Constant pain

Revs1

Evening all, I mentioned previously that I’ve been struggling with Psoriatic arthritis and i also have osteoarthritis in both ankles, one of which has been partially fused but it’s been confirmed recently that both ankles are to be fully fused. The last three months or so I’ve had on flare up after another with the psa and it’s gone through my wrists, fingers, knees, toes and now my ankles. The meds I’m taking are clearly not working but I’m sure my consultant will hit in the right meds soon enough. My concern now is the constant pain meds I’m slamming down my throat. The pain is that bad that the Zappain painkillers stop the pain and the Ibruprofen brings other issues. Just wondering if anybody got any hints/tips on how to cope with pain or if there are natural supplements that I could look at

noddingtonpete

Hi @Revs1 have you looked at

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

Might be something useful in it

Arciere

Hi @Revs1

I haven’t any experience with OA. To manage my PsA flare ups I was also searching for a supplement but I found more success removing food groups. I wonder if in your case a look at the FODMAP diet might be worth considering. Just put FODMAP diet into Google.

I’ve said in a previous post that I now exclude gluten, deadly nightshade veg (potatoes, tomatoes etc) and artificial sweeteners. A cookbook i bought also talked about the need to avoid anything ending in “ose”. Glucose, Fructose etc. I recently had some honey and I am convinced that caused me to have a flare up!

I try and consume something fermented daily - kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi to look after my microbiome.

I always feel like something triggers my flare up. Stress can be one, along with things I consume.

Other things I’ve done in the past include saunas, time in a hot tub, one of those bubble foot spas from Argos (they heat the water / sort of a gimmick).

Electrolytes to help me stay hydrated. I’m of the view dehydration doesn’t help but I find it hard to actually hydrate sometimes. Again try and use the most natural electrolyte I can find. I’m currently using one from Artah.

Medication wise the oral steroids really helps but I guess everyone is different. Ultimately the mixture of removing food groups, reducing stressful thinking and the commencement of biologic medication is a what reduced my flare ups - although I still get them.

I hope this helps.