can be changed to suit you better. You’re right that exercise is a good way to combat pain, but it does have to be done carefully and gently. Again, a further chat with your physio or the Escape Pain contact might be useful so that your exercises can be amended to support you better.

Best wishes to you, and do let us know how you’re getting on,

Anna ( Mod)