In constant pain, advice needed

[fedupandtired1]

please can anyone help me , I have rheumatoid arthritis which is very well
managed , I got diagnosed 3 years ago off osteoarthritis in both my knees my right being the most severe . My dr has been pretty rubbish , I got moved to a new surgery as my dr was retiring . I’ve just been left to get on with it. I have an appointment in Friday but with the nurse as no dr avalible . I’m in so much pain worse in the last 3 weeks . I can’t even kneel down anymore . I went swimming this morning to try and help the pain . I’ve also ordered weyjovy should be arriving today. As I’m 3 stone over weight and I know that won’t be help matters!
has anyone got any advice on how to basically live a more normal pain free life. I’m also a nurse I’m
waiting to start a new job on the nhs nurse bank as I can do shorter hours

Physio Op, it’s likely that strengthening around the hips and knees would help. If the pain is still high you
may need scanning, X-ray/mri to review the joint. How are your other joints? Any sign you’re in an ra flare?

The nhs runs some really good pain clinics. I have some ongoing pain from kidney issues that I cannot take medication for due to heart issues (I'm such a catch!😏)

Doctor sent me to our local pain clinic at the hospital and it was a complete revelation - I was a sceptic, but am no more. Some of the sessions were a bit more woowoo than others, but I really gained a lot of understanding on minimising pain.

I’m really tired but don’t feel like it’s a Ra flare up . I had really bad joint pain when I had covid last year . Also don’t think I have covid . Just feeling a bit down as it’s the worst it’s been. Hopefully get Ref for x- ray or similar to see what’s going on

Poor you, could you go somewhere warm and dry for a hot flop, I gather the climate can help. My husband's grandmother moved to the middle east as she found the climate beneficial.

Now that would be lovely , I live in Scotland so it says it all!

I have listened to loads of podcasts on pain. One stuck with me. He was a professor at Stanford. Apparently acupuncture works on pain but they don't fully understand why. I have had acupuncture in the past for sciatica and felt it helped. I wanted to try acupuncture but am wary and wanted an NHS practitioner. My GP would not refer me (you can get acupuncture in NHS and I did have it on NHS years ago) and I not keen to go private.

I am also interested in trying out hypnotherapy as I used it for a phobia o had and it was amazing. I thought it might help with pain perception (pain is felt in the brain) but am a little reluctant to pursue as I think there is a reason we feel pain. I am thinking I might just do it though as pain is relentless and I am fed up.

That’s certainly something to think about . At this stage I’m willing to give anything a go

Here is one podcast - https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-sean-mackey-tools-to-reduce-manage-pain

Try cutting out nightshade plants if you haven't already. Potatoes, pepper, chilis, aubergine and the worst culprit - tomatoes! You only have to give it a week or two and if it doesn't work, nothing lost.
Also, a super healthy low-fat, low-sugar low-carb, low-upf may help.

Edited to say: Can you wear heat patches on your knees? The cura-heat ones or similar

I did think about wearing the heartaches on my knees I think they would help. Even when driving my car my knees crack and are so painful . I live rurally so need to drive to get to nearest town.
i don’t really eat a lot of nightshade plants although saying that I cake with passata a lot . So will try cutting that out

• heat patches

I found a physio who did dry needling (what the nhs calls acupuncture)

he was pretty good

Me too, seems to work well on my kidney pain and joint pain too.

Meditation also helps me... as someone else said pain is a neurological response to inflammation.
so once your brain knows that "out loud", so to speak, it is interesting how you can decide to tune it out a bit.

I have had dry needling and it didn't work and in fact I think it might have made things worse. I don't think it's the same as acupuncture although lots of similarities. I do have a friend who found it amazing though.

Sorry you’re going through this. Since the pain has worsened recently, explain clearly to the nurse how much it’s affecting your mobility and ask about stronger pain relief, physiotherapy, or a specialist referral.
Gentle exercise like swimming, weight management, knee support, and supplements such as "Leafease" may help reduce joint pain.
If things don’t improve, push for a proper GP or rheumatology review rather than managing it alone.

Maybe try some tai chi

Ask for physio and get an x ray. It may be you need a knee replacement.

I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in my 20s.

Use anything and everything you can. Hot pads, cold pads, a TENS machine, pain killers, anti inflammatory drugs, physio and if you can get it hydrotherapy.

I find a hot bath works quite well for me in combination with the pills. I also spent well over £500 on a mattress and I pick furniture that is comfortable rather than because of how it looks.

You mentioned swimming, when I had hydrotherapy one of the exercises was to put arm bands on my feet and walk across the pool. You need to be at the edge to hold on as your feet will try to get away from you.

I've had rheumatoid for many years but last year I developed a really bad pain in my hip. I was certain it wasn't rheumatoid and my GP agreed. I've had an x-ray and it's osteoarthritis - I'm currently waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon. I would definitely push for an x-ray to see what's going on and then you can deal with it. Good luck with the weight oss, hopefully it will make a difference