The pain in Palm of hands below fingers can be excruciating . It feels really inflammed for awhile so upsetting . Anyone else had this. How do I cope . Surely I havnt got to suffer like this . Paracetamol no use can't take ibrofenal . Doc prescribed neurontin but still geting pain
Hi Thelma
I'm sorry you are having such problems. I'm answering but havent got those problems.
I have osteoarthritis in my hips, ankle, lower back and neck.
Recently I had my 2nd hip replacement and weeks post op a bone fractured {at the top of my leg} nothing can be done about it so I'm on crutches for life.
I've also got kypho scoliosis......slight hump at the top of my back and a C shape curve in my spine
This isnt a moan its just to let you know that although I havent got your problem ....pain is pain is pain.
I'm in the UK..........dont recognise ibrofenal or neurontin???
What are they for? Antiinflammatories or pain killers or...... ??
I've heard of wax baths for hands......for people with arthritis in hands.
I dont really know because if you read my story you know its different
Who have you seen about it apart from a GP? Have you seen a consultant, a physiotherapist or a pain clinic?
Take care
Love
Eileen UK
Hi Thelma
So sorry to read of your pain, I have oa in my fingers, they are all miss-shaped and I am 52 Dr has prescribed me with naproxen, I take one in the morning and one at night, before that I was on Celebrex which was brilliant but after a year it had affected my kidneys, so now on naproxen and also omeprazole capsules to line my stomach, not quite as good, but I can cope. We are here for you, in one way or another. When my hands get hot and swollen, I put them under the cold tap for a few minutes, that helps to relieve the tension in them. Unfortunately if my hands get too cold, I have more movement, but the pain is sometimes unbearable- just can't win.
regards and best wishes
Julie
Hello Thelma, so sorry you have so much pain. Not sure if anyone with OS can be pain free but in my expereince there are periods when it gets better (I am not going to describe my own sitaution as it is extensive). I take pain meds at night as otherwise I could not sleep but usually during day I cope. My coping strategies have been: doing a serious meditaion course and using meditation on daily basis, healthy diet, exercise (in my case it is yoga twice a week, Pilates once a week, push bike from time to time) and generally active and healthy life (so very little alcohol and no smoking), I also developed interests which keep my mind off pain, in my case it is art but it can be anything that you like and enjoy.
OS is sadly for life so learning to live with it is the only way.
Wishing you as little pain as possible
Read about OS, the more you know the more strategies you will find to cope
Thanks for answering apparently they do something to the nerve pathway only been taking for 3 days so far . Seen rheumatologist got to go back in 4 weeks for scan and X-ray results . Seem to be in limbo at the moment . Just want pain to be manageablemanageable
Thanks for your reply . Going back to Docters end of week hopefully they can give me something better as rheumatologist has said early oa . I work pt as office cleaner so need to use hands. Will try cold water . Have looked at information online but have got myself in abit of a state about it all . Just worried I won't enjoy things again ! Sorry for moaning but trying to adjust to it all
Thanks for taking time to reply . Back to Docters end of week hoping she will be supportive with what to do . No u are right but just trying to get to grips with it all . Keep getting upset suppose this is normal , just won't to be able to do things I do now at a slower pace. Just got to think most people have a good life not to get depressed thanks for listening
Hi Thelma. So very sorry to hear how much pain you're in. I have OA in one ankle due to a major accident destroying the cartilage and in recent years have it in both thumb joints. The hands are the most painful strangely. I cant take NSAIDS either (ibuprofen, naproxen, etc) as they cause major stomach disorders even with stomach protection meds. I really understand your distress. constant unremitting pain is soul destroying. The inflammation flares up and I just want to chop off all my limbs! I'm trying out some natural remedies presently, too early to say if they're going to be of long term help but I do seem to be in a little less pain, its still there but not quite so intense as before. Ginger (the raw root type) is very good. You can make it into a tea type drink by steeping grated ginger in hot water and adding lemon and honey to taste. I also mince it up and mix it with body oil and rub onto the thumb joints. Just started taking turmeric capsules which were recommended actually by my doctor. The active ingredient is curcumin. There's not a high concentration in the actual spice turmeric so you need to buy supplement capsules from a health food store which have a high dose of curcumin in them. Apparently they are a wonderful anti inflammatory. Only been taking it for about five days so too early to say. There are no side effects with either of these items so even if they dont work I wont have done any harm. I've also just enrolled for meditation classes as stress causes the inflammation to worsen (stress makes the adrenal gland overwork and produce too much cortisol which is known to enhance pain from inflammatory causes) so I thought meditation might help me to calm and clear my head of tension etc. Worth a try I guess. I so hope you find something that works for you and soon. Being in such discomfort is hell isnt it.
Thanks for sharing what you are trying . The flare ups seem worse at night . You try not to get upset as know it makes it worse but it's hard . Seeing docter Thursday so will ask about herbal treatments aswell as you say it can't do any harm . I'm just hoping as time goes by perhaps these flare ups are not so frequent . I'm in between seeing consultant and going back to docter so don't really no much about what the docter can do for me . Thanks again it helps to know u are not alone
I has OS in my hand. The pain was very bad in one finger. The consultant gave me some relief for a few months with an injection in the joint.
I have now just had my second finger joint replacement. The pain is gone which is great. I don't have a huge amount of moment but its better than a fusion procedure and the lack of pain is priceless.
It can be "cured", treated would be a more accurate decription. The formation of new bone is controlled by two hormone receptors in the bone cells. In females they are Estrogen receptor alpha and Estrogen receptor beta. In men they are Androgen receptor and Estrogen receptor. As we get older the estrogen levels fall partly natural and partly genetic variation person to person. A deficiency in the estrogen level required to signal bone formation is a cause of osteoporosis. A low level dose
of 10-25 microgms/day is enough to keep the bone synthesis
going. HOWEVER in females Estrogen has effects on other cells besides bone
cells. Ask yourself these questions 1 Did any of your parents/grandparents die of
premature heart disease(Exclude smokers) 2 Did anyone in the family die of
breast cancer. If the answer to these questions is No go to your doc and ask for HRT transdermal patches being best. The lowest commercially available patch is 50microgm/day but its easy to cut these inhalf to give 25microgm/day. You will NOT see an immediate improvement but after 6-8 weeks the bone will be repaired and the pain will disappear. Once your estrogen level intheblood is adequate its possible to miss a patch without a problem because ittakes a week or two for the level to drop where osteoarthritis can restart.
See my message to Thelma
I had exactly your problem. Ihad a total ankle replacement I was incapacitated for 3 months but after that trouble free I would recommend it. The OA in the hands is quite different see my reply to Thelma for that
THe hormones possibly work but I think you need to be careful of long term effects of using even the smallest doses
If you want to use them please read and educate yourself based on rails of longitudinal studies. It is only when we look at studies conducted over many ýears we can see the side effects and complications
And in my humble but reasonably informed opinion there is no medication without side effects
If only it were so simple to take Estrogen. I take 100 a day and my OE has got worse not better.
You are right. The estrogen is the final link in the chain but there other links that can go wrong. If the osteocytes(Bone cells) are faulty E wont work, if there is a Calcium metabolism problem then bone cant be synthesised even if E levels are normal
Exactly that's why we need to determine the lowest dose that is effective. 10-25 microgms/day is well below the usual HRT dose
I am told that Felixeq is good but very expensive.Lloyds are selling at £16.00 a tube.Don't know whether to try it.
I did a lot of reading up about Flexiseq when I first heard about it - the logic sounded good but the reviews didn't live up to the claims by the manufacturers and when I asked my GP about the product and whether the process by which it is stated to work, he said he couldn't comment on the product itself but the technical claims were total rubbish. Jury's out on that one. It's too expensive for me to just waste money on it. Re hormone replacement therapy - there are lots of things HRT will help with but OA is not one of them. Whilst some of the cause of certain types of OA may well be due to changes in hormone levels (eg thumbs joints in women), by the time we have it, replacing oestrogen won't have any effect and it has many other risk factors which should be carefully considered before jumping in feet first. Whilst I was on HRT I felt great and things like skin, hair, energy levels etc were all improved but there are so many other side effects, on balance it wasn't good to continue long term. My consultant explained that my OA is due to degradation of the cartilage in the joints and at present nobody has discovered a way to regenerate this. Research goes on but it's a long way off before effective new cartilage can be created in an affected joint. Minimising wear on the joint, ie by losing weight, eating healthily, gentle exercise etc., are good starting points, joint replacement surgery in some cases is a possibility but in the end it's down to managing the pain and restricted mobility as best we can.
Hi Thelma,
I am from Australia. I used to take 6 (1500mg) of fish tablets a day which I thought worked for me. After so many years I decided to look for some alternate treatment as it wasn't working as well as it used to. I am now taking New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel. They are 500mg capsules and I take 3 a day and my hands and fingers are the best they have ever been. The swelling is down and I can bend my fingers the best I have done for years. I bought these capsules from our local discount chemist. I recommend them to anyone to try.
Sandra
Australia