Dying in pain

I hear you. I have arthritis in my neck, back, wrist and knees. Tart cherry juice helps w the pain ad does frequently taking menthol Epsom baths and watching sugar. I told my dr I can't work during the day and not sleep at night. I too am in pain 90 percent of the time. I'm trying CBD oil for relief as tramadol dosent work for me. Others have said NSAIDS destroy cartilage. I've had steroid shots but refuse now due to necrosis side effects. There are no easy answers.

Sorry to hear this. It took me over a month to finally get of the last 1mg of prednisone... I am a novice but my experience suggests you stay off it as it does more damage to your immune system as does all forms of painkillers. You will see many people use alternate therapies and exercise Graham. Please do what you can to avoid chemicals as this adds to inflammation and ultimately pain longer term. Kes 

Hi. I agree with Kerrie. I lost my wife to very high doses of prednisone. I am  now recovering from a total knee replacement - perhaps that is an option to explore? Hang in there. There has to be a better way for you. 

Why did you have to take prednisone?  I have been on low dose prednisone for polymyalgia rheumatica for nearly three years.  I'm not going to die from it, in fact it's given me back my life.  I'm sure it's had no effect on my OA, except when I first started when it relieved any pain I had from that as well!  If you are in extreme pain and it is from something like PMR you are unlikely to get much relief form other painkillers.  As you know, some of these come with very serious side effects of their own.  Low dose prednisone can be safely taken without causing stomach problems or bone thinning pretty much indefinitely. 

NSAIDs are bad for osteoarthritis as they interfere with cartilage renewal, so should not be taken for anything other than short term relief, say for a headache, not for the OA.  Tramadol ois addictive.  Medications containing acetaminophen (vicodin?) may cause liver damage which is why you should be very careful when taking multiple painkillers as iit may be present in several of the formulations. 

IWhat kind of pain do you have?  Is it bilateral, and making it difficult for you to carry out some of your normal activities, even getting out of bed, for example?.    

If it's only mild to moderate on x-ray then it's highly likely taht it's not OA causing your pain! 

There are lots of possibilities, but the one I'm a bit of an expert on (because it's what I had) is muscle imbalance. Doctors, and even physios, aren't good at diagnosing or treating this. However, you can do it yourself! 

One thing worth a try - if you haven't already tried it - is trigger point treatment. It's basically self massage, and it CAN in some cases work miracles for pain. Trigger poitns are just 'knots' in the muscles but they really can create intense pain all over the body. Regardless of the root cause of you symptoms there's a very good chance that trigger points are responsible for at least some of it. Plenty of free info online if you Google for it. 

gurcharanI've got osteoarthritis in my hands shoulders. I've also got chronic pain in my arms. It is horrible. Pain no one can see but you know you are in pain. Hopefully you will start feel better soon.x