Talk to me about arthritis - in humans this time, not cats!

[ImnotMamaGbutsheLovesMe]

Symptoms?
Hereditary?
Onset age?
Ways to make it clear up/hurt less, etc

TIA.

different types

auto-immune -- rheumatoid / psoriatic etc
and osteo

different reasons some genetic (particularly with auto-immune), some age, some trauma

onset age anything from child to ancient (juvenile arthritis)

wide range of treatments .. trial and error for medication until something works can take years

symptoms - flare and subside, pain, depresion, tiredness, disfigurement of joints or even just a mild ache when the weather changes

alternative treatments - dietary, acupuncture, chinese herbalism depend on type

Goodness! I never knew that.

what didn't you know?

what do you actually want to know?

I didn't know about psoriatic nor the alternative treatments.

I want to know as I think I might have it.

At Easter I went to hospital with really bad hand, finger and arm pain and was x-rayed to check for arthritis. Nothing shown on the x-ray and I had to wear a support but it didn't really help and I couldn't do much with it on.

For the last few days I have been getting pain in my arms and fingers, my ankle and knee twinge and my back seems to go/click occasionally.

At A&E the Doctor agreed it was probably from lifting DS2 but it is getting annoying and worrying now.

My Nana had arthritis but she was a lot older than me.

have you had blood work done as well as x-rays? What's your ESR level like for your age?

you need to establish if you have an arthritic condition .. it would be rare for it to be osteo-arthritis at your age (assume childbearing) but could be an inflammatory arthritis

or it could be just bad posture and strain

you need to go back to doctor and ask for further tests .. if your ESR is high it is not diagnostic but can point to some kind of inflammation in the body, coupled with the pain and your symptoms (any stiffness in the morning?) this could be diagnostic

the earlier you start treatment the better your joint health in the long-term

but it's an unpredictable disease .. if you do have twinges they can be a one-off or stay like that your whole life or get worse or get better

it's a bugger it is

acupuncture is good

It's been an issue in every generation of my maternal family.

I have psioritic arthritis and take strong painkillers to keep it at bay. Sometimes the pain is worse, sometimes the skin flare-up.

I've tried the alternative route but was so miserable that I chose drugs, though I avoid red wine and orange juice and never use any highly perfumed bodywash, lotions or washing powders. I'm not thin but I try to keep my weight steady and I still garden and walk. If it's bad I wake early to take my pills then cwtch up in bed with a hottie and/or Nut-Med which is a topical cream that helps. I drench my feet in Soothe-it before I go to bed.

(As I love lavender oil for insomnia and Olbas, well, just because DP says it's like sleeping with an old lady )

One of the worse aspects is that it's invisible, (well, i hide my feet out of consideration for other's sensibilities ) so you can feel like a shammer when you are in total agony and that you have a really bad dose of flu.

That was cheery, but I'm lucky so far in that I can manage mine and generally only have bouts that incapacitate me to the extent I stay in bed a couple of times a year.

do you take a NSAID too Earthy?

I have had blood tests for other things but not this. I have seen the GP but I can't remember what he said I just know he disagreed with the pharmacist who thought it was carpal tunnel.

It isn't stiff. It feels achey and like it is being pulled inside the bones.

I am 36 btw.

Earthy - me too. Tis that time of year when its starting up. Not heard of nut-med?

DH now doesn't think it is arthritis but whatever it is is blooming annoying.

If you've had bloods taken they almost certainly (if generic bloods) will have included your ESR, CRP, white blood cell counts etc - all indicators of inflammation somewhere in the body. So assuming you weren't fighting an infection at the time (which can raise these) it would have prompted your GP to question whether arthritis could be involved. If you what you are experiencing is a flare in an arthritic condition you almost certainly would be showing high levels of inflammation in your blood.

Is there anything that makes the affected areas better or worse? Heat? Cold? Anti-inflammatory gels such as ibuprofen or voltarol? Support? Are they better if you use the affected joints or worse? Are you stiff in the morning? What is the pattern of pain? All these types of things are what would help to either rule in or rule out arthritic conditions before further screens such as MRI scans which can show fluid on the joints etc.

The bloods were taken originally to check why I am so tired all the time. Would that have included what you said? All came back fine.

What makes it worse is carrying things, holding DS2's hand when walking, picking things up, typing . I tried heat pads last night and while the warmth was nice, it didn't help with the pain. It isn't stiff.

I wake up every morning with painful ankles and feet, used to hobble to the bathroom and all the way downstairs and it would gradually wear off.

Def worse if have had too much red wine the night before.

Have been using Glucosamine & Cod Liver Oil supplements for last 3 weeks and can really see a difference - now I only hobble the first couple of steps and nothing like as bad.

All my grandparents had arthritis of some sort, so think it's inevitable for me - but I'm only 42 FFS!

Am trying to shift some weight too as that can't help.

cq .. the stiffness in the morning can be a sign of arthritis and really the sooner you get a diagnosis and on the right treatment the better for your long-term health

I know it doesn't seem fair at your age.. DH was diagnosed at 27 and I know children with arthritic conditions so it isn't a sign of age

My DH colleague went to the GP with the same thing today and has been given strong inflammatories. I can't take them as I have asthma so what can I do? It was bad today when I was driving DS1 to the Doctors.

but you don't know if you have arthritis or even an inflammatory disease and until you do it's no use wondering about anti-inflammatories .. but there are many varieties and I'm sure some are safe with asthma

do you not take ibuprofen because of your asthma? When I was dx with asthma I was told it was ok to continue taking ibuprofen as I had never shown a reaction to it before (or was that paracetomal?)

TBH 'm trying to avoid a trip to the doctor's as he didn't seem bothered when I went last time. It is worse now though, like burning in my fingers while I type.

I have seen research studies that show that GPs tend to dismiss women's complaints of pain far more than mens .. women are somehow deemed hysterical and it can take much longer to get diagnosis for a women particularly for arthritic diseases that they say men get like ankylosing spondilitis but women don't which is bollocks achually

do not allow him to dismiss you

You okay?

Aha caught you on this thread too Twigs!! This is the voice of your conscience.

I have an appointment at the doctors on Monday.

When's yours?!

I'm sure you can ring on Saturday mornings and make an appointment for next week, even if they're only doing emergency visits.

Well, I had a really bad shoulder pain this morning and DH insisted I phone the out of hours GP. He has no idea what is wrong and said to take co-codomol. He also said to see my GP this week as I have had it before but I don't see any point really.