just wanted to say hi!

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urssy
urssy Member Posts: 3
edited 16. Nov 2011, 12:49 in Say Hello Archive
hello,
Nice to meet you all, Well, I was officially diagnosed with osteoarthritis last week, but that was quite a surprise as for years i was told i had a dodgy patella.

My story (in shortened form) started 30 years ago, I’m now 40.

At age 10 or 11 i whacked my knee and set off an out growing bone which grew to the size of a tennis ball by the time i was in my teens, always in pain, i suffered almost every day.

then aged 18 my knee which locked painfully, regularly seized. I had an operation to remove the bone which back then was done with a saw, and i had damage to my knee cap/ cartilage, knobbly growths were seen on x-rays down leg but left.

anyway as this is getting a bit like a novel i will cut out some stuff, but basically i have had 20 odd years of pain, usually sharp when bending, lots of cracking, crunching and grinding, sometimes sharp seizing.
Numerous visits to GP have resulted in physio, anti-inflammatory’s and such like.
But in all that time no x-rays!
so I demanded some help a couple of months ago pain can be quite awful now.

anyway results came back osteoarthritis and nodules on 'good' knee as both are now in pain.

feel a bit like, ok, now what, still have pain every day??

Advice from dr was lose weight, exercise and comfy shoes?
:shock:

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  • GraceB
    GraceB Member Posts: 1,595
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Urssy,
    Firstly, welcome to the forum.
    I'm not medically qualified but do have OA. I'm 46 and have OA in all my weight bearing joints and have had OA for the last 10 years. I've had a partial knee replacement in my right knee (2 yrs ago).
    Have you tried using a walking stick? You can get some very stylish ones these days. If your left knee is sorest hold the stick in your right hand; if the right knee is sorest hold the stick in your left hand. Doing this takes about one third of your weight off the joint. I regularly have cod liver oil capsules which help me although they don't always help everyone.
    Make sure you keep the joints moving but don't do anything that causes pain. Keeping the muscles strong will keep the joints moving.
    Have a small grab rail near your loo and entrance doors to your home - they can make such a difference. I've got a perching stool which I use for cooking/ironing with.
    It's very difficult to lose weight when you can't do weight bearing exercise. Swimming is good but don't do breast-stroke with dodgy knees!
    Keep posting on the forum - it's definitely helped me.
    Maintain a positive mental attitude and don't let this condition beat you!
    Take care,
    Grace.
    Turn a negative into a positive!
  • urssy
    urssy Member Posts: 3
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    **waves
    thank you so much Grace for your warm welcome and advice, I have taken it all on board :grin:
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