Re: New member hello

Tracie
Tracie Member Posts: 57
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:04 in Living with arthritis
Hi just a couple of questions as you have all been so kind. Do most of you get flare ups with oestoatheritis? Or have pain most of the time?
I have been recommended by pain management to take the supplement magnesium 400 mg? As well as other drugs .
Was wondering if any one could share their experiences.
Thank you in advance
Tracie new member

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    My OA does not flare, it merely worsens in cold and damp weather or if/when I am stupid in overdoing things, which more commonly happens in the spring and summer when it is not so much of a bother. Any inflammation that comes with the aggravation is localised and disperses within hours with rest. The only supplement I take is VitD with calcium.

    Pain is constant, worsens when I aggravate my joints or they are aggravated by weather and returns to usual levels when I rest. It never stops which makes it easier to deal with. I deal with it by taking pain relief (30/500 cocdamol) and distraction, occupyng my mind with other things. Pain causes tiredness as my body has to work harder to achieve less as time passes. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Tracie
    Tracie Member Posts: 57
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Good morning sorry to hear about your pain with oa. How long have you had the disease? I have def noticed pain gets worse with damp weather.
    My pain is morning eases during the day still in the background tho def worse in the evening.
    I think naproxen helps n amitriptyline def helps me sleep at night. I have just started magnesium so fingers crossed.
    My dr said my oa pain in joints will calm down it's a flare up so bit confused as reading other peoples experiences they have pain all the time 😥
    I am very new to all this only diagnosed 2 weeks ago

    Tracie
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Tracie you are, indeed, very new to it and I think you're coping brilliantly but do be gentle with yourself as this will take some getting used to.

    I think the idea of magnesium is to try to strengthen your joints and cartilage. I don't know if that will help with the pai but it should make the future a bit brighter.

    I think the question of pain is a difficult one and, to some extent, personal as we all experience it differently. Certainly it has been shown that concentrating on it makes it feel worse so the more we can shove it to the background the better.

    Will it go? That's a tough one. Like DD I have two forms of arthritis. The RA damage caused the OA. Because so much damage has been done I never think of 'painfree' as an option but, on the other hand, my husband is currently awaiting a new hip due to OA. For years he's mentioned twinges and sometimes pain but has continued with a very active lifestyle - golf, walking, gardening. By the time he saw the doc and had an x-ray he was bone on bone and immediately offered a new hip. I think the reason he's had such little pain for so long is because of all his exercise. His muscles are strong so they support his joints well. That means less pain.

    Please only exercise according to what your physio recommends but I really do believe in its value. I'm in a much worse state than him but exercises have helped and do help me to maintain an accceptable level of fitness( :?: :lol: ) and reduced pain.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    My OA was diagnosed in 2011 but it had probably been grumbling away for ages before, hiding behind the skirts of the other. My other arthritis began back in 1997 when I was 37 but was not accurately disagnosed until 2006. I was already on the right meds so that changed nothing.

    There are between eight and ten million people with arthritis in the UK and the most common form is OA. It often results from joint trauma, given your history of back troubles that could be why it has begun with you. When we feel pain in one place we naturally change how we move etc. in an effort to reduce pain but only succeed in throwing other joints out of kilter, causing further troubles.

    Any form of arthritis is progressive and degenerative. For many people OA is part of the ageing process, it kinda comes with the territory of getting older, but for others such as you and me, it starts when we think and feel we are too young for it. Arthritis of any kind has no respect for age or gender, the auto-immune kinds can begin in babies and people in their 20s are being diagnosed with osteoarthritis. It is hard living with a condition that cannot be cured, merely managed and endured and it is also hard living with other people's ignorance about it.

    I am in a different situation to you as I have an auto-immune kind too which means I must not take immune-system boosters. Doctors advise on an individual basis, what is right for one person may not be right for another so we cannot advise about meds etc. I have been offered amytryp to help me sleep but more meds is not an answer for me; I have been taking daily medication since the age of twelve so know its limitations.

    Looking back over my years the pain was more apparent when not many joints were affected, as more and more joined in being pain-free anywhere stopped being an option and so life became easier. I personally feel the word 'flare' is often misused by those who do not have an auto-immune arthritis, my OA pain is constant but worsens for the reasons stated before. When my PsA flares it is a very different experience and has needed medical intervention to deal with its results. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Tracie
    Tracie Member Posts: 57
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Wow thank you both so much for sharing your experience s and advice. So much to think about. I do try not to keep busy and positive I think it def is half the battle. I am the sort of person who will go 100 miles a hour at something so again thank you I need to slow down not to go mad .
    Tracie
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,336
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Tracie it took me years to slow down and I still go at things hell for leather sometimes!!

    Be kind to yourself and take your time you will adjust trust me.

    I have to agree being positive is always a good thing and definitely helps as does finding things you enjoy/can do to distract yourself.

    Along with eating as healthily as possible and whatever exercise you can manage.

    I believe - although I am having trouble getting evidence for you! - that OA does flare from time to time. This is from the Nice guidelines "... Pain and other symptoms can often flare up and settle back down again.." https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoarthritis/symptoms/ This article by Versus Arthritis tells you that OA can worsen due to all sorts of things - for some even weather. "... may find they have several phases of moderate joint pain with improvements in between...." https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/


    Keep on as you are Tracie you're doing fine. Keep coming in here too chatting to others and getting tips can be really useful.

    Best of luck

    Toni xxx