Hi all, I have been struggling to work & walk for last 8 months & kept being fobbed off with u have probably pulled a muscle etc each visit to complain of pain. Finally managed to get xrays & then my gp phoned me & diagnosed me with oa in both knees, he told me to collect anti inflammorties, cocodamol & tummy protectors & await physio referral...that was 8 weeks ago. I still can hardly walk. I live upstairs of a converted house in a council flat, so struggle to get in & out of my property, I was on reduced hours at work as a carer in the community as was struggling to drive to each patient & was needing more care than the patients I was seeing! I then went sick for 4 weeks & still no improvement so it was agreed I should leave 
Life sucks atm, I am putting on more & more weight, stuck up here unable to do simple things like take a bath unaided & been told I can't have a shower even if I pay for it to be fitted etc by the council as my property isn't suitable for it. I can't do housework without a real struggle, take a walk etc. Sorry for moaning but feel totally alone
Hi, moan away, I've been crying all weekend, my spine is killing me and was told my first disc has gone and the rest are following. I need to lose three stone but I don't know how. They've referred me to physio but they can't even give me a consult until three months time. I have to work so do it in pain and I've now had enough. Please shoot me! Lol
Hi Pixie, I really feel for you hun. If the painkillers aren't working for you, then you need to go back to your GP. Maybe you can also contact the council for help to get a downstairs flat or a bungalow. Your GP might help with this. I know it will all take time but you need to look to the future and try not to let it get you down. I realise it's not easy. Living with pain is not hard but believe it ir not it is something you get used to. We all struggle with day to day activities but you find ways to cope. Try to co-ordinate your painkillers with what you have to do. If I go out I make sure I have my painkillers at least 30 minutes before. My GP has prescribed Piroxicam gel, I find that helps a little. Perhaps something similar could help you, or you could try a TENS machine. Ask for a referral for physio. Sometimes you have to be very persistent with GPs to make them realise how much pain you are in, but remember you're not alone. I'm sure others will be along with advice and suggestions. Oh, and if you can't have a bath just have a strip wash. I know it's not the same but it's better than struggling to get in and out. I hope things improve for you and you get that pain under control xxx
Hi Lindsay & Celsb, I am just so glad my stairs are not communal lol, I go up & down them like a 2 year old! I am in constant pain, I have been crying a lot this weekend, not only as in so much pain but because feel totally useless! I will make another appointment with the GP about it. I have put a plastic shower hose on my taps even though I am not allowed to cos I need to wash! I have been asking the council to either move me or put walking aids/shower etc in our place but all they have said is look for an exchange, I have been on the exchange list for 8 years & actively looking. I have 2 teenage girls so not allowed a bungalow as they are for over 50's or couple with no children. I am only 40. I have 4 stone to lose somehow! I am waiting for a physio appointment to come through the post, I guess it is all new & a random phone call from the GP was a complete shock & I didn't ask questions or anything x
I don't want to tell you something you already know, but losing that 4 stone will really help your poor knees. I went to WW and got down to my goal but it has been creeping up a bit just lately. I downloaded an app to my ipad by Glenn Harrold - 'Losing Weight'. It was only £3.99 and although I was really sceptical it has given me so much motivation and I have lost 6 lbs in two weeks. I am thrilled to bits. I just don't want tyo overeat now. I would never have believed it! It also sends me to sleep and I sleep like a baby. I highly recommend it.
No, I don't have shares
Hi pixie, I've actually written to my gp today to do something constructive and helpful, so just keep bothering yours, also ask him to write to the council saying how you need ground floor accommodation or your flat sorted so you can get round easier. Change your painkillers if they don't work, mine are useless during menstruation and the pain fifty times worse.is yours worse then?
I was on a diet for 7 months, 1400 calories, squats, jogging (made my spine worse but kept at it), sit ups and press ups and I didn't lose a pound. I got tested for thyroid and nothing. I did weightwatchers for four months of those 7 and nothing happened. I also have ulcerated colitis so am on other meds too and had steroids which made me put on the weight in the first place. I just am stuck. I will give yours a go and see what happens
That must be awful Lindsay, putting all that effort in and not getting results. If you do try the hypnosis app let me know how it goes. It had good reviews but I didn't think it would work for me. Good luck xxx
Yes it was, then after the oesteoarthritis diagnosis they've come back with my spine discs are disappearing, then given me codeine and left me. I'm going to try different stuff until it works, I'm looking for a treadmill and I am going to keep fit. Exercise is very good for os, so the more you can do the better, so do as much as you can pixie.
I am on an implant which stops all periods for me I was on the injection prior to that. I have lost 3 stone with slimming world but I am stuck, I have shaken my diet up, cut back on syns, increased syns, nothing! Others hit the gym at that point, I also have slipping patella, my right knee dislocates even if I am my ideal weight although it hasn't gone in a while (touch wood) through out my teens & 20's I seemed to be almost constantly either in plaster or physio for my escaping knee, which is what has caused the oa of course! Now my left knee has it too due to change of posture while walking. If your app is available on android google play, I will give it a go, thanks
Yes it was, then after the oesteoarthritis diagnosis they've come back with my spine discs are disappearing, then given me codeine and left me. I'm going to try different stuff until it works, I'm looking for a treadmill and I am going to keep fit. Exercise is very good for os, so the more you can do the better.
poor you , i know how you feel , go back to your gp and ask him for help , and if need push it ,i joined a sceam called paris recomended by my gp , its at a gym you will have a trainer trained to help you , sounds scary but its not they will help and put you where you need it most ,there are always lots of other people just like you ,you can takl to them or not its up to you , its not all poeple who trian all the time , i deciede to swim and love it ,i got to swim 2 miles before my tkr and have got back after the opp now im having the other knee done on monday . your gp should be able to help you in your home too ,
oh and you will be able to claim if your not working due to yourhealth
Hi pixienix73. Sorry to hear that. Perhaps with the medications and physio treatments you will feel better. One of the things I do is eat when I feel bad... which is bad for overweight people like us. So I try to divert my attention. I read a good book or watch a good movie. If I feel peckish, I will try and pick some low calorie stuff like sugar free gum, cellery sticks to pacify my cravings.
Just know that you are not alone in this... Take care. :-)
Well I went back to my gp, he gave me some stronger co codamols & a load more naproxin & tummy beans, he said there was no gym membership scemes or support groups locally that I could join & they don't help with housing now days as councils don't have properties to dish out these days so was generally very unhelpful! The council told me to keep searching for an exchange, as I have been for the last 8 years! I am not sure what & how to claim anything or what I am entitled to so if anyone could advise me or point me in the right direction, I would be most grateful
You could try your local councillor or MP, or ask the council to put a chair lift in. That'll scare 'em!
Hi Pixienix
I've just come on to this thread {been away for a while} A lot of GP's think "Oh wear and tear" thats nothing......they dont have it......you have to be persisntant and if they wont help {re pain relief} change doctors.
I really feel for you being upstairs and struggling......thats enough to bring on depression. As for taking a bath......can you not put a bath board across the bath and bath from there? Not ideal but its better than nothing.
Our area doesnt have gyms with personal trainers {well not a scheme because you are ill} Possibly if you paid for a personal trainer....HA!!!
I went to slimming world and lost weight....I tried WW but I didnt find it as good.
I know i couldnt do exercises......I do chair based ones.....go to chair based zumba and chair based yoga as well.
Keep moaning if it helps at all...we are all in pain of some sort or other.
Me.....its my spine and hips
Love
Eileen
I have been back on the phone to the housing office & they have agreed to send out waiting list register forms & she said to add a copy of my xray results, explain how I struggle & what meds I am on etc & she would see if she could put me on the waiting list for more suitable accomodation
That sounds promising. You might get a nice ground floor flat or even a bungalow. Good luck! We all expect to be invited to the housewarming :D
My gp was very unsympathetic! I have been to slimming world & still follow it although I haven't been to group for a long time, I got stuck at a 3 stone loss & tried alsorts to shake it up & just couldn't shift anything extra so I decided it was a waste of a fiver a week, I couldn't get there now anyway! I will look into chair based zumba & yoga, not heard of that before! Thanks