New Member

hungryheart
hungryheart Member Posts: 3
edited 31. Oct 2024, 11:49 in Living with arthritis

Hi. I'm new around here.

I've currently got a cocktail of physical and mental issues making life difficult. Taken early retirement due to these health issues.

I've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Hands, knees, feet, and back. Feet particularly bad making walking difficult and very painful.
Trapped nerves/disc damage in back mean numbness in back and legs also effecting walking.
Neuropathy parathesia attacking my nerves all over body.
Ongoing battle with anxiety and depression not helping.

I've only been told to take ibuprofen, paracetamol, or cocadomal as needed. Given exercises to follow but the pain makes it difficult most days.

Do people have any tips from their similar experiences on how to break this viscious circle I've got in? Ideas on how to live a normal life as possible?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • Louisa77
    Louisa77 Administrator Posts: 263

    Hi @hungryheart

    Welcome to the Online Community.

    Sounds like you are in a tricky cycle and the pain doesn't help with the mental health conditions.

    We have lots of info about the condition Osteoarthritis (OA) | Causes, symptoms, treatments , speaking to others in a similar situation to yourself on here will be a help for sure.

    We do have some self management courses but there not in every area but it might be worth looking to see if there is anything In Your Area.

    I hope you find something that works for you to help manage the pain.

    Best wishes

    Louisa

    Need more help? Call our Helpline on 0800 5200 520 Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm


  • Baloo
    Baloo Member Posts: 511

    @hungryheart

    Multiple conditions would require multiple solutions, and you might have to put some of them under the carpet. while you deal with others. The anxiety might want you to deal with all of them, but hey, thats anxiety talking when there might be better priorities, and they are only going to resolve one by one.

    I find multiple threads are helpful. I launch one discussion for each angle I want to explore, and use it to journal my progress. So today its, cocktail of issues. Hi there.

    Sounds like you took early retirement to stop the issues grinding you down. How's that going.

  • Thanks for your advice. I will have a detailed look at the links you sent me.

  • Thanks for your comments.

    I will have a look at the great help available on this site.

    You're right, my health issues were slowly grinding me down. Still adjusting but I'm grateful to be away from work.

  • Bryony
    Bryony Member Posts: 21

    What are your hobbies? The distraction of doing something you enjoy can help with pain tolerance. I find getting outdoors into daylight for a short while every day helps me deal with depression, and gets me some exercise, and looking at plants, birds, fungi gives me a focus and a distraction from pain, and a reason to go out. Being out in nature does help some people.

    Finding the right exercises for you is also important. For me I found that stretches were the most important, and non-load-bearing muscle strengthening helped me. The NHS physiotherapist started me off on too aggressive load bearing exercises, so I had to find my own way as I had poor support from the physiotherapists at that time (during Covid it was telephone only, which didn't help). A friend of mine in a similar position ended up getting physiotherapy privately and that way was given the time to figure out a personalised program, which is helping her.