Topic: OA 'only' and what do YOU do to help with it
just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Hi All, Just a quick synopsis to keep everybody on same page. Before I knew what I really had, ortho doc said I had early onset osteo-arthritis.
Doing research trying to find out whys and wherefores always thought connective tissue disease always fit because it feels as much in the tendons, ligaments, and muscles as in the actual joints.
Connective tissue specalist poo-poohed my ideas since you HAVE to have RA to have connective tissue disease. Told me the OA spreading all over my body 'HAD' to be all in my head because it was impossible for OA to do that.
I have zero swelling and redness(heat or warmth) so they define it as OA only. For like 10 years the ortho doc gave me wrist braces to help support wrists. They helped for quite awhile but sorta made them weaker to a point. While I am not working as much with them so much(the right time of the year) I have tried to go without them.
Weather has been so nice I thought i would go do some red cedar(scourge weed of the west) whacking, mechanicly today. Hundreds if NOT thousands to do!!!
Twisting the handles all day is too much torq I guess. They are throbbing again all night and cant sleep anyway, so the reason for this middle of night marathon post. They throb like a bad toothache.
Over the years what I have found to help is, 2 magnesium supl., 2 Citrical supl. and 2 osteo bi-flex(glucosomine/clondridin). These DO really make a difference and pain level is MUCH higher if without them for even a couple days. Along with 4 Tramadol pain pills and a couple Neurotins and 4 tylenol, I can function, sorta, all day!!!
My question is two fold. Since my knees are less involved and I have 'only' severe OA and zero RA, is this typical varying forms of lyme, or something IN cohabitating with it??? And has anyone else ever figured out any other 'helps' with pain or function with the OA form of arthritis???
Seems I have so much different than everyone else here(or so it seems), whats up with that?
Like everyone else here, seeking answers when dont even know the "RIGHT" questions to ask, any suggestions??? Mostly because I am --just don-- with a sore head, "still"!!!
[ 04. February 2006, 06:24 PM: Message edited by: just don ]
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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My guess is it's a lovely lyme symptom. I've had pain every where. In 1993 when I think I was infected I had horrible wrist and hand pain. First dx was oa even though I was very young.
I wasn't buying that so I went to a chiropractor and also did PT which eventually resolved over time. Over the years I've had so much pain in different areas.
What are you doing for your lyme treatment? Abx, rife machine and what is helping you? Are you seeing an LLMD?
Posts: 911 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Prolotherapy helps quite a bit. And of course, glucosamine.
Almost forgot, I did the series of 10 injections in each knee, of hyaluronic acid. Like a lube job for your knee.
Posts: 856 | From Texas | Registered: Jan 2005
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just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Thanks for the replies!!
Tickalert-- I am going to go back and restart rifing NOW.
I oraled it and even had some IV's (very short term)(insurance says I am well now) but mostly all orals and heprin, ALL with "ZERO" effect. I go to the famous Dr. C, LLMD.
Tequeslady- I am taking glucosamine and clondridion, that helps oa about as much as anything ever could. Along with the Citrical and Mag. suplements.
My knees are actually about the best part of my decripit body. they dont bother me much. Hands, wrists elbows and shoulders are a complete different story as well as my hip sockets. And to some extent my feet. I can really tell when I eat to many potatoes, can feel it clear down in my toes.
Nobody around here does prolotherapy. And cant travel that far or that often to get it done.
Biggest problem is the cysts and bone spurs everywhere in my hands and wrists. had ortho surgery to clean out an elbow too. They said there is nothing there to fix by x-ray. When they got in there with scope they said it was VERY extensive and they did the best they could smoothing it out.
Must have worked, I can get my hand to my mouth now to feed myself again. One idiot duck said, "Aw you are overweight and need to lose a few pounds anyway so not being able to eat will work for you just fine!!!"
What a blooming idiot. A concrete cowboy who just stays in the big city, collects big bucks from his patients and goes to the gym to work out a couple times a week and say HOW healthy I am!!!
Like to see him follow me around for a week, he would be dragging his drawers!!! never bothered to go back THERE again!!!
Thanks so much for sharing(!!) WITH --just don--
[ 04. February 2006, 06:28 PM: Message edited by: just don ]
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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posted
I'm so sorry you're going through this, Don.
I had a bone spur in one of my heels about a year ago, which pales in comparison to what you have. I do know that it really hurt. I was lucky, a fancy bodyworker I go to was able to get it to go away.
If you're ever in Texas, let me know. You might want to see him. Seriously.
Posts: 856 | From Texas | Registered: Jan 2005
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
don-i think i have written before on your posts about osteo-arthritis. i am also a little confused about what lyme arthritis is compared to osteo. rheumatoid is real different. and there are a bunch of other arthritis's too.
my knees and thumbs and lumbar spine are all dx osteo arthritis-knees and thumbs are level III and need replacement/surgery and back is just called very severe-they really pushed for me to get steroid shots in the back-i learned my lesson with the knees tho-my mri says my knees are "esentially obliterated". so no shots in my back.
the dx is from xrays and mri. no cartilage left.
i'm guessing lyme arthritis is pain that moves around but doesn't show up on xrays and gets better after abx treatment-the balls of my feet did that-but i really don't understand
anyway-i HAVE to stay on the full dose of cosamine ds and only that brand helps me. very expensive-i weigh 200 lbs so must take 4 a day. its been many, many years now. keep trying to cut back-but i can't . my doc said the "glu" part doesn't do anything. and i take between 2-4 600mg ibuprofens a day-over 20 yrs i've done this-i have reflux but it seems controlled by prevacid-except i can't get off the prevacid-
AND the other thing i do is major lifestyle changes. NO stairs-jumping, hopping etc (i taught phys ed for 25 yrs), i can't chop vegetables, open jars, -a lot of hand stuff-without special equipment-i use my handicapped parking permit religiously-cuz if i start walking a lot for shopping then i can't do my exercise walk and that is what keeps the pain out of my back-but i have to balance everything so carefully or i go downhill fast.
also stretching and strengthening exercises (esp pelvic tilts) help the back.
i just started a water exercise class at the Y for arthritis people-it is based on a book by the arthritis foundation-and i have found i have less pain and more energy every day i go to the class.
anyway-thats what id do. its been 5 and 7 yrs since my athroscopic surgery on the knees and am am still sometimes painfree and walking with out assistance most of the time so i am putting off the surgery as long as possible cuz my doc says the surgery tecniques keep getting bettr so to wait as long as i can-also because i am 56.
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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sizzled
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1357
posted
Hi,justdon!
You said that the chondroitin/glucosamine helped?
Have you tried it with MSM? (Methylsulfonylmethane....sp?)
Can try it in a cream and apply topically. 'Nature's Plus' brand is what I tried.
A large jar is about 12 to 14 dollars in a health food store.
Or you can try some in pill form.
I use a chondroitin/glucosamine pill called,'Cosamin DS'. Bit pricey but you only take one ,medium size pill instead of three or four that other brands recommend. A bottle lasts me quite a long time.
I use it because it worked so well for my horse!!! You can't tell a horse to 'fake it' and pretend it is the 'placebo effect'!!!
Posts: 4258 | From over there | Registered: Jul 2001
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sizzled
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1357
posted
P.S.
I don't take the horse form of it although I imagine some friends of mine do since you give a 1200 pound horse a dose of half a TEASPOON a day for maintainance and a little more for starters!
It comes in a powder for horses so it would be very difficult to determine dosage. Not a good idea....IMHO.
Posts: 4258 | From over there | Registered: Jul 2001
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sizzled
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1357
posted
P.S.S.
Chatty...ain't I?
oh...someone told me to stay away from the 'nightshade veggies'. The tend to aggravate OA.
Posts: 4258 | From over there | Registered: Jul 2001
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groovy2
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6304
posted
Hi All
the docs thought I had OA -- I did too--But
It turns out I have Lyme and Babs --
From my experance the Babs caused the most Joint Pain ect--
Lyme dose reak havioc on my joints also but not to the extreme Babs has--
Once I started Babs treatment Also -- My horiable joint pain is now down to perty much Zero --
This good effect happened Quickly a few days -- after starting Babs treatment ---
Look into babs and see if you match---
A couple of symptoms that point to Babs are Drinching Night Sweats-- Craze heart beat -- The feeling of starving for air -- Killer Headaches
And joint and muscle pain stiffness -Cracking --stiff neck- Joint pain that moves from Joint to Joint---
Very tight muscles -that never relax --
slight skin rash that looks similar to Preckly Heat but the bumps are much more spread out- Red - small -some hert --
I noticed that sometimes the rash formed on the skin around a joint a day or 2 before it was that joints turn to hert--
I have written alot about Gluecosimine Sulfate -- Do a search on me and look for posts about Joint pain --
It worked wonders on me --Jay--
Posts: 2999 | From Austin tx USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Don, thanks for editing your post.
Having my wrist, elbow, and/or arm ELEVATED on a small pillow have helped me.
I also use moistened foam w/heating pad on pain...soothing.
I'm allergic to chlorine; I loved exercising in HOT pool.
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just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Thanks for ALL the replies. Exciting to see something to read vs looking on back pages for your post.
Biggest thing that I notice is diffrent than 'some' people describe is they say it is migrating pain.
Mine does not ever leave once it gets to that joint. Hurts from now to forever. Also never goes away.
X-rays show zero cartilage in whole hand(four major bones in palm of your hand). Now wrists and spreading to fingers also.
So traveling arthritis is not a real problem here. Cant see why this is different, unless a different strain.
Also was tested for brucella once.(at my insistance) Titers were mid range but not enough to be positive.
Would that be from abx beating it down? Or why would I have ANY at all in my system IF I never had it supposedly? It also is supposed to remit, mine doesnt.
Then again there is a chronic form too. How do you sort out all the co-infections? Nobody has ever tested 'ME'for any of those. Since I am not taking anything for a long time, should I be tested???
Several months ago I threw away all my rx meds that wasnt diretly for pain. Saves about $1200 a month I dont have, and havent felt worse for it.
In fact better in many respects. Even my acifex which I never thought I could go without as well as allergy meds.
Can a regular PCP do that kind of testing? For babs, bart, and brucella. Any others I forgot???because I remain--just don-- with a sore noggin!!!
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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hopeful123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3244
posted
justdon,
seven years ago in may, i had total right hip replacement surgery. nothing else was osteo-arthritic. it really helped because i have (except for the lyme) a pretty normal lifestyle.
i don't know how you're managing all that pain (even with the drugs). geeeeezeeee.
i got to the point that i couldn't walk across the room with wincing. i took vioxx back then before the surgery (before it was taken off the market) and even with that, i was miserable.
i don't know if mine was lyme related since i had no other stx at the time. by the time of the surgery, i had no cartilege in my hip, so replacement was all there was for me to do. i was only 52.
i don't know if this post is helping, i hope so
-------------------- some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield Posts: 1160 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
just don and others, DON'T keep taking all those pain relievers, even OTC ones; they ruin your kidney function even if you only take one pill a week! take MSM,Glucosamine/chondroitin,hyaluronic acid,magnesium (at least 500 mg. a day), enzymes,ginger,turmeric, quercitin, and rutin. the enzymes papain and bromelain really have helped me lately; I was in so much intense migrating pain, and it eased right off when I took the enzymes. I don't take any kind of pain relievers anymore, since I read what they can do to your kidneys, among other things. The mention of Babesia infection kind of intrigued me. since I was bitten again last year, infecting me with Lyme again along with Ehrlichia, but even with abx treatment for those, my joint problems and fibromyalgia have gotten horrendous, all the while I've been having shaking chills (had the night sweats mostly in the beginning last year).I've been tested for babs and others,but nothing showed on the results even when I was infected/diagosed with something, proving that those tests aren't all that great. I have suspected all along from 2002 that I might have babs, but my LLMD said no, based on those tests,even though the Lyme test was neg. when I actually had it. Needless to say, I never went back to her after she refused to treat me for possible baba. Everybody, don't give up on your joints and let the ducks bionicize you; NUTRITION is the answer, because the body was designed to heal itself with the proprer nutrients in the proper dosages. Abx are not the only answer to illness!
-------------------- ~*~ Carole ~*~ Young at Heart Grandmother of 4 Posts: 140 | From Morristown, NJ, USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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with a sore head, "still"!!!
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Young at Heart Grandmother of 4
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