Hi all,
My girlfriend has been suffering with ME for over a year now however in the past month or so she has been getting very bad knee pains so much so that she stuggles to get to sleep or stay asleep or even move out of bed to her wheelchair. I was just wondering if anyone knew the cause of this and what i can do to help her? She has been taking the strongest non-prescription painkillers and they dont help her. Please help!!!
Am afraid M.E. can affect the joints as well as muscles. So sorry I don't have a magic cure. I feel your pain as I'm housebound and very bad too.
hi, most M E sufferers suffer with some sort of joint or bone pains im afraid, it is such an individual illness so its hard to explain to none sufferers from day to day how it feels and affcts us, please keep helping her as she will need so much understanding and patience as it will affect you so much too, we all hate having M E,& how is not only changes our lives but our partners and familys too,,the fact you have come on this forum shows she is lucky & you care,, some doctors are ok others are clueless & dismissive of M E & its affect on people, if you have talked to her doctor it will depend on that doctors careing levels, so many sufferers are on so many different medications its hard to say what will work for or help your girlfriend, it can take a along time to find the right medication that is best for her, at night if its the pain that keeps her awake then she will need prescribed pain killers, i take Tramadol, pregabalin, naproxen & codine,& each has different affects and side affects for me, it really will be trial and error to find whats best for her, but she has to be 100% honest with you and her self, take things very slowly & pace herself day to day, she needs to get to know what foods can affect her and live by her energy limits each day, rest and pacing are so important in helping her, i have had M E since 2001,& it took me years to accept i was ill & i faught against it,, not know i dont i do all the things i just listed,& my recovery is self helped like most sufferers, all the very best to you both..
Hi Cameron
It's so nice to see an ME sufferer's partner on here trying to support her. A lot of people are not so understanding. I have ME and used to suffer terrible joint pain but I managed to join a remedial yoga class and learnt simple movements that can help with the pain. Some of these can be done as assisted movements (you helping your girlfriend by moving the joints for her).
The joints have synovial fluid round them which is secreted when you move your joints but if you are inactive for long periods of time the body does not secrete the fluid so you get stiff painful joints. Think of it like a hinge that has gone rusty and stiff and needs oiled! A good movement for knee pain would be if your girlfriend is sitting with both feet on the ground, put one hand on the back of her thigh behind her knee and lift one leg of the ground a few inches then put your under hand under her ankle and raise the bottom part of her leg up (so the leg is nearly straight) then release the lower part of her leg first then the thigh part until her leg is back on the ground. Repeat with the other leg. Do all the movements slowly. If she is able to so any part of the movement without your help even better as it will build muscle strength.
Simple movements to loosen other joints are circling the wrists, clenching and un-clenching your hands, turning the head from side to side for the neck, small shoulder circles or lift shoulders up towards ears then let them drop and circling the ankles. These will all encourage synovial fluid to flow better. Think of it as oiling the body so it moves better!
Omega 3 supplements might be worth a try too!
HI ALL,
I can't stress the importance of light exercise throughout the
day, first thing in the morning lie on your back and do
gentle cycle type movements, rotate your feet, rotate your hands,
after a few wks, you will notice how much easier it is to walk up and down
stairs, which in itself is a good exercise, also important to self massage
muscle area with pain,
diet so important,
NO processed foods, crisps biscuits etc, NO processed meats, bacon,sausage
cut back on red meat, chicken, butter, margarine, any fast food,
cheese pastries, sugary drinks, excessive alcohol,
TOP TEN nourishing foods, avocado, beans, blueberries, broccoli, coffee
dark chocolate, linseeds, walnuts, herbs, most important small teaspoon
every day, extra virgin olive/coconut oil , there is not enough in tablet
form in sold in chemists, (at ten times the price as well)
there are to many side effects with pain killers/anti depressants
Would glucosamine supplements be worth a try?