Hi Everyone! I'm riddled with arthritis (several types) and, although I have pain on both sides of my body, I find my left side is often worse than my right side. Does anyone else find this?
I also have gout attacks, luckily not often now, and they only affect my left knee and ankle. Odd!
Hello Constance, I was getting all my pain on the left side of the body, left knee left hip sciatica left side left shoulder arm wrist and hands, when I lay on my back it feels like I have something growing by the kidney but it's all to do with my osteoarthritis, I have my right hand wrist and arm which is affected now. Some days are worse than others but I have never had a pain free day I have had it in my lower back for 20 years.
Ditto with "pain free day", but poor you! I have 'only' suffered for the last four years. It started when I was 72. Couldn't comb my hair, get out of bed, climb stairs, etc etc. I couldn't believe it, I was such a healthy, active, person. I was diagnosed with PMR! I had never heard of it!! Gradually other things started aching, fingers, wrists, hips. Diagnosed with OA. Great! That's all I need, I thought! Then Dexa scan showed serious Osteoporosis. After that RA was diagnosed! Knees and ankles. I have become a very old lady in 4 years.😡
I, too, have arthritis in many places. Since I had my two TKRs last year and I actually experienced two PAIN-FREE joints, all the other areas have started to really ACT UP!
Honestly, it is like my lower back, my hips, my ankles, my shoulders, my elbows, and most recently, my thumbs and index fingers, are COMPETING to see who I will fix NEXT!!!
Have you had some injuries on that left side? Often arthritis will set in where there has been a previous injury or sprain or strain or in an area of the body that has been overused.
I played competitive volleyball all through college. That was forty years ago, but my shoulders, and elbows are feeling every serve, every hit every slam I made back then! I taught for 35 years and was constantly on my feet, leaning over a desk to help a child, or getting down on the floor with the children. My knees felt it the most. They are now REPLACED! My hips will probably be next, although, at the moment, my shoulders are the biggest troublemakers.
I keep thinking also of all the bike riding I did, all the flips off my sled, all the falls into the creek from the vines I would swing on as a kid, and especially all the times I fell on my KNEES skating. LOTS of wear and tear can happen in 64 years!
Arthritis is a NASTY disease!
Pain, stiffness, mobility issues, trouble escalating with weather changes...NASTY, NASTY NASTY disease!!!
Ibuprofen helps me. So does stretching. I try to keep moving so the stiffness doesn't set in. Stiffness can be as annoying as the PAIN!
I have had some success with IcyHot roll-on. It is especially nice on my lower back and gives a pleasant warmth that helps with the PAIN and stiffness.
I hope today will be better for you.
I really sympathise Constance. Your comment about becoming a very old lady in a short time period really hit home with me. Less than five years ago I was an active young at heart 50 something, at age 60 I feel like a completely different person - very 'geriatric'. My life is so restricted - I know that if I exercised more I'd feel better but even slow walking can be total agony and any little effort is punished by bouts of pain afterwards. Continuous pain is exhausting and soul destroying. Taking large amounts of toxic meds to mask it is not the answer for me, I feel even worse if I do that. I've even got to the point where the OA pain in my joints is the least of my worries - the fibro pain is so all encompassing I sometimes dont even notice the OA. I am just getting over a bout of rather nasty 'flu, which seems to hit much harder now I have fibro. I spent at least three or four days bed bound with it and weirdly during that time the OA and fibro pain slipped my mind - I'm now convinced half of my fibro problems are immune system based - whilst my body was battling the virus, it also battled the pain syndrome issues. Oh for just one day totally pain free, how uplifting that would be.
Hello Constance
Your gout is caused by uric acid found in red wine, red meat, chocolate, sea food & spinach, just look up "uric acid" Also, citric acid can inflame arthritis. I cut back on tomatos and orange juice and now feel I can cope. As well as arthritis I have spinal stenosis but I have weekly shots at a pain clinic & it's bringing relief after five weeks of treatment. I'm not a big fan of oral medication like pain killers as they can damage the liver. Can you exercise ? I've been going to aquafit for more than three years now, it's a great way to keep active, some of the class are in thier eighties.
Don't let pain beat you Constance !
Alpine
No injuries - my main activity was swimming so not heavy on joints. I can't take aspirin or ibuprofen (stomach and esophagus troubles).😡. I've never heard of IcyHot roll-on. Sounds like a contradiction in terms!😄
Have a good weekend.
Regards fr C.💐
Hi Alpine. I know all about uric acid, etc. Gout was an old affliction of mine. Started over 30 years ago. Strict diet and nothing 'red', etc etc. for quite a while, then, as is usual, gout seemed to disappear. Now it attacks very rarely, thank goodness! When it does it is excrutiating, but it only lasts a couple of days.
I don't let pain beat me. My husband helps tremendously. He bucks me up, gives me a massive cuddle when necessary and UNDERSTANDS.
On the subject of diet to help with pain etc., one doctor told me to exclude most anything 'white' from my diet - eg anything made from white flour, white sugar, white fats (trans fats etc). It was only a rough guide he said, to try to ensure that I eat only 'whole' foods as anything processed has had the life taken out of it and does the body no good. I have tried to stick with that general rule of thumb and also did a lot of research on foodstuffs that have natural anti inflammatory properties - like ginger, turmeric, various vegetables, etc. I'm vegetarian so red meats dont figure in my diet anyhow but I did find that sticking to a mediterranean style diet really has helped a lot - there's very little arthritis in med countries - some of that is I'm sure to do with the climate but a lot is down to the diet they eat.
IcyHot is a roll-on version of the arthritic creams that are sold over the counter. Like all of the creams, it is a "counter irritant" which tricks the PAIN centers of the body. The warm feeling from the ingredients REPLACES the PAIN sensation, so the brain says, "Oh! This feels warm!" The roll-on is nice in that you never need to get any on your hands during application.
Because of it I can garden, shovel snow, get three or more hours of sleep in a row when my lower back or shoulders start aching, and can just reapply as needed without worrying about additional pain meds that could overdo it with my stomach etc.
Hi Cheryl! On your advice I ordered IcyHot roll-on and, as you say, it does feel good. Whether it actual does you any good I've no idea!
Problem is - the roll-on is very expensive. I would like to continue using it but, as it is delivered from America - and I live in Germany- the postage is excessive for such a small packet (and the article is pretty small so I am sure it won't last long).
Ah well! I'll enjoy it while it lasts.😄
Hi Constance!
Glad that you also have found relief from IcyHot roll-on!
Postage can be really CRAZY for some items! I remember once being all set to order these delicious candies. Because they required special handling to keep them cool, the candy was $20, and postage and handling was $30!!!
I decided I really didn't need those candies THAT badly!!!
Maybe you can find a similar product locally. Not every company making a similar product makes a roll-on, but I have heard of people getting the cream version and putting rubber gloves on prior to applying it to the skin. Maybe this could work.
No cream or roll-on will fix the problem of arthritis permanently, but temporary relief, at least for a few hours, is a good thing. My favorite thing about IcyHot is laying down in bed after rolling it on and feeling the warmth exchange places with the PAIN in my lower back. Ahhhhhhh!
I hope you will be able to find a product in your country that will also work. Thanks for having the confidence to try IcyHot!
Hoping you feel better. Pain is NO FUN!