Osteo along with PMR

Joyous68
Joyous68 Member Posts: 2
edited 4. Jun 2022, 21:46 in Living with arthritis

I've had arthritis from being a teenager now I'm 67. All the females in my family had joint problems and my grandmother was bedridden before she reached my age. However medicine and doctors are better now and it's not just something to "get on " with. My osteo despite being painful creaky and cracky us manageable. However, in top I developed Polymyalgia Rheumatica, an Immune issue that causes swelling in joints and tendons and soft tissue. This added to my osteo meant I was wooden.

I've gone back in steroids after trying to get my body to stop the swelling by slowly coming off them. It didn't work so I'm trying it again. Now I'm on a high dose I can walk, garden, clean, have a shower all with no pain.

Does anybody else battle with arthritis which might be manageable but which, coupled with other issues, makes your life near impossible?

Comments

  • PeterJ
    PeterJ Administrator Posts: 948

    Hello @Joyous68 and welcome to the community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that you find that as well.

    I understand that you have had arthritis for a long time and now have Polymyalgia Rheumatica as well. Our website has a lot of useful information and I would recommend having a look around it. It contains info on arthritis, treatments, hints and tips and a lot more. I've put a couple of links in below which you might find of interest.

    Please do keep posting and I am sure that others will also connect with you to share their thoughts and experiences as well.

    With very best wishes

    Peter

    Need more help? - call our Helpline on 0800 5200 520 Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764

    I don't think there's any way of dealing with PMR other than steroids and it can be a very long treatment. I sympathise as my daughter-in-law has it. She's very active but, about three years on, still, sometimes, has to ask to go back ón a very low dose.

    I presume it's a rheumatologist who is dealing with it. If so, at your next visit, it might be worth mentioning that your other pains are better. (S)he might want to check that it is, indeed, osteo and not an inflammatory arthritis.

    Alas, many of us are greedy illness/disease baggers. My RA led to OA and the NSAIDS damaged my stomach. Plus I've had mild asthma since I was a kid. There are others with far worse combinations.

    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright