Arthritis?

[PlaneMan]

Some will remember my topic on MM about my hands (and now hip).

I saw the consultant today and my hip is mildly wrecked. The cartilage on the ‘socket’ part is worn and has a tear in it. That explains the increased pain I have while walking and moving it anyway apart from straight forward  or back. The consultant was happy to say it was a ‘one of those things’ situation until I showed him my swollen ,bright red fingers.

I had bloods done and I’m having a MRI on my hands tomorrow. The first one was done when the fingers weren’t inflamed so he’s hoping that something will show this time.

I’m seeing the physio monday and the consultant a week today, hopefully it’s better news than the referral to a surgeon which was going to happen today but has been delayed while I continue to confuse medical science.  :unsure:

[Richard]

The bloods may be very useful and the MRI certainly will be valuable. It is a pity that they are only on bits of you as I suspect that there may be an autoimmune problem going on. My wife has one and was referred for various tests with an appointment scheduled for the 19th of February, ‘when all the results should be available and we can think about starting treatment‘.

Late last week the appointment was put off until some time in June. Wife who can now barely move took umbridge and rang ‘the person who knew’ only to be told that she was on holiday until next week. A call on Monday just after lunch found that ‘the person who knew’ had already gone home, part timers. So the call was tried again on Tuesday and the full details were spelt out to ‘the person who knew’. Ten minutes later the phone rang and my wife now has an appointment for a week earlier than the previous cancelled one.

So the lesson is not to be unreasonable but to press with details and full facts so that you have the best chance of good treatment and above all a clear diagnosis. Incidentally, I suspect many of these ‘I have not seen that before‘ cases have more in common with patients have not lived long enough, reported symptoms clearly enough and a range of less probing efforts on behalf of the medicine people.

I wish you well and hope that there will soon be a better outcome.

[PlaneMan]

Thanks for the good wishes.

TBH as long as I can cycle I’m okay.

I’ve not liked walking for years, lots of injuries when younger started to take a toll but I could do it without huge amounts of pain, which was very handy and I was very grateful, especially as I could have lost my ankle due to a very bad break.

It is what it is and there are people way worse of than me.

Hope the mrs gets sorted.

[The Duke]

Good luck, my wife, one of many of her ills is Oestioarthritis , her nan had it , but it took years for them to pin it down. Ever since she went on the chemo the arthritis has got worse.

Arthritis of any order isn’t good. My back issue (lower 4 ) has lead me to have hip issues. ATM it’s more an annoyance than anything but it’s been gradually getting more annoying as the years tick by. I know as my back plays up and effects my left leg, i counter balance the pain by putting more weight on the right leg which must be putting added wear in the hip.

I don’t mentally do it, bit I do tend to favour the right leg now because of my back .

The as strong as your weakest link has never been more relevant. But once you get a weak link, it causes a domino effect!

An arthritic issue will no doubt lead to a stomach one if you take to many anti inflammatories, so that is somewhere you need to keep an eye on.

[PlaneMan]

Any kind of medication does nothing for the pain, tried some opiate based ones as a last resort and they did nothing.

Even a direct injection of anesthetic into the joint did nothing.

In all honesty I’d rather the pain instead of taking pills so in a odd way I’m quite glad they don’t work.

[Richard]

PlaneMan wrote:

Thanks for the good wishes. TBH as long as I can cycle I’m okay. I’ve not liked walking for years, lots of injuries when younger started to take a toll but I could do it without huge amounts of pain, which was very handy and I was very grateful, especially as I could have lost my ankle due to a very bad break. It is what it is and there are people way worse of than me. Hope the mrs gets sorted.

Thank you,

I have also found most pain relief was next to useless, the only time it was slightly useful was when I was in hospital years back, they told me they were reducing the tablets and then I found out what the food was really like. It did nothing for the real pains then and never has since. Your trouble does sound slightly like nerve pain for which there is very little that has any effect except removing the source of the nerve trauma. My main one was/is spinal problems, some were relieved by an operation, I can now walk with two legs and stand up, but then new pains arrived.

Some people say that exercise is the answer to joint pains, the wrist exercises I have been given are great – for making the elbow problem worse, so I do not have total faith in that theory.

I did find I can now walk far further than I thought possible a little while ago. I had some trouble with a car and walked home from the garage a few times, it is about 3 miles and about a third is up hills, They were really hard work, but I was surprised that I did it at all. A while back I would not have been able to do more than a few hundred yards, so things can change.

[Anonymous]

All the best PlaneMan.

 

 

[blacklion1725]

This has come up before – I posted this before – and I am as much sceptical of mumbo jumbo as anyone else……….

I have been taking montmorency cherry juice for probably 3 or 4 years and it has coincided with the disappearance of the arthritis symptoms I had in my left ankle (fractured 30 years ago).

It certainly won’t do any harm and has anti-oxidant benefits too. I’m almost rolling my eyes at myself but a glass of that a day has made a real difference for me….takes a bit of getting used to but you’d know by the end of the first bottle (make it up like a small glass of squash) if it is worth it…..I was amazed how quick it worked for me.

….as a side benefit it is great for hangovers (so I have heard).

 

 

[PlaneMan]

Thanks for that BL.

It would be cherry, I hate the damn things!

I may well order some tomorrow.

[blacklion1725]

you and me both – hated it at first – its very sharp/sour – but I really enjoy it now and you get a real smack (i.e. a “livener”) in the morning when you have a glass – a bottle (946ml) should last a month, if no change then no great loss, but I could tell a difference (maybe placebo who knows) very quick. Also meant to be good post-exercise.

[Tippon]

blacklion1725 wrote:

This has come up before – I posted this before – and I am as much sceptical of mumbo jumbo as anyone else………. I have been taking montmorency cherry juice for probably 3 or 4 years and it has coincided with the disappearance of the arthritis symptoms I had in my left ankle (fractured 30 years ago). It certainly won’t do any harm and has anti-oxidant benefits too. I’m almost rolling my eyes at myself but a glass of that a day has made a real difference for me….takes a bit of getting used to but you’d know by the end of the first bottle (make it up like a small glass of squash) if it is worth it…..I was amazed how quick it worked for me. ….as a side benefit it is great for hangovers (so I have heard).

There was something on the telly the other day claiming that it helps you sleep too.

[Ed P]

Sour cherry has quite a number of claimed health benefits. There are some research results suggesting that it may also be good for reducing insomnia and high blood pressure.

AFAIK so far all these have only been scoping trials which indicate that there may be real effects that are worthwhile researching. Of course drug companies hate natural products so large scale placebo controlled trials are thin on the ground. It could be the new Willow Bark – but drug companies have learned that there isn’t much money in aspirin despite it having well-researched widespread proven benefits (often better than many proprietary drugs).

[Bob Williams]

Good luck Nolan, hope that you get through your troubles OK. Also the respective good ladies of Steve and Richard, hope they see better health soon.

I have recorded my own Arthritis woes before on that other forum, not going to go into that, but taking a bit of a fork in the road.

I never believed in what I saw as all the hype about Stains, especially after the original meds that my GP prescribed, made me feel washed – out and without energy. Then he changed them for ‘Pravastatin’ and it took a couple of weeks, but in that time I got some energy back and another blood test showed my Cholestorol level down below what they call ‘average’ whatever that means. I am also sleeping better. Some of this may be due to drinking lots of “Volvic” water instead of tap water, which around here is really hard stuff. There used to be a Village Pump by the building which used to be the Post Office, which apparently according to the village History gave soft water, up through natural rock and sand filters. Progress! Now we have to use a Water Softener to do the wash, which would be OK if SWMBO did have the habit of adding “a bit more” in the machine, the consequence of which means that I leave a flowery trail behind me wherever I walk, after a recent change of clothing. Going to bed after a change of bedding, is like going to sleep in a garden full of flowers. :unsure:  🙂

The big problems for me at the moment is Ganglions, lumps which apparently form at joints and tendons. They are cysts caused by leakage from joints into tissue. I have had one of these for many years on my right wrist, which restricts movement and function in that hand, and of course I am a Righty. However, lately they are coming and going all over fingers, elbows and toes and the GP (when available 🙁 ) is unable to decide what to do about it. In a couple of weeks I am due to have the annual camera and biopsy performance, from two directions. This is my annual Plumbing examination, as I have piping problems Front and Rear. I will try to ask about the Ganglions before they send me on the Trip.

As you say Nolan, there are others worse off than me. I never forget that, were it not for one brilliant Spinal Neurosurgeon in 2005, I would have been a qaudriplegic. The thought of that is enough to make me count my blessings.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[PlaneMan]

I have a nasty ganglion on my left wrist, comes and goes but has been around for a long time now.

Also get some bursitis on my elbows, one burst when I was up a mountain on my bike. Wrapped the wound up with tissue and elastic bands until I got home and could clean it properly.

Had my hands scanned today and baffled the doc completely. Before he did the scan he looked at my hands and I could tell he was only doing the scan to confirm his suspicions.

He was way off. Apparently there is still nothing major wrong with them. He scanned the left hand 4 times, that’s how sure he was he was missing something.

Ah well, the way I’m going I’ll be confusing medical types for a while.

[Anonymous]

The old fashioned cure for Ganglions is a large book :wacko:

WHACK. job done.

[PlaneMan]

That cherry gloop just came (I got the 1/2 size bottle, should last about a fortnight).

Just had some and it’s not as bad taste wise as I was fearing, I was pulling some faces mind, so sharp.

If I notice any improvement over the fortnight I’ll order a big bottle.

Thanks again for the heads up BL.

[The Duke]

How are you suppose to take it ? Neat? If not how much water do you add?

[PlaneMan]

Like squash, about 250 ml of water to 30 ml of gloop.

[Bob Williams]

Anonymous wrote:

The old fashioned cure for Ganglions is a large book WHACK. job done.

 

Tried that, and the swift bang upon a hard surface, many times. Just makes the big one bloomin’ painful for a couple of hours. 🙁 It’s as hard as a rock, GP even photographed it once. I wanted to sell him the copyright, but he just laughed. Cheeky little Malaysian bugga! Decided not to autograph the photo, that should teach him… :negative:

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[PlaneMan]

Saw the physio today, after a chat and a fitting for a crutch it was concluded there’s nothing else they can do for me for now.

Roll on Thursday and the consultant again.

[Author]

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