Hello - new to the community

killg01

Hi, I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis earlier on in the year (hands, feet, shoulders and other random places), also got spondylitis in my neck. Had the symptoms for a year or so but it's taken that long to see a specialist. It's been getting worse over the past few moths and the ibuprofen/Paracetamol wasn't doing a great job. The doc has just upgraded me to Naproxen and after a week I have noticed a lot of difference (less stiffness, more movement and less random pains that come and go).

I guess I'm in for the long haul now which is why I came here to seek some support

Cheers

Gary

noddingtonpete

Hello @killg01 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 osteoarthritis in a number of your joints and finding that Naproxen is making a difference - that's good news. I've also pasted in a couple of links below from our website that may be of interest.

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

and

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/your-experiences/hints-and-tips/

Please keep posting and let us know how you are getting on and I am sure others will connect with you to share their thoughts and experiences as well.

With very best wishes

Peter (moderator)

frogmorton

Hi @killg01

I am sorry you have been diagnosed with widespread OA.

I am very pleased at least that the naproxen us helping you so much. It's great when we find the exact drug combination which does the job.

If you are taking it most days I Hooe your GP has added a PPI proton pump inhibitor like omeprasole to protect the lining of your stomach.

Lovely to have you on board Gary I hope you'll decide to stick around

Toni

MrsM

Hi Gary, I am new here too! Have a good day, glad to hear the Naproxen is helping you 👍️

Lilymary

Hi Gary, welcome to this lovely forum. There's loads of experience and useful tips from forum members, who all know how rotten this can get. Do keep posting, either for a moan, a natter, or to ask advice. Good to hear the naproxen is working. But do look into "exercise" as well, it really helps to keep your joints mobile and tone your muscles to support your joints. It doesn't need to be hard work - gently does it with arthritis. "No pain no gain" doesn't apply to us! There are some great exercise programmes on this site, including "Let's Move with Leon", and there are also pages on this site for exercises that are joint specific.