So. Here I am at nearly 57 (a few more weeks to go) and as I get older I'm experiencing osteoarthritis in quite a lot of areas of my body. Both knees (the worst of it in the right due to 2 surgeries to remove torn cartilage; also same surgery in my left knee once), back of neck/upper spine, ankles, a couple of toes, etc. Plus, I'm also having an issue with tendonitis in my right arm (a/k/a tennis elbow which can be caused by other repetitive motions such as computer use). The problem with the knees and ankles also resulted in my balance being off, and developed a problem with my right foot which is also a big problem, although under control with cortisone injections every 9-12 months.
To say this is making daily living somewhat difficult at times (and other times, extraordinarily) is an understatement. I work full time, and have a long and complicated commute to my office. I go from NJ to NYC weekdays. Using mass transit has many bad points and doing it with mobility issues is even worse - I rarely get a seat on the subway for instance which necessitates having to stand and hold onto a pole for however long it takes to reach my destination (12 minutes on a good day and on a bad day - ugh, don't even ask). I have very good flexibility in all those joints I mentioned, which is a good thing, but walking/standing for any length of time is very hard on me. I have an upcoming wedding with subsequent honeymoon and planning where to go has been rough since everywhere we would like to go probably will require me to do a lot of touring on my feet (Paris is one we're batting around).
I've had various medications given to me to try out and thus far, the only one which seems to take the edge off of the constant pain is the one I'm now on - Indocin which is a very strong anti-inflammatory. I'm still uncomfortable but it does at least help somewhat. I've tried all over the counter drugs (Advil, Aleve, etc.), none of which work. I was on Celebrex for a long while, also didn't work. Tried taking supplements which others claim work but, for me did not.
I do need to lose weight, that would help but this has been increasingly difficult as I age also - let alone when one is in pain they don't exactly feel motivated (or able) to do anything about it. But that's the least of my problems right now.
I have many years of work ahead of me. I don't see being able to retire any time in the near or distant future - hopefully in 10 years but that feels like an eternity especially with this to deal with. I'm not about to give up my job to find closer work to home (that will be useless - NJ pays far different than NYC, let alone honestly, I'm getting paid extremely well for what I do and enjoy the work, and people I am with). I don't have a "poor poor pitiful me" attitude at all, I'm realistic about this and hate having others do anything for me that I can do myself but let me tell you - working with people who are mostly half my age will really make you more aware of what you can't do and I have found myself asking for more help at the office than I care to admit. Reaching and bending for items that are not accessible to me is a daily request.
Anyway - I'm just curious if anyone would like to share their personal experiences living with arthritis and what they are doing for it. I know many members here are around my age and older so there's a good chance I can get information here. I find doctors do NOT take it seriously at all in the grand scheme of things. There does not seem to be any good medications, or other methods which work consistently from one person to another. In the meantime, I try and find ways to accommodate myself and, cut myself a LOT of slack over what can and can't be done on any particular day. I find damp, rainy days to be really bad as many others do too (yesterday, it was all I could do to fall into bed as soon as I came home, to just stretch out and relax a bit).
To say this is making daily living somewhat difficult at times (and other times, extraordinarily) is an understatement. I work full time, and have a long and complicated commute to my office. I go from NJ to NYC weekdays. Using mass transit has many bad points and doing it with mobility issues is even worse - I rarely get a seat on the subway for instance which necessitates having to stand and hold onto a pole for however long it takes to reach my destination (12 minutes on a good day and on a bad day - ugh, don't even ask). I have very good flexibility in all those joints I mentioned, which is a good thing, but walking/standing for any length of time is very hard on me. I have an upcoming wedding with subsequent honeymoon and planning where to go has been rough since everywhere we would like to go probably will require me to do a lot of touring on my feet (Paris is one we're batting around).
I've had various medications given to me to try out and thus far, the only one which seems to take the edge off of the constant pain is the one I'm now on - Indocin which is a very strong anti-inflammatory. I'm still uncomfortable but it does at least help somewhat. I've tried all over the counter drugs (Advil, Aleve, etc.), none of which work. I was on Celebrex for a long while, also didn't work. Tried taking supplements which others claim work but, for me did not.
I do need to lose weight, that would help but this has been increasingly difficult as I age also - let alone when one is in pain they don't exactly feel motivated (or able) to do anything about it. But that's the least of my problems right now.
I have many years of work ahead of me. I don't see being able to retire any time in the near or distant future - hopefully in 10 years but that feels like an eternity especially with this to deal with. I'm not about to give up my job to find closer work to home (that will be useless - NJ pays far different than NYC, let alone honestly, I'm getting paid extremely well for what I do and enjoy the work, and people I am with). I don't have a "poor poor pitiful me" attitude at all, I'm realistic about this and hate having others do anything for me that I can do myself but let me tell you - working with people who are mostly half my age will really make you more aware of what you can't do and I have found myself asking for more help at the office than I care to admit. Reaching and bending for items that are not accessible to me is a daily request.
Anyway - I'm just curious if anyone would like to share their personal experiences living with arthritis and what they are doing for it. I know many members here are around my age and older so there's a good chance I can get information here. I find doctors do NOT take it seriously at all in the grand scheme of things. There does not seem to be any good medications, or other methods which work consistently from one person to another. In the meantime, I try and find ways to accommodate myself and, cut myself a LOT of slack over what can and can't be done on any particular day. I find damp, rainy days to be really bad as many others do too (yesterday, it was all I could do to fall into bed as soon as I came home, to just stretch out and relax a bit).
