Question Re Arthritis pain

Maturecheese
Maturecheese Member Posts: 130
edited 11. Aug 2018, 15:01 in Living with Arthritis archive
I am going to ask a question on here as , and I'm sure you know this, I rarely get the time to ask the professionals. When the medication finally starts to work and heaven knows when that will be, will I be pain free and able to pursue such pastimes as golf.

Currently the symptoms are back with a vengeance and I was wrong to think that the meds were starting to work, it was obviously the Prednisolone in my system :( .

On Monday I took painkillers and went off and played 9 holes, with some pain I might add and a detrimental affect on my game, only to pay for it later, and the next day. Because of this I didn't go on Wednesday but I am considering going tomorrow as it's the only meaningful exercise I get. Golf was supposed to be a more relaxed replacement for the 3 times a week up the gym and also something I enjoy doing plus (being the tight fisted git I am :) )I am loath not to go as I have paid a years membership and want to get value for money. (I know my health is more important than money) I am due to see the consultant on the 11th of September whereby I think he will add another DMARD so that I will be on a triple med regime so I have to hope that'll work and I can then get on with life.

Comments

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    No worries about asking questions, MC, as that 's what we're here for. The answers are a bit more problematic, though.

    For a start, I wouldn't lump together 'pain free' and ' able to pursue such pastimes as golf'. I know things are better now than in the bad old days when I was diagnosed but I would never consider 'pain free' to be an option with arthritis. In fact I think the pursuit of it is positively dangerous as it leads to more and stronger meds. My take on this disease is to find an acceptable level of pain and try to stick with it with the aid of as few pain meds as possible. Golf, however? I don't know. It looks pretty strenuous to me but international golfer Phil Mickleson has had PsA for some years - plus, I'd guess, the best treatments, physio etc that money can buy. But he's still on top of it.

    I am married to a golfer and I come from Yorkshire so I understand tight-fisted too. My golfer now has OA in both hips but still manages 18 holes a week in summer and a few less in winter. Occasionally he'll have a lesson with the pro to see how to circumnavigate certain actions that are bad for him. He plays for fun, though, and not competitively. I guess it's only a relaxation if one is relaxed about it.

    Go gently with it (You don't have to do a full round) until you can ask your consultant. I hope his answer is the right one and that things will improve one way or another.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Many activities are painful and come with risk of injury for those without arthritis, but people still pursue them, either as a way to earn a living or for pleasure. Ballet and horseracing spring to mind. For those with arthritis those same motivations will still exist, but there are additional considerations in weighing up 'is it worth it'. Risk of injury to already damaged joints is one such, compromised health as a result of medication(affecting healing etc) is another. It is up to the individual to weigh up the facts and decide where the balance lies. As always there can be a fine line between not allowing the disease to dictate your life, and being pig-headed to the detriment of your well-being. Remaining open-minded about different ways of doing things and alternatives to the chosen activity will be more useful as a way of coping with restrictions.
  • Buka
    Buka Member Posts: 43
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    After 18 years of RA I have experienced the highs and lows of all it has to offer regarding pain. I have had some really good years and some really bad ones. From initial diagnosis, it took a few years to get the medication right and life was pretty dire. When they did find the right meds I felt like I was on a holiday from pain for 2 years. I then felt well enough for surgery on my very badly deformed feet. Surgery went really well but when I went back on the medication again (you have to stop for any surgery) it didn't work and there followed another two years of feeling lousy and trying various new treatments. But in 2013 we finally got it back to that happy place again and I got back on my bike and rode 20kms to celebrate. Five years later and probably no more than 3 or 4 flares (short lived - 3 days) I'm still pretty comfortable in general. I've got rheumatoid lung disease now so exercise is difficult for me but I'm not in that agonising pain anymore and life is good (would be a bit better if i could breathe). So there is hope for us all that although this horrible disease throws everything at us there can be better moments and sometimes for some of us they can last quite a while. I hope eventually this will be the case for you. I consider myself extremely lucky compared to many of the others on this forum and I know that some people are always in pain and it doesn't change for them. I just wanted you to know that it can happen that life gets easier for some of us. Let's hope you're lucky too!
  • Maturecheese
    Maturecheese Member Posts: 130
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks for the replies. First of all I should point out that until recently golf was hardly a strenuous pastime and I used to work out like a lunatic up the gym. My main worry is lack of exercise and golf seemed the way to go as lets face it you have to enjoy exercise or it's hard to motivate oneself to do it. Without exercise I am going to get flabby and it's the last thing I want and it would make the nine years of effort before this illness pretty pointless.

    Regarding painkillers I am being pretty good as I only generally take 1 1/2 to 2 paracetemols and a codeine in the morning and get through til bedtime until I take two more codeines as they help me sleep. The best pain killer I know is prednisolone but alas we can't take that for long can we.

    I am asuming that most of the worst pain and other ailments like tiredness and general under the weather feelings will be dealt with by the DMARDS or there doesn't seem much point in taking them.

    Lastly I appreciate the advice from those of you who have put up with this malarkey a lot longer than me and had to endure more than me also. I will endeavour to put a list of questions together for the consultant on the 11th sept and try to make sure he gives me the time to answer them.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    In my experience the DMARDs have done one thing which is control disease activity and that is essential if one is to avoid joint deformity. If one is fortunate they can also reduce pain levels, and I am sure that for many they do, but you won't find them on here as they rightly assume that it's the same for everyone. Twerps. :lol:

    I rarely think back to my early days of this dross because that's futile, pointless and why make things more miserable than they are? I am reasonably sure, however, that pain was more prominent because it was localised in one joint. This must be very hard for you as you have no preparation for this life-changing event whatsoever. I know I wouldn't know what to do with myself if the 'gift' of good health was suddenly applied to me. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I agree it's much easier to exercise if one is enjoying it but I've had to change what I do several times and have come to enjoy whatever I'm currently doing. Also, the benefits you gained from your previous exercise regime are probably helping you cope now though the latest thinking is that too much exercise is actually bad for us https://tinyurl.com/yav57hcp . (I don't think any of us on here are in danger of that, though, thanks to good old arthritis :wink: The purpose of exercise, for us, is not to enjoy it per se but to enable us to enjoy the rest of our lives much more.

    The purpose of DMARDS is to control the disease. This will happen to a greater or lesser extent. They are not designed to relieve pain though, obviously, if the disease is under control, things will twang less. But to think only in terms of pain is to miss the point. If the disease is controlled the damage and deterioration will happen much less quickly. My own OA came about precisely because there were no effective DMARDS back in the '60s when I was first diagnosed, so everything went 'a over t' very quickly and OA set in. I really don't recommend it :wink:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • Maturecheese
    Maturecheese Member Posts: 130
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Well I managed golf yesterday, only 9 holes mind, without any payback as in no more aches and pains than normal so can't complain. Funny thing is though another time it'll be different and I will get a downside so I guess this arthritis thing likes to keep us guessing.