Osteoarthritis

[lonikay7621]

I have Osteoarthritis and it is getting worse. I taken Celebrex, Norco, Tramadol and Vicopren. None of these are working. I don't have insurance and go to a public health clinic. They don't seem to know what to do. Could you please advise me on what I can take that will help with the chronic pain and will be inexpensive.

[Jaybay]

Depending on the joint, occasional steroid injections can help.  I have osteoarthritis in my hips - too many years as a ballet dancer.  :-/  It finally got bad enough last winter that I mentioned it to my pain doc.  It worked great and didn't hurt too badly.  The only drawback is that relief only lasts a few weeks, so I save the injections for winter when I'm nearly crippled.  My doc won't do them more than twice a year at most because the steroids can eventually wear away more of the joint if done more often.

Even though the anti-inflammatories you've tried haven't killed your pain, you still need to take them to keep the arthritis from getting worse.  Have you tried Aleve (naproxen)?  It works really well for me but shreds my stomach if I take it more than a few days.  After that it's back to advil.  I know you go to a public clinic, but surely there is some mechanism to get you in to a pain management physician or even an orthopedic doc?  It can't hurt to ask since they admit they don't know what else to do.  

Stay as active as you possibly can.  I know it sounds like a contradiction, but with arthritis if you don't keep moving in spite of the pain the affected joints will eventually become useless and even more painful.  I'm not talking about pounding yourself with joint-barring activity, but even regular slow walks or anything that keeps your joints moving will help.  The more muscle mass you retain, the less stress goes on your bones and joints.

[namnam46]

Hi lonikay,

I  want to welcome you to the Pain Management Forum and let you know that I'm glad that you have found the Forum. I need for you to understand that there are NO Doctors on the Forum. We are all CP (Chronic Pain) Patients and try to help each other by sharing our expertise and experiences we have had with our pain conditions.

I'm so sorry that you are having these problems with your Arthritis. I also, suffer from Osteoarthritis. I know how VERY painful it is.

The best thing that you can do is to ask them to send you to a PM (Pain Management) Dr.  I can't recommend any meds to you as your Dr. needs to do that. If you can't go to a PM Dr. then you need to keep working with your Public Health Clinic. YOu will need to work with them and TRY to make it work as best you can. They might need to give you a Long-lasting med and a med for BT (Break Through) Pain. That's what a PM Dr. would do for you.

I wish you the best and I hope that you will let us know how you are doing and keep us updated on how you feel......Sherry