Hi everyone

Colston
Colston Member Posts: 3
edited 16. Dec 2018, 19:25 in Say Hello Archive
I'm 59 and a sports reporter with a local newspaper in Derby. Had a hip replacement at 50 and a partial knee replacement in May. The other knee will need doing.
I have recently discovered Versus Arthritis, read a lot of people's experiences and realised that other aches and pains I suffer - shoulders, hands, feet - are probably arthritis too.
I think I have a high pain threshold and I'm sure others suffer more than me. I'm not immobilised by any means. But my mum and dad were virtually immobile with arthritis before the end of their lives. I don't want to end up like that.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Colston
    Welcome to the forum, I to have had a hip replacement and 2 knees over the last 10 years,the hip is just a year old. Arthritis is a bane in everyone's life on this forum, but we all remain as positive as is possible and air our views quite often. Everyone on the forum is friendly and understanding and will try and help in any way to make you feel part of the forum the most popular forums are Living with Arthritis and Chit Chat
    All the best Christine
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello, it's nice to meet you and I am sorry you have had to find us. My parents couldn't be bothered to do all the things they passed on to me, bless them. I have psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis, I began aged 37 and will continue for the foreseeable future. :wink: I was refused new knees aged 52 due to extreme youth and now probably won't bother as everything else is worse.

    Of the two I prefer the OA because it is more honest in how it presents,
    it is predictablee and, to a certain degree, manageable. I know it will be worse in cold and damp weather but I can also aggravate it by eating too much acidic food and overdoing physical activity. I cannot do much about the first but certainly can about the other two. The PsA is a sly beast, plays by its own rules and is generally more unkind as it affects the whole body, not just specific joints. A barrel of laughs it is not but it is what it is and it will do what it will do. The meds for the PsA do nothing for the OA, for that I take 30/500 cocdamol as infrequently as I can so I have room to maneouvre when things are extra annoying.

    I managed to work for seventeen years but I was fortunate in that I was self-employed so could tailor things as required. I use a seated rollator when I am in town, mainly as a visible sign that I am not as steady on my feet as I might like so people usually make room. I have been working on my personal fitness for over a year, maybe not in a way that those without arthritis would class as exercise but what I do works for me: ten minutes of my life and they would be incapable of coherent thought let alone do anything . :lol:

    Pain is an individual thing, neural pathways are essential as they are the body's alarm system but, for the likes of us, to have the bonus of inefficient pathways is a blessing. I think mine are of the inefficient kind as I am able, despite pain, to keep my pain relief to the minimum whereas others are on the strong stuff from the word go. I also think pain is more apparent the fewer the number of affected joints, once mine became widespread I found life much easier.

    Right, my husband has returned with the papers so I am going back to bed to read them. Bliss. 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
    Yes, it must be a bit scary if your Mum and Dad both had bad arthritis. My husband panicked a lot at 69 as no-one in his family had ever made 70. (He's now 75 and considers himself immortal once again :roll: :lol: )

    It may well be that your other pains are arthritis. I hope not. X-rays might help. I don't suppose it's ever been suggested that you might have an autoimmune form of arthritis. I mention it as it can run in families. It might be worth having a blood test at least. They by no means tell the full story but, if it's been going on for some time, I think they can tell by x-rays. A blood test might confirm (or not) what the x-rays showed.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • Colston
    Colston Member Posts: 3
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks for the welcome, those of you above. I feel more positive just for finding the forum and the website, which might sound odd but I think you will all know what I mean :)