early morning starts

polly1985
polly1985 Member Posts: 70
has anyone got any tips on how 2 reduce morning pain and stiffness? i have 2 get up really early jus so my body can unwind before i get 2 work i do 12 hour shifts and tired enough without havin 2 get up even earlier. i often have 2 walk 2 work 2,unless some1 i work with has a car and on same shift. walkin 2 work is a nitemare it is a 10min walk but can take me up to 30min 2 get there.

Comments

  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Polly,

    I'm at my best in the morning (unless I have a lie in! I love a lie in but my OA doesn't!!) I get progressively worse as the day goes on.

    Would a warm bath help get you moving? Or wheatie bags to warm up the muscles/joints a bit?

    The walk to work sounds a real problem - too expensive by taxi? Could you hire a scooter? Tie your shifts in with someone else? Use crutches/stick to take some of the weight off?

    Speedalong
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • polly1985
    polly1985 Member Posts: 70
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    hi speedalong thanks 4 ur reply.

    i live in a little town and this is goin 2 sound very very silly but i feel like taxi drivers will think im lazy as i dont live far from work. at home i do use a crutch some mornings an it does actually help, again jus a littly self concious bout goin out and about with it.

    im 25 an been told loads o times that nothin was wrong with me and i think that has stuck with me now even after diagnosis and think people will talk bout me. i live in a place that is famous 4 gossip. :oops:

    but i suppose i should give in an do wat makes it easier shouldnt i ??

    the bath is a bit difficult for me gettin in and out of in a morning, but i do love a good soak wheen i get home by then the pain is jus startin again but the bath eases it off, mayb i should do this everynite.

    i will try the heat tho, i have a bag that i can put in the micro.

    thank u 4 ur advice by u mentionin taxi's an cruthches it has made it easier in my mind that its mayb what i need. if people talk about me then at least i can fill a part of their day eh haha.
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Polly,

    someone else posted about people talking about them on another thread. The had an allocated disabled parking space at work and some peeps at the workplace were jealous!! There were lots of suggestions of how to handle it - you could start a new thread. One of the best was to smile broadly at peeps you meet and really look them in the eye.

    I'm waiting for a hip op (VERY soon now) and I had to resort to crutches when out a few months ago. Meant I walked better and could walk further. The first time you use them anywhere - people are curious and often ask/comment. I usually tell the truth, but it is what ever you are comfortable with. After that it is no longer embarrasing and people get used to seeing you with them and often ask how you are/make a joke (which I like)/ or offer some assistance.

    I'm older than you (43) but first had to use crutches whilst waiting for last hip op - I was in my late 20's then. I must say tho- I'm fine with metal crutches, but drew the line at a wooden walking stick - gracefully accepted it off physio and stuffed it at the back of the cupboard!! (No offence meant to anyone who uses one.)

    Speedalong
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • polly1985
    polly1985 Member Posts: 70
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    morning speedalong,

    haha i ended up NOT ]takin crutch 2 work last nite an really wish i had cos durin the nite i had 2 resort 2 a spare walkin stick an i can not use it i kept trippin up over it, oh me folk i was workin wi got a laugh and were very supportive.

    yeah i think i will post another thread bout co workers cos there r a certain few that r really gettin 2 me feel im bad 4 havin arthritis. cant believe how cruel and nasty some people can b.

    hope everythin goes well with ur op. when's it due? so u have had arthritis 4 quite a while? r u copin with ur pain at moment? im sure in some respects u cant wait (if thats right choice o words) 4 ur op. im presumin u will b in a lot less pain followin it. dont no much bout orthopaedics, when i done my nurse trainin that side really freaked me out so stayed away from that. nearly passed out workin wi a physio 4 a day. yuk. :oops:
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Polly, I really feel for you. I have had psoriatic arthritis for 14 years, (I started aged 37) but it wasn't diagnosed until 3.5 years ago. I too felt very self-conscious at first but now I don't care. If it helps, I use it, no matter what it is. I have a loo frame and a wide selection of crutches (walking sticks do not offer enough support now that both knees, both ankles and both feet are affected). I have a blue badge, and I think I'm right in saying that you can apply for one of these even if you don't drive. That helps whoever is driving you with parking. I am counting the days until my electric scooter - but that's a lot of days 'cos even I can't justify one of those yet. Thought about a bath lift, as I haven't had a bath since 1997 and I was never one for soaking anyway, but I've decided against it. According to the ads you have to wear a bathing costume when using one and as I can't swim anymore I gave mine away.

    Regarding gossip, well that's a difficult one. Just approach people directly about any problems you are facing and you will discover that either they haven't been talking about at all or they will be shamed into helping you.

    You are facing a tough time, but don't forget we are here to try to help. Good luck with it all. Dreamdaisy
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • oneday
    oneday Member Posts: 1,434
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    dont know if youve tried this or not....but is your bed actually comfy? or could it be comfyer so you arent as stiff? have you say a memory foam mattress or extra pillows etc etc...could you take a painkiller half an hour before you get out of bed?
    and get a taxi if you need one! the taxi driver i am sure would be pleased of the business..
    as for other people...i have no idea why other people behave so unreasonable towards people with disabilities...perhaps if you were crawling down the street,literally and screaming in agony they might sympathize...
    p.s. i am the one whos had grief about parking space!!!
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Polly, try your crutch at work - anything to make life easier. I'm sorry some peeps are less understanding than others. Might be worth leaving some leaflets lying around in the staff room...

    My op is next Wed!!! My pain is variable - at best in the background and at worst agonising. I'm looking forward to 3 to 6 months hence - when the op and the recovery period are over and I'm hopefully bionic again!! Your nursing and shadowing the physio story made me laugh. When I was a child I had quite a bit of surgery and when we moved from London we eventually started seeing a more local consultant ...the first time we met him my Mum was incredulous he was an ortho surgeon - he was of short and slight stature and she said she could not imagine him wielding a saw!!!

    Speedalong
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    According to the ads you have to wear a bathing costume when using one and as I can't swim anymore I gave mine away.

    Dreamdaisy - why do they say you have to wear a costume??

    In case there is a powercut and you have to be rescued by the fire brigade?!?! :roll: :oops: :lol:

    Speedalong
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • polly1985
    polly1985 Member Posts: 70
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    hi i quickly read replies when i got home from work whle on the phone 2 my mum (i have 2 speak 2 her everynite i get home from work or 3 or 4 times a day if im off as she gets very concerned about me - its sweet really but sometimes after a long 12 hour shift its the last thing i want 2 do) but anyway, side trackin there. but by time i got off phone i was 2 tired 2 do any thing but crawl in2 bed.

    but i was woken at 5am wi the pain, how wonderful 2 have an alarm clock like that on ur day off!! so i took my morning pain likkers then and tried 2 get back 2 sleep. when i did get up jus now well half 8, i must say i am not so sore, so thnk u so much for the advice of takin pills before rising.

    Also yest i braved it an took a crutch. i live on 1st floor flat and gettin down the stairs in a morning is a major battle. but the crutch helped so much. went in by the shop on way 2 work and i was asked what i had done. said it was my arthritis playin up, and assistant said oh and that was it,with a funny look on her face.
    went in 2 work (i actually met in with a friend half way 2 work so got a lift) and every1 i saw was like oh no wat ave u done. i said nothin it is 2 help with my arthritis as i find stairs and pavements really hard and made a joke sayin folk must think i am drunk gettin on an off pavements the way i stumble. an no one who was on said anythin, but they were the understandable 1s.

    i feel unless u have some thing wrong that they can actually c then some folks jus cant get their head around it. i cant believe that some people would cause an uproar over parkin, do these people have no common sence or feelings? i some some times think if they had 2 live wi the pain for 1 day then they mite not b so quick 2 judge or gossip.
  • oneday
    oneday Member Posts: 1,434
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    speedalong wrote:
    Hi Polly, try your crutch at work - anything to make life easier. I'm sorry some peeps are less understanding than others. Might be worth leaving some leaflets lying around in the staff room...

    My op is next Wed!!! My pain is variable - at best in the background and at worst agonising. I'm looking forward to 3 to 6 months hence - when the op and the recovery period are over and I'm hopefully bionic again!! Your nursing and shadowing the physio story made me laugh. When I was a child I had quite a bit of surgery and when we moved from London we eventually started seeing a more local consultant ...the first time we met him my Mum was incredulous he was an ortho surgeon - he was of short and slight stature and she said she could not imagine him wielding a saw!!!

    Speedalong

    good luck with your op.
  • polly1985
    polly1985 Member Posts: 70
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    dreamdaisy - i never realised u had 2 wear a cossie on the bathchair. How come? haha bet the fire men would enjoy them self.

    how long will u have 2 b in hosp 4 speedalong? let me no how u get on - but i dont want the gorey details as u no im a little squemish when it comes 2 bones. the thot o it is puttin shivers down me. not sure how i made it thru my trainin like im petrified o needles 2
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Polly - giving needles or having them?!

    Well done for using a crutch today - feels awkward at first, quickly get used to it. Worth getting a physio to check it is the optimum height for you etc

    Evidently if all goes well you are in hospital for 4 to 5 days if someone with you all the time at home - or if you will be home alone like me - 8 to 9 days ... bar complications etc

    Speedalong
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.