pain in all joints

referee1956

waiting for two knee replacements operations and operations on hands then got a message from job centre saying im fit for work bad days cant move and pain killers im on are butrans patches and tramadol and amitriptyline which makes me feel sick and dizzy this happened all within a year was active enjoying my work and being a ref at football 3 times a week now redundant and the only real enjoyment gone feeling pretty low cant get a good nite sleep for weeksnow ang just feeling so tired

PeterJ

Hello @referee1956 and welcome to the community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that that will be your experience as well.

I understand that you are waiting for knee replacements and operations on your hands and that you are feeling low with the pain and not sleeping. I also understand that you have had significant life change with the onset of this.

We have a lot of useful information on our website which I would recommend that you have a look at. To help I've highlighted a couple of links below but please do have a look around and search.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/knee-pain/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/sleep/

If you need any specific advice please don't hesitate to call our Helpline

https://www.versusarthritis.org/get-help/helpline/

Please do keep posting and let us know how you are getting on and I hope that others will connect with you and that this community can help you get through this

With very best wishes

Peter (mod)

stickywicket

You've clearly had a big shock with your diagnosis quite apart from anything else.

You say you're waiting for new knees plus hand operations but, sadly, the waiting times are very long right now and we all have to learn, first, to cope with the old joints. It's not easy but can be done.

Have a look at the exercise' thread. You may feel that exercise is the last thing you need but, actually, the right kind of exercise will really help. Have you tried swimming? In this strange covid age, a friend has just gone back to it and is actually allocated his own lane. Cycling is really good for knees. And there are lots of gadgets on the market to help with hands from supports to kettle tippers and from dressing aids to can and jar openers. Just google 'disability aids'. I's a big, and useful, industry.

If you can manage more exercises you may well find you can lessen the pain relief. This could help you feel better in yourself and might help you get a decent night's sleep.

Lilymary

Hi @referee1956 , I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling, both with the pain and the effect it’s had on some of the things that make you “you”. I went through similar last year with the sudden appearance of arthritis in my hip. I went from hero to zero in a month. I was lucky that lockdown masked its impact on my working life, but being self employed I could self manage my workload, although it’s fair to say it more than halved and has now ground to a halt immediately post surgery. I’m afraid don’t have any advice re your fit-to-work assessment, but wonder whether it would be worth speaking with the Citizens Advice Bureau to see what steps you might be able to take this further. Redundancy, this diagnosis and the vagaries of DWP is a lot to take in in one hit.

it must be heartbreaking giving up refereeing, but now that spectators are being admitted, hopefully you can stay involved with the “footie” world. Can you help your club in a less physically active way so you don’t lose the social contact? If you’re now out of work, I feel it would be really helpful for you to keep this contact going.

as to pain at night (my hip pain was 24/7) I found taking a good dose of pain relief before I went to bed, and working out an arrangement of cushions and pillows around my legs and torso go my body into a position that lessened the pain. Eg, in my case I tend to sleep on my stomach/right side - left hip is the dodgy one. I put a pillow under my left hip and a knee pillow under my left foot so the leg was in a gently flexed position, as having it straight out seemed to find a sore spot in my hip. You may be able to come up with your own arrangement that helps you, who cares if it’s odd if it works? Tou may find you can deal with the pain during the day better if you’ve had a better nights sleep.

Given that you may have a long wait for surgery, ask your GP to refer you to a pain clinic to help you manage this meanwhile. It may even get you to a point that you can consider some sort of working life, which will be good for your pocket and your mood. Arthritis sadly does mean an adjustment of horizons, but it’s really helpful to replace anything you’ve had to give up with something else that you will enjoy, and you can find it takes you into new directions you wouldn’t otherwise have considered.

As @stickywicket says, try to find an exercise regime that works for you. The Let’s Move With Leon programme through this site is as gentle as you need it to be, but will get your body moving again, which may help with pain relief. From my own experience I know how pain can make you tense up or put you in hunched positions that only make the pain worse, so if you can ease it all off that will help. It’s also quite good fun, Leon looks like any other bloke you’d find on a football pitch.

other low impact exercises such as swimming and cycling may also help once you’ve got on top of the pain. Until my hip turned nasty on me I used to go to gentle Pilates classes and yin yoga, (also gentle) and we had a few knee patients in the group, both pre- and post- op. The teacher just modified some of the exercises to suit their limitations,

have a look at this link, it has loads of useful tips that I’ve found really helpful through a dreadful year. But one I was taught early on is distraction, ie lose yourself in something you enjoy to take your focus away from your pain.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/