Osteoarthritis Members....

[greenjeans]

Hi

I'm looking for people here who suffer from Osteoarthritis (Not Osteoperosis) specifically of the spine. Before I detail what I'm living with, would like to identify a few members here for a bit of a chat session. Would love to hear your story and the kind of pain you suffer with, what you are doing about it, and if you have found anything to relieve you to the point of living a reasonably normal life.

I'll check back over the weekend
THANKS!
Jeannie

[Baybreeze]

Hi, I have spinal OA with DDD, which had caused me severe lumbar spinal stenosis. I had surgery, which helped alot, but I have issues with scar tissue plus I think i'm getting more disc herniations. The surgery helped my stenosis pains alot, but I am not pain free, because the arthritis alone causes me pain and alot of stiffness.

It's very hard to sit for too long, I can feel the pressure in my spine and rear end...and plus if I sit too long, I get sooo stiff, it's very hard to get up and try to straighten up. For me I've noticed the more humid it is, the worse my pain & stiffness gets. And when it;s warm and a storm brings in cool weather, that also hurts.

I have been doing phyiscal therapy exercises for 2 years now (I started via script from my rheum in March or April of '06 before I had surgery...insurance only paid 30 visits, but my PT offered me to come there to use all their equipment for a low monthly fee, so I just kept going). I am not sure how much the exercising is helping b/c I still keep getting problems and pain...but I don't know if I would feel even worse if I didnt do all this.

I have a hard time bending and turning. It's hard when I drive or back up out of a parking space, b/c I can't turn my torso very much to look around. Many times I also have problems turning my neck. I rely alot on all my mirrors as well. Just driving in the car is a project b/c my back & neck start to hurt plus my toes get pins & needles in them. And when I have nerve pain it gets even worse while sitting in the car. And now, again, I'm having trouble walking or standing for too long and I'm not sure what the cause of that is yet. But all of this is limiting me in what I can do. Of course housework is hard, sometimes it's hard to shower and dress, like when I have bad nerve pains. I can't go to the park, or flea markets , or fairs, etc...b/c that requires walking around, which I cant' do for long without alot of pain in my hips/sacral/pelvic areas. I get alot of muscles spasms, too....sometimes I am wearing multiple heating pads in different areas, I've had to do that at work, too. When my neck killed me, I had to sit on a 6" carton full of catalogs instead of my chair...so that my neck and arms were literally at desk level. When I wake up in the morning I'm very stiff. I sleep on my sides and sometimes I'll get pain in particular areas of my lumbar or thoracic spine while laying on my side and breathing in. It can hurt in a specific area of my spine and when I breath in too deep, it causes almost a sharp pain in that area of my spine that radiates usually out to the right. But once I get up, it doesn't happen anymore. It will take me a while to get moving. I usually have differing levels of stiffness all day long, but even though I cant walk too long, it does help shake off some of the stiffness. I was doing my PT stretching again after surgery, but for some reason the more time went on, the harder it got for me to stretch. And now any kind of stretching instantly brings on painful cramps & spasms.

I do whatever I physically can...I still do my PT exerices (sometimes there are some I cant do, especially if I have sciatica); since I'm home right now I can get up and lay down whenever I need to, so it's not as bad. At work it was harder b/c I had to be on the phones all day. Now i'm unemployed b/c my company is closing, but I was found eligible for Vocational Rehab and will start more school training next week. That will be hard and I'm worried b/c there's no way I can take my muscle relaxer there, it makes me dizzy and I cannot focus well. The lyrica also makes me feel a bit strange. But both meds together help a little with my nerve pains and spasms. When not taking them, it all gets worse and in turn it's hard to concentrate just from pain. So I hope I can get through the training and pass in the end. While at my last job, i'd been there for a long time in severe pain everyday and somehow got through it, so I hope I can do the same with school...and hope someone hires me quickly afterwards. The school says they have placement help, plus Voc Rehab will help me. I can't walk for exericise, can't do a bicycle b/c it kills my neck leaning forward; I wish I had a pool closeby, that would be the perfect way to exercise for me. All I have is my bathtub, but, that ain't gonna work! LOL

Over the years I have tried so many meds & supplements (relafen, mobic, feldene, lidoderm patches, bextra, medrol dose packs, acuflex, ibuprofen, celebrex, limbrel, ESI's, fish oil, glucosamine/chondroitin, multi vitamins, extra VIt D, calcium, & magnesium..and probably some that I'm forgetting). In the early stages when I tried Bextra, that seemed to work great, but only a few weeks later it was being pulled off the market. Some of the others I had reactions to & had to quit; the medrol packs helped me most on the higher dose days; I've taken oral prednisone (40mg per day) for a flare of something else....and that is the only med i've ever taken that really, really helps me big time. Even the ESI's help me alot, and lessens my spine stiffness greatly. But of course one cannot keep on taking it all the time. So now, I am not taking anything specifically for OA. I am taking Soma & Lyrica for spasms & nerve pains; Plaquenil for lupus; and I thought I was taking something else, too....but geez, I cant even remember what now. But i'm not on any anti-inflammatories so my spine pain & stiffness continues and I just take it day by day.

[aether4]

I'm starting down that path of back problems and have had doctors tell me outright - it will get worse. I have facet joint hypertrophy, an L4-L5 disc bulge with tear, a transitional vertebra at L5-S1 which will lead to more structural problems eventually, SI joint arthritis, and spurs on several of my cervical vertebra. I also have scoliosis in lower and mid back, kyphosis in my neck, and some hypermobile joints thrown in for fun.

At only 25, I can't blame improper lifting injuries or past school sports(avoided them like the plague!). My back problems are pretty much genetically caused. My mother has a lot of problems with her neck and the hypermobile joints too.


I seen your other post in the back section about being resigned to live with pain, unfortunately I cannot think of any period of my life (that I remember) where I did not have pain. Of course I have good days but I also have GI issues and neurocardiogenic syncope (with tachycardia and bradycardia) - the NCS means plenty of headaches and migraines (along with the ones that come from my neck), and a tendency to fall which is not good for my back at all. It also makes me very sensitive to the basic treatments for back issues - ie, local anesthetics in injections. The GI issues are torturous and meds I take for my back really tear my stomach up some days.


I've had days, weeks where I could barely walk because of pain and my right leg not baring my weight (SI joint issue). I'm convinced the scoliosis in my back is worsening... in the last 8 years I've lost about an inch in height and I've had it wake me up with pain so bad that it felt like someone was twisting my spine while stabbing a hot knife into it - the doctor x-rayed it but sort of shrugged it off as the curves don't look to be that bad.

Standing too long, not that I can (tachycardia acts up and I get very dizzy, shaky, nauseous, chest pain, fall over), causes my back to spasm. Sitting too long makes mid back and SIs hurt. Pain and tachycardia, one likely helping feed the other, causes plenty of fatigue. I've also developed shaky hands, whether that's from my neck problems or NCS I'm not sure. I love to draw, paint, sew, and do bead work but this really interferes with all of that. I find it so incredibly frustrating that sometimes I almost want to cry.

It seems like we have to pick and choose and hope to find some balance that means the least pain...
The high likelihood of back surgeries in my future honestly scares me. All together it's rather depressing, so far I've managed to avoid actually getting depressed but having one health problem that will get worse and another that I will be stuck with for life - and probably with improper/poor treatment, I wonder how long it'll be till I am. No real relief from anything so far. I take tramadol when the pain is really bad, acetaminophen for moderate to bad pain and headaches, flexeril for spasms and headaches from my neck, relafen daily to keep the edge off. I mostly try to cope with it all the best I can.


(sorry, if this post sounds incredibly whiny and negative it's because previously mentioned GI issues have had me in a lot of pain for the passed 10-11 hours)

[snowmelts]

I have Osteoarthritis (OA) in both knees and both feet.
"Snap, crackle pop" is my middle name.
A fringe benifit is the heel spurs on the feet too, of course.

I also have OA in EVERY inch of my spine from lumbar to cervical as well as osteoporosis. Spurs abound of course all up my spine, but those are normal with OsteoArthritis and can actually be a good thing if they are growing in the correct directions. I have so many spurs my bone density scans (for osteoporosis) come back saying the calcium count is "spuriously elevated" but none the less the osteoporosis shows up.
(pain from spurs happens only when they grow in the wrong directions)

My spine has become bent 15% from this unhappy combination of OA and osteoporosis. Because of this bending I suffered reoccurring hip Bursitis for a couple painful years. Bursitis occurs in the hip when the spine bending pulls the muscle too tight and stresses the Bursa sacs on the flat bone of the hip. It's very painful.

The knee arthritis hit first in 1999 and kept getting worse.

Then the spine began it's ongoing steady downfall, first with swollen dics, then naturally they shrunk to DDD and that of course is the start of the OA and it just gets worse and worse as time passes. The spine joints get out of place as the disc no longer keep them in place.

finally last summer the foot OA appeared.

AS you can read in posts above we all try control our pain in diff ways.

I have PT for my back a couple winters running and had the steroid shot in the hip for the Bursitis + more PT.
The steroid shot did get rid of that Bursitis horrid pain but it was temporary and the pain returned since my spine was still bent and slowly bending more continuely pulling the muscles too tight.

All of that is fine but does not solve the problem.
The PT did NOT get rid of much pain for me.
It did get rid of some stiffness though.
I still do some of the excercises at home when I feel the need.

3 years ago I discovered sleeping with a knee contour pillow between my knees was a wonderful help for my lower back. I also sleep with a pillow between my ankles.
I refuse to sleep with out those 2 pillows again.
Those do me more good in the way of pain and stiffness relief than all the PT combined.

I highly recommend those knee pillows to anyone with any back pain.
I also like a pillow behind my lower back when I set in a chair.

For my spine I discovered a great Chiropractor 2 years ago. I can't praise enough the wonderful help he has given me.

My hip bursitis is GONE.
I can now bend and touch my toes and actually straighten up again WITHOUT pain!

I sure could not do that before my Chiro helped me.
BEFORE seeing him I could not even unbend and straighten my back again from lifting a roast out of the oven. Yes, using an oven to cook ment pain. Any bending ment pain.
The manipulations he does are called "Subjegation" (however that's spelled). Bascially he is trying to keep the joints as lined up as possible to slow down the bending of my spine.

No Chiropractor can cure arthritis or unbend what is already bent in the spine, but they certainly can help with the pain and slow the rate of bending of the spine. At least mine does. I go faithfully and intend to do so forever.

He has enabled me to painless move my neck side to side, set straight while driving and if I want to I can even rest my head back on the head rest while driving which I could never manage before!

Oh sure, even with a small sponge pillow behind my back while driving I do still get achy back and stiff knees setting from too long in the car.

He only does the spine, not knees or feet.

By the way ...BEFORE I used the above mentioned pillows and saw the Chiro I went through a period where getting my body up off the bed in the morning was ~sigh~ a monster painful problem.

I got a Quad cane (basically a straight cane with 4 feet on it).
I put it by the bed headboard.
In the morning when my back would not cooperate I found turning on my side while still lying down, reaching the cane, slowly moving my feet off the bed and then pushing on the cane for leverage to lift my torso upward into a sort of setting position was the least painful way of getting up.

I still keep my quad cane there but since discovering the knee contour pillows and the chiropractor I haven't needed it because my back lets me get up without it. I still use the "from on my side" position to get up though.

For my knee arthritis I find and athletic knee support helps reduce swelling and pain. Those supports can prevent a lot of pain if you put them on before starting to do whatever is hard on you knees.
Aspercream helps,
Tylenol arthritis helps.

I believe (from trial and error personal testing) that a suppliment of Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM does help lower the amount of knee pain so I take that daily. But I don't think it does anything for my spine pain.

I find that taking 3 Alfalfa pills helps my knee pain. Have no scientific knowledge as to why that helps but it seems to for me. Alfalfa does have natural Vita K and maybe that's why.

OF course we all have been told to take our Calcium and vita D haven't we.

For both the spine and the knees when swollen and sore, first cold packs and then heat pad helps.

My heating pad has a messager setting .. a nice warm gentle back massage while watching TV is nice (after a cold pack to shrink swollen muscles around my spine.)

NOTE: avoid those messagers with metal balls in them.. they can really hurt rather than help if you have OA.

And of course elevate knees and feet with OA.
A hassock in front of my living room chair is a necessity.

For the foot arthritis sadly I had to go to a perscription for pain control.
Tramadol (generic name for ULTRAM).
But not daily. JUST on the days I have the very worst pain, otherwise I use Tylenol Arthritis.

I gotta admit that Tramadol does a very nice job of OA pain relief but it also makes me sort of "unalert", like I need a nap.
I don't drive when I take it.
Taken before bed it's not gonna actually put me sleep but I find it makes for a really nice peaceful nights sleep when that pain was fierce all day.
I don't take Tylenol Arthritis when I take Tramadol.

For the heel spur pain I did get the steroid shot (thank goodness for that)
and was told to get soft rugs to walk on at home
and over the counter shoe inserts.
That has helped.
I aslo find soaking them in warm water really relaxes the pain in my feet.

UNBELIEVEABLE how much that foot arthritis hurts.
It hit me fast and hard, not a slow evolving like the spine & knee arthritis.

My knee & spine Osteoarthritis does not tell me when we are getting a storm but my right foot gets unrelenting sharp pains an hour or so before a sudden storm hits.
The right foot seems to have less arthritic joints (so far) than my left foot and therefore gets less pain.

Other suggestions I have for OA problems is to get both a good grab bar AND a Balance Bar for the shower/tub situation and well as shower bench and hand held shower.
My hand held shower has a messager setting and my arthritic back loves that.

I often put the plug in the tub so warm water can soak my arthritic feet while I shower setting on the bench.
Happily, I don't always have to use the bench but when I do it's there for me.

I also suggest a good "grabber" to reach those light weight things that cause us bending or reaching pain.

OH, and remember wheels are your friend.
Planters for pots should be on wheels, my laundry basket is on wheels, grocery cart from car to house is on wheels and it's easy to strap any heavy thing to a portable luggage carrier on wheels.
Any Furniture on wheels helps a lot with housekeeping too.

Because of my knee and foot arthritis I do keep a normal cane available in my unberella stand at home as well as one in the car..for bad days.

Don't Slump. Keep your posture as straight as you can. Kept the muscles around your spine strong to hold that spine in place straightly.
PT can help with that too.
Simply reaching with both arms straight up trying to touch the ceiling while standing flat on your feet is a good non-impact excercise for the spine if you can do it.

OH, about height.
When my adult son said "Mom, you shrunk" it was real eye opener for me.
I remember saying the exact same to my elderly aunt many years ago.
His comment was what prompted me to go get a bone density scan.
YEAH. I've shrunk 2 " but that is from my osteoporosis, not my OA.

Looks like I wrote a book, but You asked what we do to control the osteoarthritis problem so I tried to think of everything I've done about .
I hope my suggestions help someone.

[sunshine12]

Snowmelts, boy your like a walking book of information , so sorry you have so much on your plate.
I wanted to ask you about Tramadol. I didn't know you could take this when you need it. I have it but because they say it is so hard to get off of I decided not to take it. However, I have OA in my hips and I am just a few weeks away from surgery. The pain is so incredible I am thinking of taking the Tramadol just to get a nights sleep. They say it works! I was just worried about taking it everyday but intermitten seems better to me. Thanks