It does get better?

frogslegs

I keep reading on this forum...should be renamed 'crocks reunited' that "don't worry, it will get better" well at 53 and suffering from OA it does not! Had problems since 14. Also what is this pain clinic that everyone is talking about? I left U.K. mainland 15 years ago so not up to date with what is going on! :?

lindalegs

Hi Froglegs,

Have you been in constant pain since you were 14 then without any spells of feeling better in 39 years? :shock: If so, that's terrible and I'm very sorry for you - your meds must be rubbish. You really must seek more help and get some relief. I haven't been to a pain clinic but from what I understand they help you to live with the pain you have - hopefully others can advise who've had experience with them.

............and I disagree with you, in the greatest majority of cases, it does get better, pain is managed and life is lived to best we can just in a different way. We have spells when things are extremely difficult but these come and go. I've had RA for 23 years and I've enjoyed my life to the full and the best of my ability.

We're all different, at the end of the day, and meds nowadays are so much better - so people reading your post, new to arthritis, shouldn't be afraid that there's no hope - take it from me there is.

So from one crock to another (were you trying to insult us all by any chance?) I sincerely hope you can start to feel better.

From Legs

skezier

Hi Frogslegs,
I also have had oa in bits of me since 15/16, and it's a long time. I have to agree wholeheartedly with Legs, normally pain relief is very successful.

I see the pain clinic now and I did 20 and 22 years ago and in all cases they assess your pain and bend over backwards to control it. I don't know much about the French system but my kid brother says it is very good and you maybe can ask for better pain relief and to be referred either to the equivalent of a pain clinic or a consultant to see if surgery can help you.

It honestly does get better as long as you have the right pain relief and the right pain management for you. I hope you can find the same.
take care, Cris

Hi Legs from another real crocked old crock x

daisychain

lindalegs wrote:

Hi Froglegs,

Have you been in constant pain since you were 14 then without any spells of feeling better in 39 years? :shock: If so, that's terrible and I'm very sorry for you - your meds must be rubbish. You really must seek more help and get some relief. I haven't been to a pain clinic but from what I understand they help you to live with the pain you have - hopefully others can advise who've had experience with them.

............and I disagree with you, in the greatest majority of cases, it does get better, pain is managed and life is lived to best we can just in a different way. We have spells when things are extremely difficult but these come and go. I've had RA for 23 years and I've enjoyed my life to the full and the best of my ability.

We're all different, at the end of the day, and meds nowadays are so much better - so people reading your post, new to arthritis, shouldn't be afraid that there's no hope - take it from me there is.

So from one crock to another (were you trying to insult us all by any chance?) I sincerely hope you can start to feel better.

From Legs

Hi Lindalegs,

Just want to reinforce what you you say ,Your posts are always positive, constructive and uplifting . Take care Daisychain x

kellis

Hi Froglegs
I think we may be neighbours - I've just read your previous posts and see you are in PC - me too - please get in touch as I could do with chatting with somebody else doing this over here!
Sorry to hijack the thread everybody else!
Kellis

frogslegs

kellis wrote:

Hi Froglegs
I think we may be neighbours - I've just read your previous posts and see you are in PC - me too - please get in touch as I could do with chatting with somebody else doing this over here!
Sorry to hijack the thread everybody else!
Kellis

Wil be in touch Kellis...apologies to lindylegs :oops: and any one else, if offended. I have been prescribed anti-inflams since teens for various parts of my body but not always taken them due to worries over stomach problems that may arise. The past 7 months is the most I have ever repeatedly taken medication. Normally I just put up with the pain, but enough is enough! So I am taking Brexin, double the dose if neccessary and up to 4 paracetemol a day.

woodbon

Hello Frogslegs, I have OA in a lot of my joints although I'm lucky enough not to have had any surgery yet. At least living in this country, I don't have to worry about the cost of any surgery, I've been diagnosed with carpel tunnel syndrome caused by OA. I've had to wait for a long time to see a consultant (and it is a consultant, because my GP requestsed this.) all of 8 weeks since the consultant Neurologist saw me to make sure I had no serious degenerative neurological disease.

I'm sorry you've never had any good periods since your diagnosis, that is very unusual. Also its sad you've not been able to access a pain clinic, as they treat the whole person and give you choice about how your treatment plan will go. Still, maybe oneday medicine in France will catch up with the standards of the UK, which, I believe, are world leaders in palliative care. Yours Sue

lindalegs

Hi Froglegs,

That's fine - just didn't want you upsetting anyone as some folk on here struggle with depression - I'm probably being over-sensitive and protective of all my cyber friends. :roll:

Your post makes me sad Froglegs if you've struggled with this for the greater part of your life trying to avoid the correct medication, worried about stomach problems that may not have happened. I'm glad you've decided to take control of your OA with your meds you need to rein in your pain and enjoy your life as much as you're able.

Let us know if you have any improvement once you're taking your meds regularly.

Hope I didn't upset you with my post - I always did have a big mouth my size 7 feet never struggle to get in there together :shock:

Luv Legs

skezier

Hi Frogslegs,
You probably should get different pain killers, or ask them for some stomach pump inhibitors and take the slow release equivalents to Diclofenac it is hard to know what they are called over there but I am sure they could do more for your pain if you explained how much your in. I don't know about you but pain can make me tasey and that's not really me but normally with the right meds it is controlled and it's really not so bad. I wish there was more i could say as sometimes pain gets me down and that bit I do understand.

Are there pain management things over there? There is a leaflet on the site that is a download of pain management and it might help. I think the bottom line is you have to believe it gets better and I really think it does outside of flairs or aggro to a joint. Good luck and take care and let us know please. Cris

frogmorton

Hi Froggie!
We are not easily offended on here - we just want to support and help each other.
Hopefully the advice you have been given by the others may help and I am so glad you and Kellis will now be in touich. You must feel so isolated over there
Hope youi get your pain under some sort of control very soon
Toni x

woodbon

Hi, I hope I didn't come on too strong. It must be hard, for you living away from home. I often get 'homesick' after leaving my place of birth for 40 years (Oxford) and moving to Norfolk, even though I love living here. Its being away from family for me!! !! But I would'nt exchange the primroses and fields for a bus and supermarket! Hope you soon feel better, Love Sue

kellis

woodbon wrote:

Still, maybe oneday medicine in France will catch up with the standards of the UK,

From my experience over here I completely disagree with that!
Personal experience, and that of friends, I think France is way ahead of the UK in most aspects of healthcare. It's the language barrier that causes me problems, trying to really get to the bottom of what is going on. We have the same drugs available here as you do in the UK, some with different names, but all readily available.
I too was on Brexin for a while but it didn't work, but that was before I got the diagnosis of RA and started on Mtx and cortisone.

mistywillow

kellis wrote:

woodbon wrote:

Still, maybe oneday medicine in France will catch up with the standards of the UK,

From my experience over here I completely disagree with that!
Personal experience, and that of friends, I think France is way ahead of the UK in most aspects of healthcare. It's the language barrier that causes me problems, trying to really get to the bottom of what is going on. We have the same drugs available here as you do in the UK, some with different names, but all readily available.
I too was on Brexin for a while but it didn't work, but that was before I got the diagnosis of RA and started on Mtx and cortisone.

Hi Frogslegs
It must be really hard trying to sort out your medical problems having to use another language, i don't envy you. I suppose it is the same in France as here really,you have to learn how the system works .
It does get depressing having constant pain but there are better days some days and there are so many different meds to explore there must be something out there that will help you.
I am a great fan of positive thinking. Thats not saying I don't get depressed sometimes, of course I do, but i really try and stop those negative thoughts, because they really don't help and pain feesl a million times worse when you are down. I also have to say that finding this site was one of the best things that i have done because everyone is so supportive and i have picked up so many useful tips.
Anyway good luck i wish you well!
Gillx

joanlawson

Bonsoir Frogslegs

Je pense que je suis une crock aussi, mais ce n'est pas le fin de la monde.Pardonnez mon francais terrible :!: :!:

Joan ( 65 ans jeune)

frogslegs

joanlawson wrote:

Bonsoir Frogslegs

Je pense que je suis une crock aussi, mais ce n'est pas le fin de la monde.Pardonnez mon francais terrible :!: :!:

Joan ( 65 ans jeune)

Merci beaucoup!

The first time I visited the doctor here in France was 8 years ago, so I must have been..........fooooouuuuuurtty fiiiiiivvvvve......not good at maths.....anyway she said in broken english that I had the same symptoms as a 85 year old!!! Can not remember what she prescribed at the time....then I was only suffering from bursitis of the hip (that is what I had been told previously in u.k.) tennis elbow, spondylosis of the neck, calcific tendonitus of the shoulder and bad back. Because of the nausea and not particular nice feeling in the stomach I have never used medication for long (especially after reading that the lining of the stomach can be ruptured). At a later date I returned to see a temporary doctor who looked at me...and I appear quite fit...she prescribed me just iboforen!!! I supposed as my notes are in English that must be difficult for her? Unfortunatly me french is not fluent so it is difficult to actually describe in detail how much pain I am in...when I had achilles heel tendonitis it was a year and a half at physio..which helped to some degree, than a year with the hip problem and just recently because of the scans that no one before has suggested it now is OA in hip and back. It is my fault that my french is not fluent but I must salute the french health care, sometime I am with the doctor for 35-45 minutes and hopital appointments are granted fairly quick. My posting of ...does it get better...I suppose it does, if you take medication to ease the pain...otherwise it does not?

Kellis the brexin appeared to work to start with but only about 60% now!
a bientot

airwave

frogslegs wrote:

I keep reading on this forum...should be renamed 'crocks reunited' that "don't worry, it will get better" well at 53 and suffering from OA it does not! Had problems since 14. Also what is this pain clinic that everyone is talking about? I left U.K. mainland 15 years ago so not up to date with what is going on! :?

Hi Frogslegs,
Snap, same age! Like you I have had OA since the time when dinosaurs ruled the earth and no, things don't get better. Theres a lot of things we could say but the only thing that matters is what we think.

As for pain clinics, I'm still waiting to get to one...... Without making constant appointments at the doctors or jumping up and down at the surgery it's hard to get anyone to do anything.

8) Its a grin, honest!

skezier

Hi Frogslegs,

Do you mean does it heal and go away? The simple answer is with out surgery I’m afraid it doesn’t. How ever with pain management it means you can control it and that makes it possible to carry on your life to varying degrees of ‘like normal‘. You do have to take the drugs daily at some point though as pain is horrible and can really rev up if allowed to. What proper pain relife does is make your ability to cope with it better.

OA in your hip can be operated on at some point, sometimes backs can be as well, depending on whats wrong with them. I wonder have you got a friend who speaks both languages well and would be willing to come with you? Is it possible to see if the hospital has a translater you could borrow just to run through the possible treatments with you and a consultant? It may help to get the pain relief you need and start to control it all.

Many drugs can make you feel sick, sometimes its short lived and you then are ok again but the non steroid anti flams are not good to stomach linings but the pump inhibitor drugs counta act the effect quite well. There are so many possible drugs for pain and once you get the one that suits you it gets better……… It can be a bit of a lottery finding the right drugs to begin with. Physio and pain clinics are also there to help either get stuff moving or hurting less.

I hope you find a way round this and get back some control of the pain soon,
Take care,
Cris

Hi Airwave,

It is always hard to get the pain control you need but keep pushing and I hope you get to see a pain clinic soon.

joanlawson

Hi Frogslegs

I think Skezier has said it all, really,but I will just add another thought. I had very bad Bursitis following an arthroscopy op. last Dec. The pain from that in my hip was much worse than the arthritis in my knee. The doctor referred me to the physio after a steroid injection didn't work. She was excellent, and asked whether I would like to try acupuncture too. After a course of this, the pain in my hip has now gone. She also loaned me a Tens machine, which helped as well.

If there is OA in your hip, you might need to consider surgery at some point, but in the meantime, I think you will need to use drugs for your pain. I was just like you, and very worried about taking tablets of any kind. However, before my op I was in severe pain in my knee, and could not have coped without Diclofenac, plus Omeprazole for my stomach.

I hope you can get some more help,
By the way, I think you live in a beautiful country.

Joan

woodbon

Hi, Sorry, I think maybe I didn't express myself very well when saying French medicine is behind English treatment in general. I think England is quite advanced in treating pain in holistic clinics with multi disiplinary staff - also our approach to pallitive care. Hospice care specifically for children started in this country, pioneered by someone I had the privilige of knowing - Mother Frances in Oxford. Yours Sue

frogslegs

joanlawson wrote:

Hi Frogslegs

I think Skezier has said it all, really,but I will just add another thought. I had very bad Bursitis following an arthroscopy op. last Dec. The pain from that in my hip was much worse than the arthritis in my knee. The doctor referred me to the physio after a steroid injection didn't work. She was excellent, and asked whether I would like to try acupuncture too. After a course of this, the pain in my hip has now gone. She also loaned me a Tens machine, which helped as well.

Originally 10 years ago when they thought it was bursitis I had 5 sessions of acupuncture and about 3 physio appointments...the doctor said the pain would go within 9 months!! I wish I could remember all the types of medication I have been prescribed over the years, arthrotec was one of them. I have just finished 40 physio treatments for the hip which have helped a little but as soon as I walk or cycle I am back to square one. I have a tens machine that I have used over the years but that is no help at all. The physio treatment consisted of 30 minutes of tens, 15 minutes massage and 15 minutes ultra sound. Where as when I suffered excruciating achilles heel tendonitus in both heels...I had 40 sessions but only 5 minutes of the above hence I change physios. Maybe I should just keep taking the tablets as not many of the posts are suggesting side affects. But then how many of you have had gastritis, food poisening twice and gastro enteritus?

joanlawson

Hi Frogslegs

You say that OA has been diagnosed in your hip and back. Has there been any discussion about a hip replacement? Maybe you are getting to the point where that would be a solution for your hip pain. This operation is usually a success, and I believe that there are various things which can be done for backs too.

You have certainly been through the mill over the years, and I sympathise with you.

Joan

woodbon

Hi although I have OA in my hip, the x ray and scan show I also have oa in my lumber spine, which apparently is causing the groin pain. It seems a very complicated problem that is caused by damaged nerves! Have you had an MRI scan? They can be much better at showing the damage than x-ray. Some of the people on here have had back surgery, but I've luckily not needed it yet! Hope you soon find some answers, its not an easy disease to treat and ssssssso painful! Yours Sue

mash65

hi,the pain thing is such a difficult thing to get to grips with.
my gp said to me that i would never be pain free,but its a case of managing the pain instead of it managing me :shock: .
my physio said to exercise daily,thats difficult but i try to keep as mobile as i possibly can.rest,i rest up when my body tells me too
take all meds to the max.this way the medication is always in your system.
i missed a zomorph just for 1 night because it was mothers day & i wanted a drink i choose not to take it & i paid for it big time,took me 2 days for the pain to ease just by missing 1 tablet.
i begged my gp for referal to pain management,but so far he has ignored me.so im due back at rhymy nx wk so im going to ask him about it.
i havent got any answers,i also have oa but if i do get answers after my appointment i will post on here.advice, help & support on here has helped me.without this site i think i would have gone round the bend by now.debs

skezier

Hi Debs,

it was my Rumo who sent me to the pain clinic, my doctors wouldn't have done either, so ask your rumo and good luck...... Oh and don't forget to ask about the Raynaud's..... ok I'll shut up now. Take care, Cris x

frogslegs

joanlawson wrote:

Hi Frogslegs


You have certainly been through the mill over the years, and I sympathise with you.

Joan

and that's only half of it...I would probably need to join 3 separate forums for other issues....but hey ho.... forever the optomist!