Newbie-How do you cope?

mazest1981 · 16. Apr 2009, 07:23

Hiya,

I am a 27 year old lone parent to a 6 year old boy and I have just been told I have arthritis. Not sure which type yet but this is the second time its flared up. I am in pain and just want to sleep all the time. The arthritis seems to go from my left hip all the way down to my left ankle. I dont have a car at the moment and am finding walking painful.
The question is how do you guys cope?
What should I look into first?
Any advice/support welcome!
Many thanks
Maria

colinone · 16. Apr 2009, 08:41

Hi Maria
First of all welcome, sorry to hear your in pain and feeling down it does make you so tired at times the pain seems to wear you out.
Coping is a thing we all do and you find your own way as time goes by. The ladies will no doubt be along a little later with lots of tips for you in the mean time take care and keep your chin up.
Colin

josiec · 16. Apr 2009, 08:57

Hi Maria, here's one of the ladies - the rest will be along later no doubt! (easter hols - hooray!) Welcome-you will find loads of practical tips and emotional support here, there's a lovely bunch of people. Have you got some anti-inflammatories and painkillers? See your doctor if not. Try and take it easy when you can-that's far easier said than done, I'm sure, but even if it's for a cup of tea every so often it's better than nothing. Talk to people on here too whenever you need to as you hopefully find out more about your condition.
Take care,
Josie

joanlawson · 16. Apr 2009, 09:02

Hi Maria
Welcome to the site, and I'm sure you will find lots of advice and support here. There are quite a lot of other people who are young, single parents like you, so I think they will be along soon. It is a difficult task coping with a young child on your own, without arthritis to contend with.

Has your doctor given you anything for the pain? I take Diclofenac, which is an anti-inflammatory drug, and it eases my pain. You have to take another drug called Omeprazole too, to protect your stomach. There are other drugs for pain-relief, so your doctor should be able to help you. Feeling tired is a common thing with arthritis, but if you can control your pain, you will have more energy.

Also, is your doctor referring you to a consultant about your hip and leg pain? They would probably x-ray your hip, and possibly do a scan too. I have OA in my knees, but a pain in my hip turned out to be Bursitis, which is a type of inflammation. I was given physiotherapy and acupuncture, and the hip pain has now gone. I got pain down the whole length of my leg, just as you describe, and could hardly walk.

I hope you will get some help.

Joan

skezier · 16. Apr 2009, 09:03

Hi Maria,
Welcome to the site, I hope you find it helps you a lot as well. As to the coping, there are many ways and you will find one for yourself in time. Like Josie said have you got any anti inflammatories? You also may need some further tests and referrals. there are a lot of information leaflets on the site, sometimes knowing all you can about it helps you to cope. Take care, Cris

breane · 16. Apr 2009, 09:08

Hi Marie,Sorry you are in pain but I wondered if your GP has prescribed any pain relief for you? :? I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis last Dec. and my GP prescribed Sopadol which is one of the mildest pain killers.Obviously,if that does not help there are many other forms of pain relief he can prescribe.My OA is in the hands,wrists,knees and feet and the daily pain can be very debilitating.I have got a lot of useful help and advice from members on this forum and I am sure you will find the same.

Take care,Breane.x

ninakang · 16. Apr 2009, 09:32

Hi Marie,

Not sure if I qualify as one of the "ladies" but I am female :-) I'm quite new to this site too, I was only diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a couple of months ago.

All the above advice is sound and don't forget to go back to your doctor if the medication isn't helping. Staying active is very important too, as is not overdoing it!

Do you have someone who can help you with your little boy? Something I'm having to learn is to relinquish control (just a fancy word for lose, I'm sure!) and take it easy. The housework can always wait, there's nothing wrong with beans on toast for tea and if someone offers their help with childcare - TAKE IT.

And keep coming on this site. I've been hooked from my first day on here. They are all lovely people. A bit mad sometimes, but that's why I fit in so well. :-)

Nx

debsmartin · 16. Apr 2009, 11:04

Hi Marie and welcome, I'm sure you will get lots of help and advice I know I have, same advice really as the others make sure your doctor knows how mych pain you are in so that they can get you on medication and defo worth asking about stomach protectors as most of the tablets can be abit hard on the old tummy. I think the difficult part is trying to make sure you don't over do it which I know must be difficult with a youngster.

Take care

debs

mazest1981 · 16. Apr 2009, 11:32

Hi,
Thanks for all the nice messages

I have been prescribed- Naproxen for the pain and swelling. I had an X-ray on my hip but it showed up as normal- so no long term damage. I am having a blood test in 2 weeks and am on the waiting list for physio.
My car was wriiten off about a month ago, so im now looking for an automatic car which will help.
I dont have any family nearby and just feel so isolated!
Im going to look into DLA- heard its a 12 week wait :?:

denpen · 16. Apr 2009, 11:43

Hi Maria
Welcome to the site you will get lots of support and help from the people on here.
I have OA in both hips the left being the worst, but at the moment the right one is playing up and I have pain in the hip down the leg in the knee and ankle, you can get a referred pain that comes from your hip, but firstly you need to find out which one you have, blood tests should show up RA and XRays will show up OA. so go to your doc and ask him for the tests then he can put you in the right medication.
Good Luck
Denise.x

ninakang · 16. Apr 2009, 11:44

Hi Marie,

Could you get friendly with some other mums at school? Maybe have a friend of your son's over when you're feeling well so they return the favour?

I'm sorry you feel isolated, but I made some good friends of mums at the girls' school when I wasn't working and it can be very helpful - especially if they live close to you and can take him to school sometimes for you :-) Are there any coffee mornings you can go to or family learning sessions at the school?

I have 3 daughters aged 5, 7 (tomorrow!) and 10 years and I work full time. It can be tough sometimes trying to cope but you don't have to cope alone.

Nx

joanlawson · 16. Apr 2009, 12:08

mazest1981 wrote:

Hi,
Thanks for all the nice messages
I have been prescribed- Naproxen for the pain and swelling. I had an X-ray on my hip but it showed up as normal- so no long term damage. I am having a blood test in 2 weeks and am on the waiting list for physio.
My car was wriiten off about a month ago, so im now looking for an automatic car which will help.
I dont have any family nearby and just feel so isolated!
Im going to look into DLA- heard its a 12 week wait :?:[/quote

Hi Maria
I was prescribed Naproxen to begin with, but it didn't suit me, and that was when a friend who has got OA told me about Diclofenac. This worked far better from the start. You can also take Paracetamol in between doses of Diclofenac, so that can work even better. I also take a supplement called Osteo-Biflex, which is high-strength gloucosamine,and other things. I think this has helped me. You can get it at Boots.

My hip X-ray showed up as normal too, despite the pain I was in.
This was when they diagnosed Bursitis, which is inflammation of the sac of fluid which covers the hip joint. I had a steroid injection in my hip, but it didn't work, so then they gave me physio and acupuncture (on the NHS) At last it has worked, so hopefully, the physio will help you too. You could ask about acupuncture, as it might be appropriate for you. It doesn't hurt, and it could help.

I understand how isolated you must feel,coping on your own.You can rely on people on this site to support you, and no-one is worried if you want to have a moan. Have you seen the chit-chat forum too? At present, there is a thread about coping with children when you have arthritis, so you might be interested in that. You will find other young women in the same situation as you.

All the best
Joan]

Newbie-How do you cope?

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