“Oh by the way”

karelee

At 17 I was informed by my GP that I had arthritis in both shoulder blades, then several years ago I was taken into hospital with irrithmia, I had an X-ray of my heart and was informed by the specialist that all was good with my heart but “oh by the way you have spondylitis in the neck” he then proceeded to tell me all the joys I was going to encounter with this condition!

My next Jolly to A and E was following the loss of any movement in my left arm ( I am left handed!) I had an X-ray and found that I had damaged my cuff “oh and by the way you have osteoarthritis in your Clavicle”!!

I worked full time paid for my college courses and made my own way to a management level working in health and social care. A couple of years ago I had an accident at work, nothing major you would think, pulled my back and found myself back on the X-ray table, MRI to be precise, where I was informed I had arthritis in my spine. I was never able to go back to work so at the age of 60 and three years on I now find myself written off and despite amytriptaline I am in constant pain. I no longer walk without crutches and if or when I go anywhere I am reduced to using a mobility scooter. The pain is no longer in my back but now also my legs, hips, knees and ankles and I also have neurological pain/migraine due to my spondylitis. The pressure from using crutches has further impacted on my shoulders and back and to be honest I am miserable with it all 😔 I have a wealth of knowledge and many many years of working that I can do nothing with and to say I am lost is an understatement. I attempted to find work from home but all need some part of community work. I no longer have a car and I live at the back of beyond in a very secluded part of the country with my nearest town almost 20 miles away and on a busy A road so I am unable to get out of the village with my scooter it is just too dangerous and the miles on the battery wouldn’t get me there and back even if I wanted to!!

sorry what a miserable post!! I’m generally quite a jolly person😳

like every good nan and to save my sanity I have taken up a hobby, crocheting! Never done it before so hopefully it’ll give me something to focus on! I’ve tried reading, diamond art, embroidery etc but the one thing I seem to have lost in all this, apart from my mobility, is my patience!!

Woofy

Hi there. Sounds like you’ve had a hell of ride. I am sorry that you have had to go through all of this. I have RA and feel like I’ve been robbed of my mobility. I used to walk miles, run up and down stairs, garden for hours without a second thought. Woke up one day in the most horrible pain. At least my rheumatologist is great and trying to find the meds that will suit me. It’s been a journey. Is there a community bus that operates in your area? I find loneliness coupled with the constant pain hard to bear at times. I was looking forward to getting my pension in July, was going to do all sorts, funny how life can take you in a different direction. I knitted myself a scarf just before Christmas, nothing fancy lol, but with stiffness in my hands, I was quite chuffed.

wendy19

It is a real shame that you are being made to feel like that. I was wondering if you could look into doing online tutoring. I work as a teacher and since COVID the goverment have set up lots of opportunites to tutor. This might be a good way of using all that wondeful knowledge.

In addition lots of companies do international, as long as you don't mind time the time differences this could be something to look into.

It might be worth looking into

Anna

Hi @karelee and welcome to the online community,

I think one of the biggest challenges of living with arthritis is feeling like you’ve lost your place in the world, especially when it leads to early retirement or job loss. There have been some great suggestions from @wendy and @Woofy about how to start to get back on track, and it sounds like you are also trying out new crafts and activities. The internet has certainly opened up the world for people living remotely or unable to travel and there are some interesting online clubs and activities you could look at maybe - also voluntary work online if that appeals to you.

Joining the online community will also give you a whole new social life - have a look round and feel free to join in any conversations where you feel comfortable - you’ll find everyone very friendly.

Best wishes,

Anna ( Moderator)