Rhumatoid arthritis

Nathanglenn25

Hi guys I'm 25 and have recently been diagnosed with rhumatoid arthritis I was just wondering in this cold weather does anyone know off any good gel or spray that can help because I am really suffering and waiting for rheumatology is crazy any help would be grateful.

Thankyou

Nathan

Tom

Welcome to the forum, @Nathanglenn25 . I see that you have recently been given a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Here are some links to information on our website:

 

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/17964/advice-on-use-of-heat-for-pain-relief

 

This should bring up a discussion on ways of applying heat.

 

The next two deal with condition itself and pain management.

 

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/

 

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

 

Good luck, do keep posting and let us know how you get on.

 

Tom, Moderator.

CCM

Hi, @Nathanglenn25. The newly given diagnosis of RA can be daunting, but new treatments have taken the sting out of it. When I received my diagnosis some 40 years ago, just a few years older than you, I felt alienated from friends and family and fearful of what was in store for me, fearing the worst.

I have noticed that when I focused my mind too much on my fears or negative predictions about my future dealing with the arthritis that I suffered more, both pain wise and sadness-wise. It is a known fact that your emotional state and how you think about your pain can either increase or decrease your suffering from it. When you have thoughts about the pain never going away or getting worse over time, tell yourself "The pain may get worse but my ability to cope with it is getting better every day." To increase your ability to cope with it there are some good books about managing pain from a psychological standpoint out there - look around and see if one of them is of interest to you or you could also try a few sessions of therapy with a good pain management therapist as well.

Now, though a bit creeky at 75, I am still active, live on a narrowboat and enjoy life.

Woofy

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/59195/rhumatoid-arthritis

Hi Nathan.

sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with RA. I am a good deal older than you, and I was diagnosed this year.

my G P started me off on Naproxen, which is a fairly strong pain killer. Have you been given any meds whilst you wait for your RA appointment? If you are already taking meds, you cannot use gels/creams as well as far as I know.

get back in touch with your G P if your pain is really bad. Meanwhile heat, hot water bottle, or wheat bag that you warm in microwave will help. Keep warm and keep moving this also helps.