Wanting to go for a walk

ClaireHakin
ClaireHakin Member Posts: 3
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:10 in Living with arthritis

Hi Everyone,

My name is Claire, I'm 69 and am an Artist.

I've also bad Arthritis in my left knee which is now starting in my other knee.

It's making life difficult and I'm wondering what to do about it. Can't really go for a walk anymore which isn't helping with weight gain or my state of mind. Pain is pretty much constant and I don't want to take strong painkillers.

I'm wondering what to do about it - Doc doesn't want to give me Steroid injections. Can I get on the waiting list for a new knee? Also wondering if there"s any connection with Arthritis and Statins?

Anyone else in a similar situation? it would be great to hear from you.

Claire

Comments

  • jonr
    jonr Member Posts: 425

    Welcome Claire and thanks for posting, hope you'll draw some comments from community members which you'll find helpful.

    From a very broad perspective, there are 2 avenues to go down regarding managing your condition:

    1: Pain Relief

    2: Physio and Exercise

    There is a lot of content available on the website to swot up on, I'd recommend you take a look here in the first instance:

    Pain relief, physio and exercise go hand in hand pretty much I've found so getting these sorted is vital for quality of life.

    You asked about surgery, you will need to be referred to a consultant for an assessment in the first instance.

    If your GP will not refer you then I would recommend you contact your local ConnectHealth facility, this is an organisation attached to the NHS to whom the NHS outsources certain services, including MSK - enter your post code into the link here to find you local service:

    I called my local one, spoke to a receptionist, made an appointment with a doctor who referred me for assessment by a consultant which led to an MRI scan and then recommendation for a double TKR.

    In other words, you need to get into the system in order to move forward.

    Good luck, please let me know if I can help any further.

    Jon

  • Loggiemod
    Loggiemod Member Posts: 237

    Hi @ClaireHakin as regards statins there are a number of people for whom statins do not work and in fact can have adverse effects. My wife was prescribed them and it caused some instability. For example she fell over (not a normal thing) and ended up with two frozen shoulders and rotator cuff damage, ending up with an injection to help. Also it caused some tenodnitis, a known potential side effect - looked liked ball bearings in her hands. There are alternatives to statins Ezitimibe

    Might be worth going back to your GP and checking it out.