Arthritis

[becslb]

Hi all

I've been having problems with my hands, wrists and elbows - achey pain and stiffness mainly with difficulty using my hands at times - I've seen the GP and have started anti-inflammatories and have to have a blood test for various things - one of which is to look for markers of rheumatiod arthritis. There is a strong history of RA in my family.

So at the moment we are unsure if I have RA and what the problem actually is though the GP seemed to think RA was most likely. I know from reading threads here that some of you suffer with achey bones and arthritis and other problems and just wondered if you had any good tips on managing with joint pain? How do you keep up with the lottie and other stuff?

[arpoet]

I started with arthritus in my hand way back in the 60s following a bad accident which left me with severe pain and very limited use.
Over the years its got into many of my joints, but the physio way back then gave me some good advice: DONT LET PAIN WIN! She told me to keep the joints moving at all costs.

I had the hand rebuilt again a few years ago and got the praise from the surgeon for keeping it supple... the pain clinic gave me the same advice: Dont Let Pain Win!

When its a nice day get out in the garden and get sun on your joints, even in winter. Pace yourself with the jobs you do, and dont slink away from pain.. anti-inflammatories are ok in the short term, but can cause upset to the stomach and digestion. Heat packs, when the joints get cold work well ( i use a wheat bag heated in the microwave ) so does TENS machines.
Daily Vitamin D helps as do cod liver oil capsuls.

If my pain gets bad i take paracetomals for a few days until i manage to come to terms with it. Over the years you can learn to ignore pain and build up a higher pain threshold.
Hope this helps.
Roger

[Nicos]

I think we need to be very careful here peeps.
OA and RA are totally different things
One is wear and tear of the joint- the other is an inflamation of the soft tissue around the joint.
Both are treated totally differently with drugs and whether you need to rest the joint or gently stretch it.

Until you have a definate diagnosis becslb...tis best not to ask for advice.
If you have active RA then on no account must you work the joint and ignore the pain....

I'm going to lock this thread as I'm sure many peeps will want to share their tips...but you really need to know exactly what your diagnosis is becslb -or you risk making things much, much worse
Hope you get it sorted soon x