Managing Arthritis

Hello, I have psoriatic and osteoarthritis and have not yet had any replacements as yet: I was refused new knees eight years ago because I was too young (I was 52) and now everything is worse I won't be bothering as the potential benefit is greatly reduced.

Some joints have one kind, some the other and others both: my knees have both kinds, my toes have the psoriatic and the hips and ankles are purely OA. Of the two I prefer the OA because it is far more honest in how it presents, I know when it is going to play up and, although there isn't much I can do in the face of the weather, at least the nonsense is localised to specific joints whereas the PsA beast affects my whole body. I keep my pain relief to the minimum (30/500 cocodamol, usually four per day) so I have room to maneouvre when needed and am a firm believer in distraction - if my mind is not focused on the pain I do not feel it as acutely. I am lucky in that I have always been unwell so used to managing cruddy stuff, I learned valuable lessons a a child when the meds did not exist and one had to make do as best one could, a good foundation for my adult life.

I think rest is important as is exercise of the right kind, the stronger the muscles surrounding the joint the better they can support it. The best kind is non-weight-bearing such as cycling and swimming, I belong to a gym and use the cross-trainer and a treadmill: I cannot cycle as the joint damage to the knees restricts the bend I can achieve and the pedals cannot be adjusted.

I wish you well with your second replacement and I hope it greatly improves the quality of your life, please let us know how you get on. DD