Hello all

Mark1007

Thanks for letting me join and hi to everyone. I am newly diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hips yes both I am so lucky 🤔. Never had any health issues ever and only 49. Abit overwhelmed as well still trying to work out what to do work wise and lifestyle wise, I do ache alot and have naproxen and take paracetamol which takes the edge off. What do people do and how do you all know what the pain is I am still not sure if I am just stiff because I haven't done much recently or if its the arthritis.

Sharon_K

Hi @Mark1007

welcome to the online community, being diagnosed can be very overwhelming indeed especially if you have been fit and healthy up until recently. If the naproxen and paracetamol are taking the edge off your pain then it sounds like it is likely to be arthritis related. However as we are not medically trained it would be best to as your GP about this. I relation to work there is lots of help out there and you might find this information useful

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/work/

At this stage I would suggest you just take one day at a time and don't be too hard on yourself. Understanding will grow with time. I am sure our members will share their experience with you

Best Wishes

Sharon

TLee

It is a lot to take in. I was a reasonably active person when I was younger--not pro-athlete caliber, but I enjoyed a long nature hike. When my hip started to go, some of the thoughts I had were: Was I a bit TOO active? Not active enough? Was it that time I fell on the ice? Maybe even my two pregnancies, or the weight I've gained since? In other words, What did I do to deserve this? However, because both my older sisters had already had hip replacements, it did seem more that it was just the luck of the genetic draw. My pain got to the point where there was absolutely no doubting what was going on, and xrays showed very severe osteoarthritis in my left hip with bone grinding against bone. If you have been diagnosed but it is not yet severe, be happy!

You will find encouragement and support here, as I already have. At this point I think my only option is, like my sisters, surgery. I am going to be pushing my doctors for that. It sounds like your pain is not so severe right now, so you should try and stay as active as possible. Physical therapy was a bust for me, but it could be helpful to you to learn exercises now that will strengthen the muscles that support your hip. Not sure if this is true in your case, but losing weight is often suggested to reduce strain on joints (that is, unfortunately, not something I can offer a lot of advice on!). I've not done much research, but supposedly a diet of anti-inflammatory foods can help too. If I were you, I would probably investigate supplements for joint health. Always good to talk to a medical professional about that, but perhaps people here can share their experiences.

These are all things that I can say I wish I had done. This is, unfortunately, a progressive disease, but you are in a position to start now in slowing the progression, so be happy about that! And for me, I'm happy that medical science can now give me a shiny new hip!

Mark1007

Thank you very much for you comment your words are very helpful and made me realise its about the future not the past so thank you and hope your new hips are gold plated