Discribing your arthritis?.

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mellman01
mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
edited 15. Apr 2010, 12:08 in Living with Arthritis archive
Sorry about the Monday morning ramble but something was playing on my mind regarding OA, well to be honest for as long as I was diagnosed post op in 2008, I have nearly lost my mind trying to constantly search for a way that best explains how it feels and acts, how the hell can I incorporate it all into a reasonably simple description?.
Well last night I was drifting in and out of sleep and as usual my mind was wandering aimlessly around in the dark halls of a Nortriptyline induced semi coma and I struck on an idea and that is this, I see it OA that is like an active volcano, that is to say it’s always belching pain and suffering at various levels but then sometime goes into full blown eruption (flare) only to calm down again only to repeat the cycle some time later. And like all volcanoes eruptions are almost impossible to predict with any certainty.
Well it’s the best I could do for a Monday morning, so now over to you lot, what are your views on this?, how do you get across the pain you suffer from your particular type of arthritis?.

Comments

  • valval
    valval Non-active member Posts: 14,911
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    yes think you have it but mine vents in different places as well never know where next
    val
  • woodbon
    woodbon Non-active member Posts: 4,969
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi, Thats a good way of explaining it. I hate it when people ask what its like and then go on to tell you about their bad back or shoulder or something...... Its not that I don't have sympathy, its just that they seem to see it as the same thing, that will get better in a few weeks.
    Love Sue
  • skezier
    skezier Non-active member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi Mel,

    Oh I could describe mine but it would just be a list of deleted words :wink: I have been at all out war with oa over half my life and it still keeps trying to get me :roll: The pa well that is now joining forces but you know what........ I made a promise to the sky 26 years ago and will go down fighting all the way........

    I honestly do think though that you need different pain control there. Do you see a pain clinic at all? Mel I really hope it gets easier for you and hat goes for work as well as bones. Leaving you a (((( )))) and a hope. Cris x
  • mellman01
    mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi all, well skezer just got some new pain meds called OxyNorm tried them once already, strong they r but they still don't get rid of the pain so much as make me not really care that it hurts, funny but I have found my OA isn't like a a bad head ache pain, pain meds get rid of them but not my OA pain boy is it a bugger, I wonder if Barry Scott has got something to shift it!?. :lol:
  • mellman01
    mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    woodbon wrote:
    Hi, Thats a good way of explaining it. I hate it when people ask what its like and then go on to tell you about their bad back or shoulder or something...... Its not that I don't have sympathy, its just that they seem to see it as the same thing, that will get better in a few weeks.
    Love Sue

    How true Sue, I never fali to be amazed by people with a slight ache moaning on at me about how bad it is!, I went up my local on Friday and my best mate who was a tad drunk strated to lecture me about how it can't be that painful, here we go again I thought, I didn't get angry I just said you need to experience it to understand it.
  • suncatcher
    suncatcher Non-active member Posts: 2,174
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    arthina my pain is a little old lady who from time to time gets out her chisel and bashes hard at my bones she hits every joint she goes round different locations different days and at any time. I dont know where she will strike next as she has a very unpredictable working pattern.
    Occasionally she will knock off work for a while and take a nap. Sometimes like most work men women she will disappear and you dont know when she will be next on the job. and theres time she will be there banging hammering for days weeks and you think when will it all stop. :(
    Joanne
  • page35
    page35 Non-active member Posts: 1,081
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    how true you are joanne, hope she is sleeping for you at the moment.
    Hi mell joanne has said it for me, only i dont see mine as and old lady. hope you feel better-ish soon mell. xx
  • suncatcher
    suncatcher Non-active member Posts: 2,174
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    She is on and off id give her the sack for working and a well done pat for not working. I just hope she goes for a permanant nap for good
    Joanne
  • phyllisevinger
    phyllisevinger Non-active member Posts: 4
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hello, I'm new to this forum. I live in Canada, and I'm 76, but I guess my aches and pains are just about the same as for anyone else with OA. Have a new knee (2007) and hip (2009).
    "flare ups" can be bloody awful as you all know. To me OA is like some sneaky devil who sits and plans what part of the body to attack each day. "Ah Ha let's hit the old hands today"
    I would like to hear from anyone who has found relief from pain with non prescription medicines, I am tired of trying out and spending money on useless meds. hope to her from you Phyl
  • mellman01
    mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi Phyl nice to have you onboard, I've tried all sorts of treatments etc and the best thing I have found is rest when my knees are active, I find OA is an acidic illness and just doesn't attack via my pain receptors but also on a physiologically level, been there got the T shirt and the scars to prove it!.
  • skezier
    skezier Non-active member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi Phyl,

    Nice to meet you too :D I used to try loads of things but now nothing does it and the best I get is a bit of denting via the drugs. Mine is mostly 3rd stage with some burnt out bits and its relentless and doesn't take prisoners. I hope you find something to help soon and welcome to the forum cus they are a nice lot here. Cris x

    Hey Mel,

    Mine is very like relentless grinding toothache actually. Still think they could give you different meds that do pain but don't knock you out...... What about seeing a pain clinic? Cris x
  • phyllisevinger
    phyllisevinger Non-active member Posts: 4
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    mellman01 wrote:
    Hi Phyl nice to have you onboard, I've tried all sorts of treatments etc and the best thing I have found is rest when my knees are active, I find OA is an acidic illness and just doesn't attack via my pain receptors but also on a physiologically level, been there got the T shirt and the scars to prove it!.

    Thank you Mellman. I only have the scars and no Tshirt so far! One thing I have noticed is after I eat bread or any flour product; my pains and stiffness seem to be worse. Anyone else notice this about their food intake. My Brit sense of humour helps me a lot to overcome days where I could scream my head off. Sound familiar??
    So glad I found this website and some new friends I hope. By the way I was born in Lambeth and lived for 16 years in Carshalton Surrey. Ya know just writing about this is making me feel better already.
  • sharmaine
    sharmaine Non-active member Posts: 1,638
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi

    When I get angry (not very often) OH calls me "Volcano Head"....ha!
    :lol::lol:

    I would describe my OA as always there...it causes me pain/discomfort and affects the way I walk. It hurts my shoulder and on occasion my hands. The days that are pain free are to be celebrated and cherished!! I have to rest a great deal but remain upbeat otherwise I would go mad!!! :lol:

    OA is a disease that eats away at our joints. OH had a day off today and we went out to lunch and bought a few household bits and pieces. I had to rest quite a few times as my right knee kept locking (this one needs a TKR too). My operated left knee wasn't too bad it still aches but it is still early days. I've overdone it today so I'm upstairs resting.

    I've just ordered some sofa legs online to elevate our 3 piece suite.
    Since I've had OA I'm more comfy sitting in a higher chair/settee.

    I think we all have to look for ways to make our lives more comfortable.

    Take care Mellman, I'm off to make a cup of tea and have a wee chat with OH.

    Regards
    Sharmaine
    mellman01 wrote:
    Sorry about the Monday morning ramble but something was playing on my mind regarding OA, well to be honest for as long as I was diagnosed post op in 2008, I have nearly lost my mind trying to constantly search for a way that best explains how it feels and acts, how the hell can I incorporate it all into a reasonably simple description?.
    Well last night I was drifting in and out of sleep and as usual my mind was wandering aimlessly around in the dark halls of a Nortriptyline induced semi coma and I struck on an idea and that is this, I see it OA that is like an active volcano, that is to say it’s always belching pain and suffering at various levels but then sometime goes into full blown eruption (flare) only to calm down again only to repeat the cycle some time later. And like all volcanoes eruptions are almost impossible to predict with any certainty.
    Well it’s the best I could do for a Monday morning, so now over to you lot, what are your views on this?, how do you get across the pain you suffer from your particular type of arthritis?.
  • annebr
    annebr Non-active member Posts: 730
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    mellman01 wrote:
    Hi all, well skezer just got some new pain meds called OxyNorm tried them once already, strong they r but they still don't get rid of the pain so much as make me not really care that it hurts, funny but I have found my OA isn't like a a bad head ache pain, pain meds get rid of them but not my OA pain boy is it a bugger, I wonder if Barry Scott has got something to shift it!?. :lol:

    Mellman,

    Are you taking paracetomal along with them? Seemingly they complement each other. What dosage are you on? I take these and oxycontyn, so interested.

    Anne
  • wendylou
    wendylou Non-active member Posts: 88
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    mellman01 wrote:
    Sorry about the Monday morning ramble but something was playing on my mind regarding OA, well to be honest for as long as I was diagnosed post op in 2008, I have nearly lost my mind trying to constantly search for a way that best explains how it feels and acts, how the hell can I incorporate it all into a reasonably simple description?.
    Well last night I was drifting in and out of sleep and as usual my mind was wandering aimlessly around in the dark halls of a Nortriptyline induced semi coma and I struck on an idea and that is this, I see it OA that is like an active volcano, that is to say it’s always belching pain and suffering at various levels but then sometime goes into full blown eruption (flare) only to calm down again only to repeat the cycle some time later. And like all volcanoes eruptions are almost impossible to predict with any certainty.
    Well it’s the best I could do for a Monday morning, so now over to you lot, what are your views on this?, how do you get across the pain you suffer from your particular type of arthritis?.
    Hi i know just how you feel you described it like a volcano thats just how my OA feels one minute and i mean one minute you feel okay then i can feel it building up like the volcano and also i say to my hubby i think someone has got a voodoo doll on me because i get the stabbing pains when i feel it building up i call out for my painkillers and when i take them i am saying hurry up and work although they just take the edge off the pain its a little bit of relief, also i could do with going round with a gaurd around my hips as i am so sore to touch all the time the painkillers don't get rid of that, I wonder if anyone on this site can tell me if there is anything to ease this, sorry to go on but just to say i am with you all the way.Wendylou :wink:
  • sjohns015
    sjohns015 Non-active member Posts: 7
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hello :)

    Up late again...

    Thanks for starting this thread, it would seem we can all relate to each other's descriptions! (No surprises there then ;) )

    I feel chained to a huge weight which I have to drag around - sometimes it is heavier than other times, and the chains are attached to different parts of my body - depending which hurts the most at the time. They're burning hot where they touch my skin and they have these awful spikes on them which stab me if I'm not careful. Sometimes the weight is above me, sometimes behind, and occasionally when I'm out walking, it stands in my path. When I lie down to take a rest from it, it lies down with me, taking the place of my pillow, or my mattress, and sometimes even the quilt.

    I might grab the old lady with her chisel so she can knock a few chunks off it! :P

    I hope the sun shines for you all tomorrow,

    Sarah x
  • mellman01
    mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi all thanks for all the replies it was good of you lot, ha went to surgoens the other day and had him bend my leg while pressing on my knee, now this has been done a few times to me by various medicle people, I guess he was expecting me to go through the roof but as normal I didn't, but instead as normal a few minutes after leaving my right knee started growling with a dull ache, this was with me all day then calmed down for a bit, since then I have started having a flare, this one however is similar to the last one(flare), that is not as painful but more drawn out, it also seems to fade in and out, last night it went away but came back to haunt me in the wee hours.
    Going back to the surgeon flexing my leg and knee, I worry that he didn't get the response he expected, all I can say is my OA has never been instantly painful, it always creeps in slowly and always some time after I have done something to upset it, and by the time it normally starts to become painful I have forgotten what it was that I did to set it off in the first place, it does me head in!.
  • cthornley
    cthornley Non-active member Posts: 627
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I always describe the pain like a truck running me over then reversing back over men whilst slowly baking me in a hot oven. The size of the truck varies as does the number of times it rolls over me depending how bad a day i'm having. I feel like my bones have been baked and crushed.
    The fatigue like running in glue unable to keep my eyes open - I used to do allnighters for days on end in the studio at uni and it never made me as tired as RA

    Chrissie
  • dorcas
    dorcas Member Posts: 3,516
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Wow mellman :!: what a great thread :!:

    It helps to read how others describe arther....
    on reading it, it made me feel like we are gathering ALL the information we can so that with all that 'intelligence' we can get ready do battle with him!

    I would describe arther as a snake with huge fangs...slithering around inside my body using my own pathways to hide and then inflict pain........so that when you try to get relief from one swollen, throbbing, aching, grinding joint he finds other routes to follow and reappears elsewhere biting, stabbing and injecting his pernicious poison. :x :shock:

    Iris x
  • mellman01
    mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi Iris I think your right were getting ready to do battle, well I am that's for sure, this flare is odd like the last one, less violent but really drawn out, still makes me really tired, can't keep my eyes open tapping this out. :roll:
  • gickygawky
    gickygawky Non-active member Posts: 478
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I think the volcano concept is really accurate, I will remember that one for future reference :)

    I haven't told anyone exactly how it hurts because I think it would freak them out.
    When it really gets going I feel as though my bones are literally rotting away inside me and one day I will wake up as a pile of Jello :shock:
    When my hands and feet hurt to the touch it feels like I don't have any skin covering them and everything is exposed.
    Touch wood - at the moment I am on good form and feel like a person again - long may it last


    Phylllis welcome to the forum!
    I am currently sitting in my house smack bang in the middle Lambeth enjoying the sun through my window!

    Arna

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