Better late than never

discodave
discodave Member Posts: 2
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:09 in Living with arthritis

Hi everyone. This is my first post and I wish I had discovered the community sooner.

After a long and sometimes very painful journey I have been diagnosed with RA and am finally seeing a rheumatologist next week.

So far over many years - I am 74 - I have seen every kind of consultant under the sun, the most recent being at a spinal surgery service who determined I had carpal tunnel along with a compromised nerve system and then moved me on to the rheumatologist. This was at the end of an 20-month process during which matters have been getting worse.

I have been a long-term sufferer of osteoporosis which, after treatment, has levelled out. In the past five years I have had both knees and my right hip replaced. Several years ago I also had a bout of polymyalgia rheumatica but regrettably was not referred to a rheumatologist.

I have never been given a clear course of medication and so I battle along with a mixture of co-codomol, ibruprofen and gabapentin. I now wear special gloves for carpal tunnel and a wrist brace, at night, all of which I had to work out for myself online.

The only advice given throughout is to keep exercising, even playing a few holes golf occasionally, although I think my golfing days are just about numbered, which depresses me the most.

Maybe the rheumatologist may be able to help but I think it may have taken too long to get to see one and any treatment offered may be too late.

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