i am trying to find out how other cope with Osteoarthritis

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mills20061970
mills20061970 Member Posts: 21
edited 7. Oct 2015, 13:37 in Say Hello Archive
Hi everyone , I have Osetoarthritis and was wondering how you manage with the issues and the pain its causes.

I had it 6 years and I have been told by the NHS there nothing else that can be done , I don't sleep well maybe getting a hour here and there , in pain 24/7 a day .
the painkillers meds I am on don't seem to do there job , the pain management team don't help it got so bad I stop going to seeing them .

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  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Hello, I am sorry that you are finding managing things so difficult, I think you might have found out the hard way that there is only so much the doctors can do and that includes pain clinics. I went once but as they told me nothing I didn't already know or employ I didn't bother again.

    I count myself fortunate in that I have my OA as a result of the damage caused by my other arthritis - at least I understand why it's happened. Life also became easier when I finally forgot about having parts of me which were pain-free. Learning to live with pain is far from easy but has to be done if we wish to make the most of what we have.

    I find distraction my best friend, I know that if I concentrate on the pain, where it is and how it feels, it immediately escalates: if I ignore it, it still grumbles away but at a much lower level. I take four 30/500 cocodamol per day, of course they don't remove the pain but they dull the sharper edges enough for me to do what needs to be done. Life carries on regardless of arthritis and so it should.

    I hope you are able to take some time to read the wide variety of threads on the forum, especially on the Living with Arthritis board. People with troubles very much like yours are there so please post again, perhaps with a little more detail about the meds you are taking, the exercise you are doing etc. Not many look in on here and you may find some further hints and tips to help you cope. I wish you well. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • emmaadams
    emmaadams Member Posts: 140
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Hi mills i have OA in my knees, hips and lower back. as well as nerve damage . .. i am on 8x paracetemeol/dihydracodine and1800mg of gabapentin(nerve damage) each day for my pain .. what meds have you been prescribed ?? the only thing i can suggest if they are not working is to ask your GP if there is anything else they can give you .. it took me a while to get my pain under control and these seem to be working for now.. it doesn't take it away but it certainly dulls the pain and makes daily life more bearable..

    have you tried physio ?? its painful some times but it does work


    i hope you feel better soon and your GP manages to sort out some pain meds for you xx


    Emma xx
  • mills20061970
    mills20061970 Member Posts: 21
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I have the pleasure of taking the following pain killers.

    2x30/500ml Co codamol every 4hrs, 2 x10ml Zomorph every 12hrs , 2x2.5mlof Oramoph liquid every 3 hrs .

    I had 6 years of Physio , but it seems to cause me more issues, I now been sign off by Government doctors and have been medical retired due to the damage.

    The pain doubles when it rains or very cold or snowing, and now on top of that I found I am now type 1 diabetes to deal with.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    You're already on the strong stuff which leaves little room for manoeuvre. Have you discussed pain patches with your GP? They may be a different way to achieve some relief but any relief the docs can offer is limited in its capabilities. I think the hardest thing to come to terms with is that pain relief is anything but, especially if one is seeking being pain-free (which doesn't exists, not in our world). I coined the term 'pain dullers' because that is what they all do, they dull the sharper edges but no more.

    Pain is a warning mechanism and for the majority of healthy people it's something that ends once the cause of the pain is corrected. We do not necessarily have that option available to us although having the right sort of arthritis in the right kind of joints can lead to replacement surgery and a definite decrease in pain. I am up to around forty affected joints now, every move I make hurts something somewhere but so what? It may slow me down but it is not going to beat me, not a regular basis. It's all kicking off on the OA front at the moment thanks to the weather but that is usual and I know what to do to cope with it: do a little less and rest a little more. I did the same in the summer when the other arthritis had a moan thanks to the heat - it's fun being me!

    When I was diagnosed with OA on top of the other I plunged into depression and my GP was more than happy to offer me anti-depressants. My plan was to take them for around three months then, having come to terms with things, ease my way off them. My rheumatologist disagreed and I can now understand why: when stronger mentally one can cope better with the day-in-day-out nature of grinding pain.

    I am retired but my husband isn't so I still have a household to run, chores to do, friends to meet so all of that gets me up and going in the morning. I think females are better equipped to cope with setbacks in life, we're used to spells of pain every now and again and learn early on that the world doesn't stop because we're below par. We also have fewer pain receptors than males - when you feel pain you FEEL pain - we go 'ho-hum, time to cook the dinner.'

    Please read the forum, especially the Living with Arthritis board, more people hang out on there and you will learn far more about coping than just from those who reply on here. Ultimately it's down (or up) to us - there's only so much the medicos can do, the rest is in our hands. We have choices and my choice is to get up and go regardless of the arthritis but, after nineteen years of this malarkey, I have learned when I have to give in and I do because then worse times don't linger as long. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,712
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Hello mills20061970 and welcome from me too :) Like DD I have two forms of arthritis and have had the RA since I was 15 so I've had plenty of time to learn how to deal with it.

    There are things that 'can be done' but not so much by the docs as by ourselves. We have to keep exercising. Yes, it hurts but it keeps the muscles strong. Strong muscles support joints whereas weak ones don't so the pain is increased. Distracting ourselves from pain is also good. After an operation I was able to postpone my pain relief for an hour or two by just concentrating on dull games, reading, watching TV – anything to take my mind off it. Pain meds, on the other hand, as you've discovered, are not a solution. We end up on more and more doing less and less. I prefer the pain. I know where I am with it. Though, obviously, there are times and places for the meds.

    You are very unfortunate to contract Type 1 diabetes as an adult as it's usually children who get this type whereas adults more usually have Type 2. Type 1 (unlike Type 2) is an autoimmune disease. Has anyone ever suggested that your arthritis might be autoimmune in origin rather than OA? There's often a genetic component to autoimmune diseases. Do any family members have any?

    Please join us on Living With Arthritis and Chit Chat. We all understand the pain and difficulties and support each other. Near the top of that forum you'll find a thread 'Ideas to make life easier' which does what it says. Also you might find Arthritis Care's Pathway through Arthritis course useful. http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Selfmanagement/pathway-through-arthritis
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • OliverT
    OliverT Member Posts: 26
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    If it's got to that stage then I'd be looking at anything else out there. Ask to attend a pain clinic or for a few sessions seeing a pain nurse, there are often programs available for those living with chronic pain, do Tai Chi - or Chi Gung (also known as Qi Gong), meditation, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can also be very effective, go swimming if you can - or just blob around in a pool if you're not able to swim - it'll all help.

    Ask yourself and anyone else around you if there are any other things you can do - there might well be.
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