Adjusting to arthritis
 

I have cervical arthritis which is gradually taking over my life, as one by one things fall by the wayside.
Just wondering how others are finding the constant adjustments to life, particularly the emotional and psychological side, and if they have any good tips to share.

This article is a good, brief summary of what happens when arthritis strikes.
http://arthritis.about.com/od/emotio...tionofarth.htm
Mine hasn't been too bad, but while the last injection has helped, there are still constant headaches which are hard to shift, and it just wears me down.
Gone are travel, house maintenance, gardening, and curtailed are shopping, casual outings like picnics and social occasions, driving.
Seems that the list of things that I can do is shrinking daily, and then I have to pace myself.
I'm only 63, and I can't help wondering what lies ahead.
Would be very interested in the experiences of others in this situation.
I can still do essential things, a bit of meal preparation and odd jobs and so on, so it's not all that bad.

Peter,

I wish I could add a whole lot more but I KNOW those headaches are BAD! I don't think anyone fully understands what they are like until they actually get the ones coming from the spine. Most people think you "just have a headache". Wrong answer! To me they were horrific...worst pain I have ever felt in my life and I have had a LOT of surgeries and such.

It is sad. I have had to cut way back on activities. And those that I do do can't be for very long. I have to admit I am better since having fusions but they can still hit (C2/C3 facets to be precise). And all I can do then is to up the meds or use heat and ice and even injections. The injections are what help me the most. And it SEEMS most people would prefer the meds over shots; but not me! Give me a shot any day of the week...it helps to the keep the meds low.

I was talking to my ob/gyn today of all people lol, and told him I had a bone scan done by my PM. I told him I had lit up like a Christmas tree. He just laughed and said...you never know how old "Arthur" will travel. There is just no cure and we have do what is best for our own given situations. I am just thankful I am retired and can lay down IF I need to. On good days I can do even more. But adapting is the key and just learning or having to say no to some things. I have dealt with the cervical spine stuff for 5 years now and it seems accepting it did get better over time. I think eventually too you know what will trigger it and when to stop. And sometimes just throwing on a soft collar will kick out any pain that I can feel start to come on. I am trying to remember but there have been maybe just two times since my fusions that I had to go the ER for a shot of Toradol. And that's a heck of a lot better than it used to be. Before I had surgery it seemed I was going to the ER once a week!

Anyway, I am rambling. I just wanted to say overall that I can relate to what you are saying.

Peter,

I know that cervical arthritis has to do with the spine. I was just wondering if you have problems all along the spine area or just the shoulder and neck area.

Ron

Hi Ron, so far it's just the entire neck that gives me grief, but also get lower back soreness, and occasional fingers too. So I suppose it will just spread.
Have just this week started on an new anti-inflammatory, Mobic, and it seems to be making a difference-will have to wait a week or so to be sure though. Fingers crossed!

As Kathi mentioned, Peter, I also know the heachaches all-too-well. The thing that really helped mine was a lot of RF'ing (radiofrequencing), along with a ton of nerve blocks and ESIs.

I don't know if it might be something that could possibly help: PT - with some aqua therapy or U/S.

P.S. I forgot to state... my first bout with arthritis had its onset when I was 10. It only worsened with subsequent years. (It probably would have helped greatly if I had been diagnosed properly early on, but... even "professionals" didn't know as much as they do now or maybe they didn't want to believe what totally seems obvious to me.)

One thing I do suggest, if possible, is to do your best to retain as much functioning/mobility and ROM as can be done - without injury or further hurting yourself.

Hi Bobby, I think a correct diagnosis is vital, but can be the hardest thing to get. A lot depends on the practitioners' experience, and attitude.
A child of 10 would have a very difficult time in getting credibility a few years back, I suspect.
I am planning to do water therapy. Hope to start any time now in a heated pool.
I started taking Mobic nearly 2 weeks ago and it now seems as though it has kicked in. I read that it can take up to 2 weeks. Had good and bad days after starting it, but yesterday I spent 2 hours grouting a large mosaic, and had to take only 1 pain killer yesterday, and so far only one today. Normally about 5 a day from first thing. So that was a good test, and hopefully, along with the facet joint injections, i can claim some life back.
What do you mean by ROM?

ROM is range of motion or movement.

I know that, at times, it can be impossible to move as well or even at all, yet when movement is either really labored or even slow, I'd take those times over a permanent loss :cool:.

this has been very eye opening reading. I have no clue were I'm headed.

I'm just getting started. I am having a MRI on Friday after not realizing,
somehow that arthritis was found sometime in my life. And today it
was found its changed. ITs degenerative change in my cervical spine.

So I have no clues, but I have a hodge podge of illnesses and now really
have no clue what is what.

I have central abnormalities of my brain, post concussion syndrome, fibromyalgia, asthma (severe uncontrolled), and other things.

Donna

Donna, I hope that your MRI was overly uncomfortable, though I know how dreadful and painful they can be :eek:.

If you're not already seeing one or both, I do suggest a top-notch rheumatologist and a doc who specializes in Internal Medicine, at a minimum.

I know exactly what to expect.
Osteoarthritis combined with osteoporosis can be mean and destroying.

I'm 61. I have both.
Started having them show up way back in '99.

But my elderly mother is nearly 81 and she has them both...
Oh yes I have a bird's eye view of what it's gonna be like in 20 years.

As my mother's joints and bones started becoming destroyed she did not have the funds to go find medical help. Mother also had an unrelated problem for which she had to take constant strong pain pills since the 60's so most of the time she ignored the idea of arthritis believing the problems and bad joints where from her other problem. Over the years she did see diff Dr's for the pill perscriptions.. you don't want my opinion of them, since they did not help information wise.

My aunt, my mother's sister a year older than my mother, did have funds and did seek help for her osteoarthritis and osteoporosis..

Their mother, my grandmother also had it and lived to be 87.

I have good insurance as well as having the knowledge of what the 3 women did about it over the years, I AM taking the best ideas to use in my own battle.

I live in an apt complex with many elderly people where some have arthritis and some don't. But all of them have some age related problem and so they share household "make it easier on the back, muscles and joints" ideas with us others.

But the next 20 years science is gonna progress even more so we are very lucky that we will benifit from every new discovery.
We NEED boards like this so we can share experince and thereby can help each other.