The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: goosepimple on November 14, 2012, 08:22:26 pm
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As a lady of certain age, my body is doing strange things I am not in control of, the most recent of which is my knuckles and left elbow are swelling up and inflamed - not hugely, but noticeably. Someone mentioned gout - I think that makes me sound like a large Louis XIV type character that drinks port too much and I saw arthritic gout on google which was new to me.
Don't have time to go to the doctor, just getting old I think. Anyone else had this?
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I get regular bouts of swelling to my finger and knee joints. Usually after long walks or digging for swollen knees ot when I've been doing strenuous use with my hands, and dog training sessions on the field when I play tug of war really plays he'll with my elbows and fingers ::)
Just put it down to old age and the fact I think arthritis is setting in the fingers with the permanent odd shaped joints now. Oh the joys of being twenty one and a bit :eyelashes: :innocent:
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Does sound a lot like arthritis. :-\
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I have it but I have osteo-arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout so take your pick. I would get it checked because rheumatoid and gout can be treated.
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I'm a suffer in silence-er, just get on with it. Ignore it and it might go away.
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I'm a suffer in silence-er, just get on with it. Ignore it and it might go away.
Why would you think that a load of strangers on the Internet can give you better advice than your GP ?
If it's something that some tablets can cure, such as gout, why would you want to suffer unnecessarily ?
Can't make it any clearer than go to the doc !
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I agree with the last post - If this has been going on a bit ( > 2 weeks) the you will be in a good position to describe your problem when you see the GP. Hope the GP can set your mind at rest/sort things out quickly - after all you need to be fit for everyone there.
BW martin
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Hi, I have had all sorts of strange problems since 25, I had tests that found I had auto immune problems, some times I can be very bad and some times great, I can also become like I have flu and pains everywhere, I also have osteoarthritis in my spine from a birth defect. and rheumatoid arthritis I think from immune issues, I know foods have an effect so I have prescription medication for it all and it seems to not be so bad, I can tell if I leave off any as then I feel like the tin man, I also cannot hold anything for long, my hands cramp and my shoulders hurt......yes, tin man itus!!!! I would suggest Dr as a blood test will show stuff up, if I were to knock any joint or hit something with my hand, my joints swell and I bruise......I hate it and can never tell when its going to get bad...I should avoid lots of food types but I do not, my middle daughter has just the same but worse and not the osteo.....I had to laugh as I went into Halfords bike shop and they have a disabled section, I wanted several things and then smiled at the HUGE pill container, the older I get the more I take ::)
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It is worth getting the doc's opinion - mine sent me for x-rays which showed nothing; he still thought it was osteoarthritis in its early stages. However, he also sent me to see the podiatrist who discovered that I have a problem in one foot which exacerbates the problem in that big toe, so made me some insoles to wear in my wellies - and that has really helped a lot with the toe.
Doc also recommended I take a high dose (1500mg/day) of glucosamime, which I have done ever since (now 4 years or so.) Recently I have noticed a significant improvement which I have put down to adding evening primrose oil to the regime.
If you're determined to suffer without the benefit of medical opinion, gp, at least get yourself onto the glucosamine and evening primrose oil. Our chemist stocks NatraHealth Glucosamine, 1500mg/tablet, 30 tablets for £4.99. Don't get suckered in to the ridiculously expensive ones.
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Mmmmm.... Glucosamine. I have beeen told to take it and I find that I cannot get the HUGE tablets down :( . It was so bad that I was retching even before I was to take them.... not sure they did help (I only managed a couple of weeks), but now just make sure I keep moving regularly.... If I could have a liquid/injection or even just normal sized tablets I would really like to try again!
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They say it takes 6 weeks or so for the glucosamine to have any noticeable effect, Anke, and it's a cumulative one, so you wouldn't have been able to tell if it would help you after only a couple of weeks.
Can you not split the pills and take them in two bites?
Even if glucosamine doesn't improve things, it will help reduce the speed of deterioration, so it's worth taking, IMO.
I think I would have been considerably more of a sceptic, but long ago the vet prescribed it for my aging arthritic old GSD cross - and the difference was startling. Horace was noticeably more limber on the glucosamine and clearly less achey.
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Mum tried glucosamine and decided it made no difference. She said so to her doctor who asked how much she'd been taking. Turned out not enough.
Now she takes at least 1500mg a day, she says it certainly has made a difference.
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Goosepimple, I have a similar problem with my elbows. Although not swollen they are both very sore. I noticed the left one first just after we moved and I thought I must have bashed it moving things around. I waited for the bruise to come but it never did. Then the right elbow started and its worse than the left one.
I also have a problem with my right ankle but then I think thats a knock on effect from the car accident in 1985 where artheritis has now set in. I am waiting to see the podiatrist for that as I think I need a heel lift but been waiting 3.5 months so far :(
I tried glucosamine some time ago after the specalist recommended it but I didn't notice any difference but then perhaps I wasn't taking enough.
I definitely need to make a docs appointment. My head thinks I am 21 but my body doesn't agree :(
Sally
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I have much the same, good days i do what i can but the days when the pain gets a bit much i take it easy. I try not to let it get me down and tell myself ,well tomorrow will be easier.
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I asked my doctor about glucosomine and chondroitin tablets. He said that whilst many people said that there was an improvement after taking the tablets for 3 months, there is absolutely no medical evidence to back this up. His advice was 'don't waste your money'
I take a prescribed anti inflammatory twice daily and didn't think it helped much until I was asked to come off them for 4weeks so I could have an MRI scan - my goodness they help! Get to the doctors!
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Greenerlife, just what happend to me....., strange as I can be good or bad but I do know I need to keep moving otherwise I would get stuck!!! Medication helps you to move and then you get better, my Dr said its the rusty gate syndrome, keep it shut and its harder to open, I have to swing mine a bit more in the morning :D
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;D Happygolucky! I know if my dog has one of his his 'i'm not going for a walk today Mum' moods, it is me who suffers! i have also taken up knitting again as my hands are really bad at the moment, but that really does seem not to help! It may be a while before I can wear that jumper!
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I take msm and it works for me .
I saw the effect on horses and dogs , they don't know what they are taking and it worked wonders .
Glucosamine affects my stomach badly , so i avoid it .
Some peoples pain limit is nil and they take anything as soon as they get a problem , without any regard to side affects . Each to their own . I take pain killers when i have to but my pain threshold is quite high , plus i read about the problems they may cause , sometimes the problems can be worse than the original one , so i don't take them if i can possibly help it .
I use them as a last resort if there is no natural alternative , such as msm , or i can't take the pain anymore .
I take aspirin to guard against heart attack and stroke , i also eat lots of onion and garlic to help as well . I don't want to stop the aspirin 'just in case ' , but painkillers don't cure they just hide the problem .
But as i say , each to their own , i am not knocking or having a go , whatever gets you by .
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I found glucosamine was a miracle cure for my elbow joints. Took the 1000mg tablets for three months with no effect then woke up one morning pain free and stayed that way for 10years. Stopped taking them 3 years ago and the problem has now returned.
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Well, there are certainly a lot of you out there with rusty joints. I'm a bit like Rustyme in that my pain threshold is higher than most, I don't run to the doctor unless it feels unbearable, however saying that I've managed to get away with not going because I was younger and would bounce back. Just having to face that I'm not bouncing back any more (Bionic you made me laugh!). I don't like the thought of having to take anything long term and I know that's probably a bit silly.
Just think that if I go to the doc's then she'll send me for tests, then back to the docs etc etc, I just don't have the time - I could tell her that I suppose and then we work on possibilities I expect.
It's not that bad really at the moment, more of an observation and a bit of discomfort and soreness now and then. Maybe if all the bad weather stops, but not much chance of that just now.
At least I know I'm in company with you squeaky hinged lot. :D
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I have seriously squeaky hinges developing too :P
The thing that makes a huge difference to mine, I've found out by trial and error, is eating gluten. Now my arthritis is probably psoritic arthritis since I have psoriasis on my skin badly too. Both are dreadful after eating gluten.
But interestingly, when I was saying this to my nieghbour, I found out that her MIL had just been put on a gluten-free diet for her joints, no psoriasis there I don't think.
I suppose 'gouty tendencies' would have been the old diagnosis.
Beer and whisky might have the same effects but there are limits to how far one can go ;)
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I remember your post before re gluten Jaykay and I was bought some GF products and hated them and went back to normal stodge, so serves me right if it is the gluten.
I'm pretty much an alcohol free zone since I had the kids, never got back into it, just makes me knackered really.
I think a lot of it is wear and tear - hands out in cold water a lot, so bitingly cold and I'm always lifting stones here (the whole place is full of bedrock and dry stones for dyking) and think that's how my left arm elbow is suffering under the stain of weight. Sure I wouldn't be so creaky if I stopped hammering myself, but then nothing would get done would it? ::)
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Oh yeh, the way to do gluten-free is not to eat gluten-free products but to just avoid grains. Most GF stuff is definitely frankenfood :P
I'm sure wear and tear comes into it - only have to look at old farmers.
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Don't forget dancers, athletes and people who have very physical jobs, some chaps who stay with us from he power station are not as fit as me :excited: :excited:
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Now this may be a bit alternative for you but worked on my mother, my dog and my cat so worth a try for you. Also worked for a friend with gout.
You can buy a bracelet that has magnets in it, it affects blood flow somehow is totally natural and it does work.
Bec
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Dear O/P make the time and get yourself infront of a doctor .. non of us on here are qualified to give you medical advice nor should we offer you personal experiences that may or may not help you .
Sorry to sound so awkward & negative it's for your own good .
David
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:thumbsup:
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I will get to the doctor at some point - probably when I'm taking one of the kids for something and I'll mention it in the passing. ::)
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Well I finally went to the docs and she said I have golfers elbow although thinks it a bit strange to have got it in both elbows. (I think it is probably more likely to be arthritis myself) She gave me some painkillers and a phone number for Physio Direct.
I was a bit sceptical to say the least but phoned them nonetheless. I have to say I was very impressed. She got me to do various exercises to work out where the pain is an how bad it is and is now referring me for a physio appointment. As the pain is in both elbows, making it difficult to do some things she is also marking the appointment as urgent. So keeping my fingers crossed that this is the answer :fc:
Sally
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:fc:
I do hope it isn't knitter's elbow... :knit: :knit: I get a really sore shoulder sometimes after knitting :knit: a lot; my Mum was a knitting maniac for most of her life and needed a replacement shoulder... ::)
Anyway, the main thing is you'll get a proper assessment from the experts and hopefully they'll sort you out too. :-*
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Glucosomine didn't work for me and I did try a high dose for over a year. I've also been gluten free for over a year and all my trouble started after that. Rheumatoid arthritis is a break down of an immune system. It can't be cured but it can be halted in its progress, psrticularly if you start treatment within six months of developing it. The chances of having it are increased if someone in the immediate family has it, particularly if they have it severely. My dad died of it so his was very severe.
At the moment I am on medication which takes over twelve weeks to become effective. I am on week seven so a while to go yet. If it doesn't work they try something else as it's one of those illnesses that affects people in different ways so the same meds don't work for all. Tomorrow I am having another injection to tide me over the next few weeks. The last one worked wonders and I started sleeping properly instead of waking in pain several times.
My pain threshold is fairly high, I think. After all, I have had children without too much trouble. The worst bit is the stiffness and I do try to move a lot. Heated pads help my shouldersand typing helps my fingers.
Stair lift is being fitted next Wednesday. :excited: :excited: :excited: I will be able to go up and down as often as I like. OH is :excited: :excited: too, as he won't have to keep going up to fetch me things.
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:fc: your meds work for you, Lesley. I've friends and relatives with RA, and all have eventually found a medication regime that suits them and keeps them able to live normal lives most of the time. But it can take a while to find the right combination, I know. I have seen how frustrating it is in the meantime. :hug: :-*