Recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Advice needed.
Posted , 13 users are following.
I was recently diagnosed with OA of the hip and it's been quite a time consuming process in getting my pain management to a tolerable level. I am currently taking 8 paracetamol daily, together with 8 Codeine Phosphate. I only started taking the CP a few weeks ago and have been going through a gradual increase in dosage as instructed by my GP. I am 57 years old and apart from the pain (and mobility limitations) imposed by my OA, I am otherwise fit, very slim and healthy. What concerns me is that I have many days where I just feel generally unwell - nothing specific and not necessarily related to pain or anything in particular - just a general feeling of being poorly. Conversely, I also have days where I feel just the opposite. There is no pattern or consistency to this and the "good" and the "bad" days are completely random., which makes planning virtually impossible. It's a question of wait and see how I feel as each new day dawns. My GP tells me that this is natural when suffering from OA and that the strain placed upon the body by expending the effort involved when moving around and doing things is naturally very draining - that plus the effects of taking an opioid painkiller. Whilst this explanation makes sense to me, I am not acquainted with any OA sufferers and I wondered whether any of you have similar experiences that you would be willing to share. I guess I am looking for a little reassurance! I would be so grateful if anyone could take the time to respond and perhaps share your experiences or some tips/advice.
2 likes, 23 replies
stephen_18363 missfifi
Posted
Hi I'm 40 and I have severe arthritis in left hip the pain is really getting me down I take tramodol now doctors refered me to a physio which I think is a waste of time
hope4cure stephen_18363
Posted
If your xrays show OA it's important to have hip replacement to have good quality of bone for optimal surgical outcome. Don't put it off too long until bone starts to deteriorate and blood supply causing necrosis.
jump in and find a good quality surgeon and you will be glad you did.
Peace & Healing
Hopexxx
stephen_18363 hope4cure
Posted
hope4cure stephen_18363
Posted
If your pain while walking is where you cannot walk well especially by the end of the day as the more we walk the worse the pain. No amount of therapy will help OA it's a loss of the cushion called cartheledge between the ball joint and the femur.
I would ask ask for a referal to a hip surgeon.
Many of of us hippies on the total hip replacement string can help you. We all agree that the answer to solving your hip pain with OA is THR.
I tried i all too. PT, HIP injections nothing worked I finally just had the THR and could enjoy a pain free life and move on.
That is my sincerest wish for you. We are experienced in thr. I have had two hips done and that is the best solution for many hippies with OA.
It it will put a smile back on our face once recovered. 😀
hope4cure missfifi
Posted
With OA in both my hips It was recommended in order to have a better quality of life with no bone on bone pain to have hip joint replacement. I was in my late 40's when the first hip was done.
My doc was very receptive to all my concerns and had classes at the hospital to answer all my questions as well as medical staff on the team who were assisting in the process. A booklet od precautions to follow as we'll as PT EXERCISES AND STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON THE WHOLE PROCEDURE FROM DAY ONE TO RECOVERY. OPPS not yelling just forgot to take caps off. Sorry🙄
There were ere many implants in the consult area to look at and view and hold the many types of hip implants on the market that the surgeon specializes in and knows thru his 30 years of experience will work with my particular lifestyle.
I was very glad I had a new shinny hip. After a few weeks of PT and following all the standard restrictions in movement the first few weeks I was able to drive 6 weeks later walkin with no assistance slowly returning to my life with no pain.
Peace & Healing
Hopexxx
wknight missfifi
Posted
Personally I would ask to be referred to a consultant and ask how long they think it will be before you need a hip replacement.
I have OA in my fingers and the joint replacement surgery means that I am pain free. A friend has had her hip replaced and she has full movement.
linda83225 missfifi
Posted
hope4cure linda83225
Posted
Great encouraging post. I totally agree. we need more hippies to chime in!!!🙌
lisa2512 missfifi
Posted
Hi there, you've helped me understand what's going on with me, what you've explained is exactly what is happening to me. I also have been recently diagnosed with OA and it at first seemed manageable but for the past few months not so much. The past 2 weeks ive had no desire to do daily things including work, shopping for groceries, anything around the house.
I've scheduled an appointment to see a different Rheumatologist for 2nd opinion to get more help. I wish you the best and hope things get better for you soon.
elizabeth20203 missfifi
Posted
Taking a lot of medication long term will not help as your body will need more and more to give you the same relief. My friend had a thr and is now free of pain with good mobility. I haven't had a hip replacement but i have had arthritis since a young girl and have had knee replacements. I have had good results and pain free. My most recent was a partial knee replacement last christmas. I have no pain and mobility greatly increased. I would ask for a referal to see a hospital consultant. You may have to have other treatments first such as injections and pysio. In my experience these don't work and you will need the inevitable thr. I hope you find relief of your pain soon.
elizabeth04821 missfifi
Posted
Thanks for your timely post missfifi, I am very similar to you . Diagnosed 2 years ago , receiver physio and advice and that was it . Have quickly deteriorated since October , and referred again for more physio . I was told there was a long waiting list . Stressed out yesterday , due to pain and whole body now out of alignment , I returned to prompt an appointment and plead for help . I've now got a physio one for next week . Doctor didn't listen , I'd made short notes and a diagram, she didn't look at them or listen to me , just asked me to bring in a urine sample next week as she thinks that I've got a urine infection !!! ??? Personally, I think I'm going crazy !! I'm hoping the physio team will help me out .
susan67756 missfifi
Posted
Hi,
I was diagnosed with hip OA 10 years ago. I am now completely symptom free. I obviously still have the degenerative changes in my joints - so you'd still see the OA on x-ray, but it has no negative impact. I am highly active and can squat with 200kg on my back - so my degenerated hip joints are more than capable of coping with an active lifestyle.
I'm telling you this to make the point that you shouldn't be afraid that your hips will crumble if you move. Fear is half the problem - you know about placebo effect? Well, nacebo effect is just as powerful. If you believe you have a major problem you will make things much worse! Your doctor has no doubt told you that exercise is the best treatment for OA - that would get you fitter, stronger and more able to cope with the poor biomechanics that is tiring you out so much and making life difficult.
There is no single pattern for OA. It's a bit of a catch all term to describe unexplained joint pain. Nowadays, in the UK, if you're over 40 they don't even need to get x-rays to diagnose it because research has shown no correlation between x-ray findings and symptoms. In other words, you could have pain and stiffness and no evidence of anything wrong on x-ray, or you could have bad evidence of OA on x-ray and no symptoms. The significance of this is that it IS possible in some cases to eliminate symptoms completely.
As there is no single cause for OA there is also no single cause for pain. Your pain could be coming from lots of sources - don't assume it's the actual joint. Much of the pain can be treated and eliminated by self massage and very specific types of corrective exercise (specific to YOU).
Part of the problem is that hip OA makes you less active. You lose strength and endurance so daily activities become even more difficult. It's a vicious cycle - a downwards spiral. If you can reverse this cycle and improve fitness that on it's own will help greatly. If you can really apply yourself, go a step further, and re-balance all the muscles around your hips you *could* (never any guarantees) get significant improvement or even complete resolution of symptoms.
There is no easy fix, but if you're the type of person that prefers to fight things there is hope of significant improvement and possibly complete resolution of symptoms. You have to do it yourself though. I'm happy to share more of my experiences if this is an approach you'd like to take. It is hard work though and takes time so it's not for everyone.
Whatever you decide to do - best of luck. It's not as hopeless as you might think!
philip49799 susan67756
Posted
Excellent response. I understand people's concerns that it is an Arthritic cause when they get hip pain. However it is my experience that what you have stated above is so true. Hip replacemet has become so 'easy' and 'commonplace' that the professionals are more often blinkered to just doing a little more investigation before booking an operation. Some normal wear and tear in the hip can present as far worse due to the 'vicious cycle' you mention; exactly as is for my situation. It is refershing to hear an alternative point of view. Thank you.
susan67756 philip49799
Posted
In my case - and I believe in the case of many - there is a specific pattern of muscle imbalance leading to ALL symptoms. Not just the hip symptoms, but also the foot, back, knee, shoulder symptoms that frequently develop along side hip OA.
At one stage I was told I was at most a year away from hip replacement. I was always assured that it was certain beyond all doubt that the pain was coming from my joint.
It wasn't. Most of the pain was caused by tight, over-worked muscles getting into little knotted spasms. They were tight and sore becaue my entire skeleton was being pulled out of normal alignment. I had a period of about 6 months of uncontrolable, severe pain - 24/7. The doctors couldn't do a thing to help - pain relief drugs didn't work. That turned out to be an irritated nerve - once the nerve settle down the pain went away. I even had pain that was 100% in my mind for a short time - it felt very real, but when you understand how the pain mechanism works you realise that 'pain in the mind' isn't imaginary - it's simply the bodies pain mechanism getting confused.
In my case it turned out that there wasn't a single symptom coming from my hip joint. Despite countless experts being 100% certain that it was.
The bad news is that there is zero chance of finding a health pro to help you with this. You need to do it yourself.
philip49799 susan67756
Posted
Fortunately my partner is/was an Occupational Therapist who worked closely with Physios in the NHS in the Community Stroke/Nuro team and so she was fairly certain that most of my problems were muscle/ligament and misalignment problems.
lisa2512 susan67756
Posted
Very helpful, thank you! It's hard to feel that you can move on from all the aches and pains and be completely pain free but hearing from you I have hope! Thank you!
susan67756 lisa2512
Posted
The best recommendation I can give is to look into 'Trigger Point Treatment' or 'Self Myofascial Release'. You can google for loads of free info - or get the book "The Trigger Point Work Book" by a lady called Clair davidson.
Essentially, this is just self massage - releasing the little painful knots that form in the muscles. It really can work miracles. It's not a cure in itself - typically you need to keep doing it regularly, but it can be a great way to manage symptoms and keep you mobile. If it works for you it also gives you a huge amount of confidence that what you actually have is treatable muscle imbalances (partly at least).