New one here

Sidonia

I am a bit overwhelmed, yesterday I was diagnosed with severe and extensive facet arthritis. I have had ‘bad backs’ for as long as I can remember but never really did anything about it. I already have moderate and severe o.a. in my left knee and unsurprisingly also in my R. Ankle after I broke it twice. My question is what do I do or need to do? I have stopped running and tennis over the year, I walk, going to the gym (but stopped cardio vascular stuff), need to loose weight (!) and I suppose up my vit D and calcium. As for painkillers I had a bad bout in March that started all the investigations (my back felt like it was in a vice ) but am currying regular paracetamol and ibuprofen and am waiting to see a GP and perhaps rheumatologist. Apologies for the lengthy post but not quite sure where to go from here.

alwayssewing

@Sidonia Welcome to the site. There is a lot of information on the website and in community posts.

I hope you are taking something to protect your stomach if you have regular doses of ibuprofen. If you can't get and appointment with a GP see a pharmacist who can give you advice on what you need.

claudsl

Hello @Sidonia and welcome to our online community. It's lovely to have you here.

Sorry that you are going through a rough time. It sounds like you definitely need referred to rheumatology and hopefully they will get you started on the appropriate medication. I find painkillers and anti-inflammatories not very effective at managing arthritis pain but hopefully when you get started on a proper medication you will start to feel a lot better.

All the best, Claudia x

Sidonia

Thanks Claudia, yes it has been a bit unsettling and you are right, having had a bad bout nothing really touched it and sleep was hard to come by. I really hope that some better medication will be available and apart from that (as always !) I suppose I have to make the best of it. X