OA and tendonitis

System
System Administrator Posts: 46
edited 14. Apr 2020, 14:11 in Living with arthritis
I've moved your discussion to the Living with Arthritis section Gonzo
Yvonne x

Comments

  • GONZO
    GONZO Member Posts: 2

    Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to the forum & hope all's going well with lockdown .My journey with the invisible pain started on 5th March 2019 when I had to call into work sick as I could not walk.After the 2 week wait to see the Doc who sent me for x-rays on my knees I was then passed onto a physiotherapist but physio just made the knees & quadriceps worse , so after a bit of digging about with a private healthcare insurance through work I was given a choice of 11 orthopaedic consultants. After picking the 1 best for me I was given a MRI scan & a x-ray. I'n june 2019 the consultant told me due to My work I had patellar tendonitis on my left knee , quadricep tendinitis on my right knee which was down to the job I was doing & just to finish my day off osteoarthritis in both hips.My employer was not concerned & paid me 3 weeks sick money then I was put onto statutory SICK pay for 28 weeks , dragged into long term sickness management meeting every 4 weeks , then made to see a works nurse who advised them in August 2019 I would be off at least another 6 to 12 months them my sick pay was maxed out & I was then put on ESA.The DWP still require a Docs sick note every 3 months & my employers still wanted meetings every 4 weeks + a sick note even though they had not paid me for months & just to run a bit of salt in the sounds sacked me for gross misconduct on the 17/01/20 for not receiving a sick note & missing meetings with management even though their nurse had given them a written report advising I would be off.

    Any person who does not suffer from the OA & tendonitis would not understand the pain that gets you day & might , sleeping is a Knapp here & there 2 hours MAX day in day out. Naproxen does work for a hour or so I stopped taking it & put up with the pain which I try to control by diet , no dairy etc I found suits me. Exercise is a struggle from my hips down but I do eccentric exercise routinely for my upper body , press ups against the stairs so I'm not on the floor else I couldn't get back up & a resistance band I use for stretching. As for getting out & about for a walk in doing about 2000 STEPS once a week that takes me about 30 minutes which is a downer because fit & working I would do 20000 & manually be moving 100+ tonne each 10 hour shift any 4 from 7 days so being down to my level now has been hell that has turned me into a right miserable old git of 57 . That's my first of many rants any comments or advice welcome👍Take care everyone & stay home , all the best Gonzo👍✊

  • YvonneH
    YvonneH Member Posts: 1,075
    edited 14. Apr 2020, 14:34

    Hi Gonzo,

    Welcome to the forum, I'm glad you have found us, although we can't get your job back or make you well we do understand and many of us have gone through similar experiences when having to give up work early - we believe you, maybe between us we can still find a way forward.

    Did the consultant not suggest any treatment? is the thinking that the tendons will repair themselves now you are not stressing them in the particular way you did at work?

    Here is our factsheet about osteoarthritis of the hips which should be useful

    It sounds wrong but exercise is really important to keep the muscles around the joints in the best position possible, and if you eventually need new hip joints having strong muscles is a big aid in recovery. It's very hard to go from a fit active person to one in pain routinely, it affects you mentally too as you grieve for what you had before.

    You could see if you could get a telephone appointment with your GP to see about medication to help, some over the counter medications can be helpful too, you might find a warm bath or heat helpful, others prefer cold to reduce inflammation eg in the tendon

    If you feel you would benefit from talking to someone who understands your condition then ring our helpline, they are open from 9am - 8pm Mon-Fri on 0800 5200 520

    Take care

    Yvonne x

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520

    I have psoriatic and osteoarthritis and do occasionally get blasts of Achilles tendonitis and plantaar fasciitis, all caused by my failure to keep up with the stretches I need to do regularly to keep them at bay. I do them, things feel better, I stop doing them, it comes back: I'm sure I will learn one day.

    I have around forty affected joints and know that exercise is key but it has to be the right kind, little and often. I began arthritis 24 years ago and retired around six years ago but I was self-employed which was a boon. OK, so I earned nothing for weeks or months at a time after operations but you prepare for the rainy days. It must be harder for those who are at the beck-and-call of employers who, naturally, require reliable employees. Reliability and arthritis do not go together but they should not be mutually exclusive. The world may be slightly different after covid. We can hope. DD

    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • GONZO
    GONZO Member Posts: 2

    Hi yvonneH

    The consultant wanted to try shock wave therapy on my knees but being fired meant no health insurance & private treatment worked out at £200 a session ,once a month over 18 months so when DWP pay me £134 fortnightly it was a non starter for me. Evasive surgery was the final option that involved drilling holes into my kneecap & stitching the tendons to it. Even rested there has been no improvements as with the hips + when I was blood tested type 2 diabetes showed up . Naproxen as you know can really do your stomach damage if taken over long periods.Lucky for me I can usually escape to Spain & stay at my brother's but c19 ended that at the moment which is a shame as the weather really does help + codien from the chemist over there really does numb the pain in both the knees & hips.As for my GP they just seem happy to give me a sick note every 3 months at the moment, been not much help at all but heyho I suppose it's just a waiting game nowadays but having never been in hospital before & having no previous health problems & not really wanting to it suits me.I excersice every other day as endorphins give me quite a buzz plus having a routine is important for the mind but some days i can't be bothered & just potter about the house 😤All the best Gonzo👍