osteoarthritis

colinhudson

Hello,

My name is Colin, i am 62 years old and have just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my collarbone, neck and lower back. I have been taking painkillers for the past 5 days which has relieved the pain in my shoulder, neck top of arms and groin but now i have stopped taking them the pain is starting to return. I have a telephone appointment with my GP next week to discuss my condition .

Anna

Hi @colinhudson and welcome to the online community,

You've just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in your collarbone, neck and lower back, and after stopping your painkillers, your pain is starting to return. You've come to the right place to find suggestions to help deal with it - Many of our members experience pain due to their arthritic conditions and I'm sure they will give you some good ideas. At your doctor's appointment next week, it's important to mention the pain because there are several ways that it can be dealt with, including referral to a pain clinic where you'll be able to try out a variety of possible solutions.

You might be interested in having a look at the Versus Arthritis website below where there are some suggestions for gentle exercises that can help. I have osteoarthritis in my neck and I find the neck exercises really do give me some relief:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/healthcare-professionals/training-and-education-resources/useful-resources/exercise-sheets-for-your-patients/

Do let us know how you get on,

Anna (Mod)

Lilymary

Hi Colin, I expect one of the things your GP will want to discuss is long term pain management. Pain relief medication is likely to be a part of that, and you have already felt the benefit of this, but it’s unlikely to give you much benefit over such a short period. There’s a very good section on pain management on this site with gives a range of strategies, including exercise, distraction and mindfulness, which can be really helpful as a total package, rather than just relying on pain relief drugs.

i hope your GP consultation goes well. Make a list of questions and take notes, as it’s a lot to take in in the early days.

Mike1

As Lilymary says, write down all your aches and pains as well as the times of day/activities which may make them worse. Also ask for a referral to a pain clinic who will have more experience of medications and treatments that may or may not work effectively for you.