pain !! destroyed my life i’m sure .!

dean68

Hello all ..hoping someone can give me a bit of advice on coping with my pain .! Seropositve Rhumatoid Arthritis is causing.?

Arthuritis

Hi @dean68 If the devil were to invent a disease it would be RA.

Have you seen your Hospital rheumy team about your pain? How long have you been diagnosed?

What meds are you on and what dosage? It may need to be adjusted

What were your blood test results? (ACCP, RF, CRP, ESR?)

On bad days or often at night I use freezing gel wrapped in cotton bandages wrapped around my joints eg knees, elbows, wrists & ankles to get some relief. The gel is small saucer sized blue gel disks kept in the freezer at -22C.

When I need a pain damper i slot it into the bandages and wrap them round my inflammed joints. Relief in 10min. Lasts 2-3 hours.

Lilymary

Hi @dean68, in addition to comments from Arthuritis, ie go through your symptoms and treatments with your medical team, I found the tips in this link can be really helpful. Sometimes you need more than drugs in your armory to deal with pain. Everyone's different, try them and see what works for you. I can really recommend distraction, exercise (even mild and gentle, just to stop your body cramping up), and meditation.

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

dean68

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/689777#Comment_689777

these blue discs what are they and thank you for the advice i’m constantly walking around my flat hobbling with headphones distracting for a while find i’m getting angry i know that’s wrong but the pain does go thank you .

Arthuritis

@dean68 Hi they are filled with some kind of blue gel, which only freezes at -22C. I put them in cotton bandages to wrap them around my joints so that i don’t get skin burn from direct cold, but the cooling lasts a couple of hours and reduces inflammation. You can buy them from the sufferer’s fav online shop! However anything where the “chill” effect lasts hours will do. (We as sufferers are not allowed to mention products we use, lest it be interpreted as marketing them).

I even have freezing cold showers, or rather, detach the shower head and apply cold water to my inflamed joints. Helps quite a bit once you get accustomed to the cold.

Are you on any meds?

dean68

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/689839#Comment_689839

lol literally 5 minutes ago i had the shower on cold flowing over my elbow and shoulder it was pure heaven but so quick to go away it’s edging it’s way back now peas frozen flannels freeze spray and patches not bad they work if you can get over the smell as well but usually tramadol kicks in this time my pain has bust through seropositve someone told me yesterday what it was and they were spot on medication seems to be the only way to subside the pain but a constant flow.! and stronger.!! now alarm bells are ringing loud.!!

Arthuritis

I usually cool my inflammed joints in a cold shower with the detached head long enough that I can’t stand the cold any longer and lost the feeling of pain about 5min per joint.

If you google “reusable ice packs for injuries” you should get a choice of gel options. No smell.

What DMARD meds are you currently on, and dose?

What were you ACCP, RF, CRP & ESR numbers, these matter as they indicate how aggressively you need to be treated.

My ones were so high my rheumy wanted me on the meds (MTX, HCQ & Prednisolone) at full dose immediately. I took time to think about it but wish I had not.