Newly diagnosed

Tops

Hi,

I have been newly diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hips and lower spine. Used to do a lot of running before this started out of the blue. I can’t believe that I have it and I’ve also been looking after my daughter for 11 years managing her Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

I have noticed that as soon as the weather is cooler or damp that my symptoms are worse and that standing or walking for a long time is painful. I won’t be able to continue with my line of work and feel that in the future I need a nice warm cosy desk job where I’m not on my feet all day or out in the cold. Preferably working from home. I am always stiff in my back for the first hour in the morning now with reduced movement.

I have not been prescribed anything to help.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks!

PeterJ

Hello @Tops 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 have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hips and spine and that you feel that weather makes a difference. You may be interested in the following article from our website.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2019/december/research-indicates-links-between-weather-and-arthritis-pain/

Our website also has a lot of useful information in it on arthritis, treatments and hints and tips on everyday living and I would recommend having a look around. Another example y may find of interest is,

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-oa-of-the-spine/

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

With very best wishes,

Peter (moderator)

frogmorton

Hi @Tops nice to meet you😊

I think you have a really good plan there to get an easier job for yourself in the longer term I hope you have some ideas and get started looking sooner rather than later.

Mornings are trickier for most of us so a job working fro home would be great.

I hope you'll enjoy the forum as much as I have over the years. The People on here have supported me through thick and thin.

Take care and get posting!

Toni x

Lilymary

Hi @Tops , I was similar, used to be a fit fell walker, then Wham! I've got arthritis. I already needed a new hip by the time I found out, I had no idea it was coming. It runs in our family, so it shouldn't have been a surprise, I just thought I'd dodged it. However, for as long as I can remember (literally) I always noticed my leg joints aching when it was cold, and just thought that was normal for everyone. I was 12 when I found out it wasn't - a teacher overheard my conversation in the corridor and said it was rheumatism. Since then I've always made sure I keep my legs warm, even in summer (humid weather does it too), so I have the blue-est white legs in town 😅

Sadly this does mean we sometimes have to make some life adjustments and find different ways of doing things, including at work. Are your employers able to change your role so you're not on your feet so much, and indoors more (why are my instincts telling me you work with horses?? in which case sitting down in the warm won't be on your radar 😅) .

You might also find an exercise programme will help keep you supple and mobile - either gentle yoga or pilates, or speak with a physio and get a programme tailored to your condition - it's not as expensive as you might think and worth the money. With arthritis, if the exercises hurt, you're overdoing it, so just do as much as your body allows, and build it up gradually if you can. Strengthening muscles around the affected joints will do a lot to stave off pain levels and keep you mobile.

Meanwhile, perhaps have a word with your GP about pain management, or possibly xray to assess the extent of damage. I hope this helps.