Osteoarthritis

[shaddupayouface]

I've just been told I have osteoarthritis by my doctors receptionist. I had an X-ray a couple of weeks ago and I hadn't heard anything so I popped into the surgery to see if there was any news. I wasn't expecting there to be any problem, particularly as I hadn't heard anything. She said that basically it just means I'm getting old and it is in the early stages so I can stop it getting worse but it will never go away. I wondered if anyone else has any experience of this type of arthritis and what they did to help alleviate the symptoms. I am overweight so I'll make sure I lose a couple of pounds but do you think going in HRT will help now that I have it? I'm 51 by the way and have gone through the menopause already.

The best thing you can do is get your BMI down to a sensible level, like 20 (half way into the healthy range which is from 18.5 to 25.) Extra weight is the cause of a lot of joint issues because it puts so much strain on the joints - like hips and knees- and they just wear out!

HRT can help joint pain but it depends which of your joints are hurting.

what did your Xray show? Where is the wear and tear? I doubt any dr would give you HRT anyway just for arthritis- it's not a recognised treatment for such but more a bonus if you have meno symptoms.

ps

Bit off for you to be given a diagnosis by a receptionist! Surely results like this are best from your GP who can give you advice and what you can do to stop it getting worse. Sounds very unethical for a receptionist to be telling you how to manage a condition! Make an appt with y our dr.

Thanks for your message. I'll have to wait and see the dr to find out a bit more about where it is exactly. I did think it was odd that she told me, especially as she said "there's no easy way to say this but.....", you can imagine the thoughts going through my head!!!