Sodding arthritis

[Wowbagger]

Well, yesterday was probably my worst day ever suffering from arthritis. By bed-time my knees were so bad I had to crawl upstairs.

I've made an appointment for rheumatology for Friday at 9 a.m. I reckon it's steroids for me, but I'll try anything to avoid a repeat of yesterday's pain.

Everything's a lot better today, but my right hand is very swollen, as is my left foot, and I have pain in my neck & elbows.

It's a bugger.

[clarion]

on your behalf.  I think I can imagine your frustration, but I don't know your pain.

[Domestique]

Hope it clears up soon whatever you decide to do.
A silly point, but would wearing arm and leg/knee warmers help?
You probably already do.

[JohnP]

Wowbagger, you have my greatest sympathy.  If I foolishly walk more than about a mile, then by late evening my feet are extremenly painfull.  By next morning I am reduced to walking down stairs sideways because my feet/toes won't bend (at the joints) and my metatarsels seem fused.  Takes a couple of hours to ease.   A couple of weekends ago I walked my wife along the Lea Navigation tow path. I knew I would be in pain afterwards but it was something we hadn't done for at least 2 years.

Hope the steroids help you (if you go for them).

[Wowbagger]

I understand that one of the side effects of steroids is an increase in the amount of body hair.

I don't think I've got enough skin left for that to happen.

[annie]

Sorry to hear this Wow.  Do you mean oral steroids or a steroid injection?  There will not be an increase in hair with a local steroid injection

[Wowbagger]

I'm going to discuss the treatment on Friday.

Given that there are lots of joints affected (wrists, ankles, feet, hands, elbows, knees, neck) I think that local injections are unlikely. My understanding when I went a fortnight ago was that I would have an injection in the bum and that would give me a month or two relief while they decided on a longer term course of action.

http://www.palindromicrheumatism.org/treatment.shtml seems to be quite a comprehensive account. I've been on  a fairly low dose of hydroxichloroquine for just over 2 years.

[Wowbagger]

Well I have had an intra-buttock injection of Depo-Medrone, aka methylprednisolone acetate.

This is supposed to reduce my inflammation for three to six months while an assessment of my condition is carried out. The pain should subside within 48 hours, the inflammation will take slightly longer - a classic case of "take away the pain, leave the swelling".

The nurse, when about to inject, requested "Show me some meat!"

[Adam]

Growing old does seem to have some downsides, doesn't it?

I hope the steroids start to work, and you're able to move around more easily soon.

[onb]

My Dad suffered for years with athritis (something which worries me a bit) he thought steroids were wonderful and would have taken then all the time something which his doctors would not allow,although I never found out why .You have my sympathies ,arthritis id not nice.

[Wowbagger]

Now this is a git. I had a steroid injection on Friday which was supposed to ease the symptoms for 3 to 6 months, and this morning I have woken up in almost as much pain as before.

Bugger bugger bugger!

Growing old does seem to have some downsides, doesn't it?

I'm 53. That's not old in my book. Both my parents lived into their 90s.

[Chris S]

Didn't you ride an Audax at the weekend? Could that not have been contributory?

[Wowbagger]

Didn't you ride an Audax at the weekend? Could that not have been contributory?

I did, but I wouldn't expect my fingers to be so badly affected by that. Knees yes, but they aren't too bad. It's the small joints (fingers, ankles & feet) which are giving me the most jip.

And let's face it, if a chap can't have  gentle bike ride, what's left?

[Adam]

Growing old does seem to have some downsides, doesn't it?

I'm 53. That's not old in my book. Both my parents lived into their 90s.

I didn't say you were old, although I'm catching you up.  Bear in mind, with improved longevity, you're only just middle aged.   

[annie]

Now this is a git. I had a steroid injection on Friday which was supposed to ease the symptoms for 3 to 6 months, and this morning I have woken up in almost as much pain as before.

Bugger bugger bugger!

Growing old does seem to have some downsides, doesn't it?

I'm 53. That's not old in my book. Both my parents lived into their 90s.

I thought one was advised to take things easy for a few days following the jab, exercise may have made things worse temporarily.  Allow yourself some time.  This drug effects your immune system, riding a bike for several hours may have taken its toll.  It often takes several days to have any real effect.

I am surprised that they said the effects would be felt for several months.

[Wowbagger]

I thought one was advised to take things easy for a few days following the jab, exercise may have made things worse temporarily.  Allow yourself some time.  This drug effects your immune system, riding a bike for several hours may have taken its toll.  It often takes several days to have any real effect.

I am surprised that they said the effects would be felt for several months.

No-one advised me one way or the other, just that I would start to feel the benefit within 48 hours.

I think that there has been some benefit, but it's hard to say how much. I asked for more info and the nurse handed me the slip which comes with the drug - which I brought home and promptly mislaid. I did read some of it, but there was no mention that I could find on taking it easy or refraining from vigourous exercise.

Edit: I've found the leaflet. No mention of taking exercise, operating machinery or the like. However, there was a whole list of stuff I am supposed to tell the doctor about if I get certain symptoms, none of which I've got.

[Wowbagger]

Bloody hell! Just read this:-

"16. Chickenpox is of serious concern since this normally minor illness may be fatal in immunosuppressed patients. Patients (or parents of children) without a definite history of chickenpox should be advised to avoid close personal contact with chickenpox or herpes zoster and if exposed they should seek urgent medical attention. Passive immunization with varicella/zoster immunoglobin (VZIG) is needed by exposed non-immune patients who are receiving systemic corticosteroids or who have used them within the previous 3 months; this should be given within 10 days of exposure to chickenpox. If a diagnosis of chickenpox is confirmed, the illness warrants specialist care and urgent treatment. Corticosteroids should not be stopped and the dose may need to be increased."

I've never had chicken pox.

[Wowbagger]

Arthritic feet, 12 hours after finishing Dunwich Dynamo.





Same feet, 30 hours after finishing DD.

[Wowbagger]

Steroid injection this morning.

[Wowbagger]

Well, I had a little prick in my bum this morning, but hopefully that will keep me pain free for 6 weeks or more.

I like the rheumatology clinic. This morning's nurse was very kind, gentle and sympathetic, giving my swollen left ankle a gentle squeeze and telling me "It's hot!" in an "Oh you poor thing!" tone of voice. I like that kind of sympathy. 

She also brought my next appointment forward to November 27th. The drugs I'm on at the moment don't seem to be working as well as they were, and I see no point in taking tablets unless they are having the desired effect. I think it's time to change to something stronger.

[De Sisti]

I had arthritis in my feet for several years (at least 20) in the  1st metatarsal joints on both feet. They had become about 90% fused resulting in the ends of my big toes becoming slightly curved upwards. The pain was getting worse so on 2 June this year.
I had a Bilateral 1st metatarsophalangeal joint fusions on both feet. 

Basically, a surgeon removed the arthritic big toe joints in both feet and screwed the
remainder of the toes back together at a slight angle to aid walking. My big toes are
not so big any more. Still waiting for the swelling to go down, the tendons on the
bottom of my feet to stop hurting and the pain from the scar tissue breaking down
to stop.  . Apart from that I'm ok. 

[Wowbagger]

I understand that arthritis can bugger up your sleep patterns.

Last night I was so tired by 10 p.m. that when I woke up in my chair and just couldn't function I went to bed. I slept really soundly until about 3.30 when I was wide awake. Around 5 I got dressed, had breakfast and spent some time on the computer. Around 6.30 I felt quite knackered again, went back to bed and woke around 9.30, still feeling knackered.

Yesterday I had no alcohol or any significant exercise.

[Wowbagger]

Thread resurrection time. I'd forgotten much of what I'd written here and how bad I'd felt. Quite useful to look back.

Since I last posted on here I've been on 12.5mg methotrexate weekly. I started on these about 2 years ago and they've been very effective. I have noticed some reoccurrence of my arthritis especially when stressed. I had a bad spell in late March / early April after the council invited me to attend the Royal Courts of Justice but have mostly ben pain free.

I'm in the process off having a really bad attack in my left foot and ankle today. It started around 9 a.m. and got worse and worse up to about 2 p.m. and now I think it's easing again. I've got a rheumatology appointment on 9th November. I can't think that I've had any particularly stressful events recently.

[Katie]

This has been useful (but rather scary) to read.  I've been experiencing moderate/severe hip pain since the end of August, worrisome as arthritis runs in the family, mum getting it when she was 22 - and I was 23 a couple of months back.

Pain has died down to virtually nothing through use of naproxen and a pair of crutches over the last few weeks and I even made it out of the house with no sticks today, but I'm not much looking forward to a life of this if it turns out I've inherited the bad gene 

[Wowbagger]

This has been useful (but rather scary) to read.  I've been experiencing moderate/severe hip pain since the end of August, worrisome as arthritis runs in the family, mum getting it when she was 22 - and I was 23 a couple of months back.

Pain has died down to virtually nothing through use of naproxen and a pair of crutches over the last few weeks and I even made it out of the house with no sticks today, but I'm not much looking forward to a life of this if it turns out I've inherited the bad gene  

Get thee to the rheumatologist.

When I was first told that I might have rheumatoid arthritis, about 5 years ago, it frightened me to death. However, it also changed my life for the better in many ways, getting back into cycling and losing 2 stones being perhaps the best of those. Apart, of course, from finding the forerunner of this forum and meeting some absolutely lovely people who are, without doubt, some of the best friends I've ever made.

There are plenty of things they can do to slow down the onset of the full disease. They probably wouldn't prescribe methotrexate for someone your age because the risk of liver damage would be too great (they figure it doesn't matter so much for an old git like me!) but there's other less noxious things around and it seems that they are discovering new drugs all the time.