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Linda · 1. Aug 2018, 00:31

I have so many questions that I need help with and no where to go. when I asked my GP to refer me to rheumatology she said you’ve got arthritis, live with it. Questions like can you have to much excersise?

stickywicket · 1. Aug 2018, 05:23

Hi Linda and welcome from me too

It can be quite distressing if we feel docs are not taking us seriously when we're in a lót of pain. I'm guessing that you've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and rheumatologists don't usually deal with OA. It is GPs who do. Where do you have arthritis and how was it diagnosed?

As Sharon has mentioned, there's quite a lot of info on here about all aspects of arthritis if you just look at the top menus. And we will gladly help with any questions you may have. It's best to ask on the Living With Arthritis forum as more people look in there.

As for exercise, I really don't know where I'd be today without it. It's essential. It keeps our muscles strong. Strong muscles support the joints and so they hurt less and stay in better condition for longer. Can we do too much? Of course. It's like everything else that's good for us. Food, sleep etc are good for us in moderation but we can have too much. We have to start slowly and build up. Little and often is much better than one big effort which wipes us out for the rest of the day. It can be painful but, as long as the pain doesn't last for too long after we finish, we're doing OK. Perhaps your GP could refer you to a physiotherapist who would give you exercises and watch to ensure you're doing them correctly.

Stick with us and we'll try to help

Linda · 1. Aug 2018, 06:19

Thanks for your replies.
In the late nineties I was under a rheumatologist who removed the fluid from my knee and injected steroid with wonderful affect.
This was done as and when nessasary.
In 2010 I had a knee replacement followed by the other knee in 2012. Both knees are a huge success. I was asked if I wanted to come back periodically for a checkup and like an idiot I said no I didn’t think I’d need to!
So now a different town,Dr and hospital area. I find a large brick wall.
My joints are all getting very stiff. I swim four mornings a week for thirty minutes very fast, crawl and backstroke, without stopping then Sauna. I walk the dog between one and four miles daily. Having heard the expression’use it or loose it’.
We were in Scotland last weekend and I woke up unable to move my lower legs, the pain was unbearable and the lack of mobility lasted about five hours. My husband gave me a fireman’s lift to the car, he’s 68, I swear I heard Bonnie Tyler singing “ get me a hero”

Then we drove the four hours home and I finally was able to walk with two sticks.
My GP sent me for knee X-rays and now I have an up two four week wait for the results. In the mean time my legs are back to what passes for normal with me😊

stickywicket · 1. Aug 2018, 14:03

Oh dear! This all sounds way outside my experience.

I wonder, do you have OA or an autoimmune form of arthritis? What I find puzzling is that you seem to have been under a rheumatologist for OA. If you had RA or another inflammatory form of arthritis you'd have been given Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDS) but that doesn't seem to have been the case. I don't think it's usual for rheumatologists to drain knees and administer steroid jabs nowadays. I think GPs usually do that. Or trained nurses.

Yes, it can work very well for some but there is a limit to how many / often we can have the steroid jabs because they can do harm as well as good. I don't think they would do anything for TKRs (replacement knees).

I presume it was the orthopaedic surgeon who suggested you might have regular checks? I've had both knees and hips replaced and, although I see the rheumatologist regularly for my RA, it's the orthopaedic surgeon whom I see regularly for check-ups on my replaced joints.

I really can't explain the sudden loss of movement in your lower legs. I've never had that. Certainly I've had a lot of pain before my knees were replaced and also when one of the replacements needed replacing but I could still walk albeit with a lot of difficulty and pain. Nor can I explain the return of movement. For me, once it's gone, it's gone. I think your GP has done the right thing, though, in sending for x-rays. They should show if all is well with your TKRs.

You are certainly doing plenty of exercise – more than I've done in years. If you are used to it and having no after-effects I guess it should be OK but do listen to your body. There might be times when you have to cut back temporarily. Could you have overdone things while on holiday? That would make the most sense to me.

dreamdaisy · 2. Aug 2018, 02:10

Hello, I'm one of the lucky ones in the arthritis lottery, I have an auto-immune version (psoriatic, PsA) which in turn led to osteoarthritis: some joints have one, some the other and others both. I began with one joint back in 1997, now it's around forty. The meds for the former do nothing to help the latter which is no surprise. I had my knees drained a number of times but the inflammation returned as the steroids were ineffective (the tablet ones weren't but that's another story).

With OA there is a certain amount of 'put up and shut up' involved because there is very little that GPs can do. Pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication plus a referral to physio is the norm, followed by a referral to orthopaedics when the time comes (and if the right kinds of joints are involved). My GP ignores the PsA and my rheumatologist ignores the OA. I can't ignore either.

It's been years since I walked miles, I am able to manage a kilometre or thereabouts but that's it. Mind you that's unassisted walking, for any distance (even when shopping) I use my rollator which means I can go further, do more and have a sit down. I was refused new knees when I was 52, now seven years on things are worse but I'm used to it. I have been working with a personal trainer for the past year and that has made a big difference in terms of my muscle strength and stamina.

Exercise is good but be careful to not overdo it. Your body is telling you that something is amiss so don't force it to do what it has been able to do because that won't help it get (or do) better. You are also getting older which also has an impact. My PsA began when I was 37, the OA was diagnosed when I was 52 and I am now 59. Things are deteriorating steadily but that happens to everyone, arthritic or not.

Do you have any other kind of auto-immune health issues? Does anyone in your family have RA, AS or any of the roughly three hundred kinds of auto-immune inflammatory conditions? Have you asked the GP for blood tests to check for an auto-immune kind? They are not necessarily indicative but they can be a starting point for further investigations. GPs know a little about a lot, you may need to see someone who knows a lot about a little. DD

Linda · 2. Aug 2018, 11:38

stickywicket wrote:

Oh dear! This all sounds way outside my experience.

I wonder, do you have OA or an autoimmune form of arthritis? What I find puzzling is that you seem to have been under a rheumatologist for OA. If you had RA or another inflammatory form of arthritis you'd have been given Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDS) but that doesn't seem to have been the case. I don't think it's usual for rheumatologists to drain knees and administer steroid jabs nowadays. I think GPs usually do that. Or trained nurses.

Yes, it can work very well for some but there is a limit to how many / often we can have the steroid jabs because they can do harm as well as good. I don't think they would do anything for TKRs (replacement knees).

I presume it was the orthopaedic surgeon who suggested you might have regular checks? I've had both knees and hips replaced and, although I see the rheumatologist regularly for my RA, it's the orthopaedic surgeon whom I see regularly for check-ups on my replaced joints.

I really can't explain the sudden loss of movement in your lower legs. I've never had that. Certainly I've had a lot of pain before my knees were replaced and also when one of the replacements needed replacing but I could still walk albeit with a lot of difficulty and pain. Nor can I explain the return of movement. For me, once it's gone, it's gone. I think your GP has done the right thing, though, in sending for x-rays. They should show if all is well with your TKRs.

You are certainly doing plenty of exercise – more than I've done in years. If you are used to it and having no after-effects I guess it should be OK but do listen to your body. There might be times when you have to cut back temporarily. Could you have overdone things while on holiday? That would make the most sense to me.

[Deleted User] · 2. Aug 2018, 15:54

Hi Linda
the best way to reply to a post is to use the button at the bottom on the left marked 'reply to topic' it helps you avoid long quotes
Best Wishes
Sharon

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