Frightened of becoming housebound

Blueskyday68

Hello I don't know if this will upset anyone but when I read the comments all I read about is people's pain and not being able to walk or have a life if I am frightened this is going to happen to me at the moment I am still mobile but wondering what's going to happen in the future I have a osteoarthritis in my knees and have been told that surgery is not possible I as I am too young and overweight so I am exercising everyday and eating a healthy diet does this help or not or am I going to end up housebound and not able to walk or have a life at allI I know osteoarthritis affects people in different ways and I know we can't predict the future what is the best advice that anybody can give me thanks

Mike1

You have not said at what stage your OA is in your knees, surgery is usually only offered at stage 4 and they will not offer it to young people under normal circumstances as once you have had it replaced it may need to be done again after 10 years, hence the longer they wait the less replacements they will have to do. Losing weight and exercising whilst you can is definitely the right way to go. If you have not been offered knee braces then ask your Consultant for them, they help my sister to continue to work and walk whilst waiting another 7 years for her operation. If your knees get any worse you may be offered a walking stick or two. If you are currently having problems around the house, especially if you live alone, then you could ask an Occupational Therapist to make suggestions to help you out. It is highly unlikely that you will become housebound with dodgy knees. I am, but then I have widespread OA, live alone, use a wheelchair and have had my driving licence withdrawn BUT I have a TV and a cat so am OK.

CCM

I read today a comment on dementia - "I have dementia, dementia doesn't have me". If you brood all the time on your OA, you will become trapped in a never ending spiral of dispair.

Live for the things you can have and don't regret what you miss.

This from the VA website:

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

Jona

Hi @Blueskyday68 ,

Live one day at a time even without arthritis there are challenges I’m just coming out of my tracoma and like the song says I can see clearly now don’t let it define who you are I watched Shirley valentine last week and the waiter said if I feel pain it means I’m alive

stay strong chin up and take care 😊😊😊

RogerBill

Hi @Blueskyday68 I agree with @Mike that losing weight and exercise are the two best things you can do to help yourself. As I know only too well from personal experience it's not easy and it's tedious. But think as you walk one knee carries all your weight and think how small an area there is in your knee to carry that weight. It's easy to hold a bag of sugar in your hand but think how painful it'd be to balance the weight of that bag of sugar on a pencil on your hand. Walking up slopes add extra load and any sudden jarring cause dynamic rather than static load. Imagine a weight you might be happy to lift how much more painful it'd be if that same weight were dropped on you. There are lots of resources on the internet which explain all this better than I can eg https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/body-weight-knee-pain Hope this helps explain the need and benefits of losing weight and with this in mind you feel better able to face up to the tedious challenges of exercise, diet, etc Best of luck

Blueskyday68

Thank you all for the advice it's been helpful

Blueskyday68