Hello everyone

Nicki6164

Hi, I’ve joined today after finding a link on the NHS page for painkillers for osteoarthritis. Yep, it’s a bad day - & I’m very keenly aware that it could be a lot worse, & is, for a lot of people, my heart goes out to you all. When my first hip was bad enough to be replaced, I was told I was “too young” - lovely NHS, compliment me, sentence me to 2 years of not being able to walk my dog properly, several scary times of being locked on the loo (note, not, in the bathroom, just couldn’t stand up!), 2 years of trying desperately hard not to develop an addiction to painkillers (2 addicts in my family), & an extra stone in weight through not being able to go on the long walks I used to. First hip (left) replacement at 52 - on the back of my husband’s Zanussi on the Isle of Man 5 weeks later - 2 years later right hip replacement. I’m 57 now - taking turmeric, EFAs, snail elixir (!), eating healthily, lost all the extra weight, living in the countryside, lots of walks - OA in both knees & shoulders, & more recently, & this is really upsetting me, very painfully in my hands. I’m a seamstress, working from home - spending a fortune on compression gloves, & wondering whether it’s worth phoning up to see if (1) I can get an X-ray on my left hand (5 months ago it was only right, those were the days!) & (2) if I can get another quick referral to the hand bloke I saw in August, who said I could see him again directly within 6 months. Thank you all for letting me burble, hoping you all understand - love & light to all.

Shell_H

Hi @Nicki6164 - welcome to the online community!

I see you've had Osteoarthritis for quite a while now, and while it started in your hips - and you've subsequently had hip replacements which while you had to wait for them have been good - you've also now got OA elsewhere, and most annoyingly in your hands which directly impacts on your ability to do your work.

Personally I would definitely get a referral to the person you saw back in August if they helped you then. Sounds like a really good plan. I'm assuming the X-ray is so you could get a diagnosis on your left hand? Do you need an X-ray for this? It's not always a requirement to have an X-ray for a diagnosis of Osteoarthritis, so maybe asking your doctor to give you a diagnosis would work better? It does depend on your doctor, as some may well require an X-ray, but it's not a requirement of OA diagnoses necessarily.

ave a look at our information on hand and wrist Osteoarthritis. I'd particularly look at the sections on "How is hand osteoarthritis diagnosed?" and "Managing osteoarthritis of the hand and wrist".

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-hand-and-wrist/

We also have some tailored stretching exercises for the Fingers, hand and wrist which may well help you maintain mobility and keep pain at bay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNxyYCaQbFw

Are there are gadgets you could get for your seamstress work which would reduce how much you have to do with your hands? Anything which would reduce some of the work you have to do would be worth having a look at.

I've found some other suggestions which may help here:

• Wax bath therapy
• Electronic pain relief (TENS)

Do please come back and let us know how you are doing. We all understand the need to share and have people to talk to who understand what you are feeling.

Lovely to meet you!

Shell