Osteo-Arthritis?

Question

I have been told I have this. I have looked up medical and alternative treatments. I take B6 and Glucosamine and have changed my diet to what has been recomended. What is really bothering me is the reaction of other people. Whenever I tell people it is what I have they are very concerned and sympathetic. I just thought the condition was something I had to get on with, and is, but the way everyone is reacting makes me feel that I am unaware of some sort of impending doom. Can someone who has suffered from this tell me what I am to expect for the future. I would rather know.

Answer 1

Osteoarthritis is a chronic arthropathy of an entire joint characterized by disruption and potential loss of joint cartilage along with other joint changes, including bone hypertrophy (osteophyte formation). Symptoms include gradually developing pain ag-gravated or triggered by activity, stiffness re-lieved < 30 min after activity, and occasional joint swelling. Diagnosis is confirmed by x‑rays. Treatment involves physical measures (including rehabilitation), drugs, and surgery.
Please see the web pages for more details on Osteoarthritis.

Answer 2

I too suffer from arthritis, and have ever since I was about 10. I was diagnosed at 18 (I'm 31 now). People call arthritis an "old person" disease and they automatically assume that we will not be able to lead a full and healthy life, like we will sit on our front porches in our rockers and watch the world go by. It is something that you have to live with, but don't let it control you. You have taken the proper steps in taking the glucosamine and B6. My I also recommend taking chondroitin? You can usually find it premixed with the glucosamine. This will help keep your joints flexible and less likely to stiffen. You may later have to have surgery depending on the location and severity, but its not a definite. I have it in my left ankle, left knee, and right shoulder. Already had one surgery on my knee, looking at another soon, and a total knee replacement in the near future. Don't be discouraged though, as mine is quite advanced due to previous injuries. Everyone is different. You need not expect, as you put it, an "impending doom". People are just not as educated about arthritis as one might think. Their judgements are clouded by the fact that mostly the elderly have arthritis.

Answer 3

Imagine for a moment your arthritis completely vanishing right now.

If, in a moment, your pain and stiffness melted away. And your joints all of a sudden functioned like a well-oiled machine.

Like a magic wand was waived, you'd be able to jump up from your chair and run around the room like a kid.

And imagine that you'd never have to suffer as much as a pinch of arthritis stiffness or pain ever again.

I know this sounds impossible right now, but bear with me, because sometimes miracles happen.

It was a gift from a woman on the other side of the world. From the kindness of her heart, she took pity on my suffering and taught me how to completely reverse my arthritis.

Today, I want to do the same for you!

Answer 4

If u have researched this disorder, then u know what to expect. It is painful and can be disfiguring, but it is something that you can live with. Many people probably have no idea what u are talking about when u tell them. All they understand is arthritis; everyone knows what that is. So when u put a word in front of it like osteo, they think welll that HAS to be much worse than just arthritis.

Answer 5

You future totally depends on you...keep doing the things your doing and try not to over use the joints that are effected. Osteo-arthritis can be disabling if not taken seriously and treated properly.. I have had osteo arthritis for 20 yrs and have always had a small amount of pain associated with it. Anti- inflammatory like Aleve help alot on days when it is painful.
Hope this helps

Answer 6

arthritis is very much a problem with my family, i have it my sister has it my mother and brother, my sister being the worst from a young age, think positive, you do have a future but hopefully with the right treatments, you can overcome this, it may worsen has you grow older however treatments are becoming better and who knows in a few years time this can be mostly cureable, for some people, i would'nt like to think that there is no future, many people with allsorts of more serious disabilities still have a future and overcome there disability,you have a future give yourself that.

Answer 7

I am 53 and suffer from the same desease. I have had it for many years.
Continue your regimen of vitamin supplements and use a product like Aleve ( generic works just as well too.)
There are also natural over the counter homeopathic "medications" you can buy in the drug store.

Use Capsaicin topical analgesic creme also helps to relieve pain in joints available over the counter.

STAY ACTIVE... and have a positive attitude.
Make surgery your last option.

Answer 8

I've had it for years and my experience is that nobody takes much notice of you, as most people seem to either have it themselves or expect to get it.You must know a lot of nicer people than I do or know a lot of doom merchants.Even my Doctor is not very interested last time I visited him he pointedly looked at his watch.There are over 200 different types of arthritis so a referral to a rheumatologist would maybe allay your fears.Take it easy and spoil yourself dont overwork your joints but get along with your life despite the blinking arthritis.Be positive and take care.

Answer 9

I'm a Registered Nurse and I too have degenerative arthritis affectiing most major joints. For the first hour of each shift, I can barely walk.
It IS a condition that, to some extent, you 'just have to get on with' - and it is essential to 'keep on going' and to stay active. Medical treatment offers very little - until, that is, you go on a list for joint replacement surgery. The problem is that, with many people, arthritis starts in one area of the body - typically the hips or knees - but, before you know it, you feel that every joint in your body is destined for a medical waste bin....
There's not actually a lot of evidence to support dietary changes and supplements either. They love to sell them to us - its a multi-billion $ industry - and we, of course, dutifully buy them "just in case" . But hospital clinics are full of people who have spent fortunes on expensive regimes of supplements....
Contrary to other answers, it is recommended that you continue an active lifestyle, with plenty of structured exercise. Once you start thinking that you must cut down on activity, or that you must 'pace yourself' - thats when real depression can set in, and that horrible word "disabled" can start to loom in your consciousness.
Activity strengthens the muscles that support the joints; it increases blood flow and the release of natural anti-inflammatory substances; counters joint stiffness - and above all it is good for your spirits. That has to be the goal.
The statistical evidence isn't comforting. Arthritis sufferers as a whole die 7 years earlier, on average, than non-sufferers - which is pretty astounding. You can't 'cure' yourself of arthriitis - but you CAN be as self-caring as possible, and delay the worst effects of it.
There is excellent advice and information on arthritis at -
www.arthritis.about.com - which is a very comprehensive site. And I also - should that time come for you - thoroughly recommend the use of hospital-based pain managment clinics, which (for sufferers of joint pain/ disease) are about so much more than simply dispensing drugs.
Good luck and good health!!! xxx

Answer 10

Try Xango juice..this is made from the fruit called 'Mangosteen' found only in S E Asia. It is a powerfull anti-infalammatory and is completly safe.