Arthritis

[Janjan]

Sorry I know this has probably been covered a few times but still can't quite find what I'm looking for..I'm 17, have arthritis in my knees and hands. kinda annoyin as i'm tryin to learn to drive at the mo too. Basically, wanted some advice on medication..don't wana go waste a doctor's time if there's somet else i can get non prescription. Any advice? Also..I smoke pot occasionally, is it meant to help? Iv not had any recently whilst its been pretty bad so I wudnt know if its makin much difference.

[Panthro]

Sorry I know this has probably been covered a few times but still can't quite find what I'm looking for..I'm 17, have arthritis in my knees and hands. kinda annoyin as i'm tryin to learn to drive at the mo too. Basically, wanted some advice on medication..don't wana go waste a doctor's time if there's somet else i can get non prescription. Any advice? Also..I smoke pot occasionally, is it meant to help? Iv not had any recently whilst its been pretty bad so I wudnt know if its makin much difference.


GO TO THE DOC!!

Since it is pretty bad you want to make sure there is no degeneration. And s/he can give you anti-inflammatories and analgesics to make it more bearable.

Book that appointment now!! [or tomorrow since it is half ix :)]

[Scarlet]

How can you know you have arthritis if you haven't been to the doctor's? :chin:

They tend to prescribe Voltarol tablets, but you can only get the topical gel version over the counter. I don't rate gels though, so instead I'd try aspirin or ibuprofen. They're the same types of drug. Best to be taken with food, as it's gentler on your stomach.

Glucosamine is supposed to help rebuild the cartilidge, but it takes time and it's expensive.

But as Panthro says - Get your rear to a doctor's, pronto.

[Olive]

depends what kind of arthritis you have. i'm sure tates and tal will pop up at some point to give their twopenneth worth :)

i just had a steroid shot to the rear because they suspect early inflammatory arthritis, and i was told the because of the possible damage to my joints, they would rather medicate me and find out it's nothing, than leave me unmedicated, find out it's exactly what they think, and have my hands damaged beyond repair. so yeah, i'd get yourself to the doctors.

[Panthro]

""Glucosamine is supposed to help rebuild the cartilidge""

That stuff is rubbish. My friend has arthritis and she bought this [tenner for 30 tablets or something] and they did nothing, even after about 10 packets.

Am I right in assuming that you have been diagnosed in childhood but you have not been taking any presciption drugs.


**Voltarol - brand name of diclofenac [sodium]**

[Scarlet]

That stuff is rubbish. My friend has arthritis and she bought this [tenner for 30 tablets or something] and they did nothing, even after about 10 packets.
That's just her experience. It doesn't completely rebuild the cartilidge of course, but it helps ease my Mum's symptoms.

[morrocan roll]

i have it in the top of my spine and in the bottom of my spine.
i have tried every prescription going and hate the side effects.
i smoke small ammounts of weed for pain relief ...larger ammounts for pleasure.
those small ammounts are around a quids worth a day in one skinners ...it works great for me ...enables me to physicaly work hard.
it doesn't work as a true pain killer though.
it lifts the mood ...and shifts the mind slightly making you forget your in pain ...then when your about to do something like lift a bag of cement ...a little voice reminds you that your in pain and you feel the pain and get someone else to lift it.
but ...i find that if i haven't smoked in a while and then find myself in pain ...it can take forty eight hours before those little one skinners kick in ...then you have to keep it up for a few days.

[benny85]

doctors \o/ mamma b ses so and she used to be a nurse and has rhumetoid, but shes told u this already :) she takes a huge concoction of thinsg but i belive its glucosamine for the arthritis mainly, she ahd some sort of steroid thing but i think that was just a trial. shame cos she cud run marathons with them and u know what shes like without them

[Tates]

That stuff is rubbish.

Not according to my consultant rheumatologist it's not. It works for some people, and is worth giving a go if you can afford it, especially for osteoarthritis. It didn't make much of a difference for me (I have rheumatoid arthritis), but it's been really good for my dad who has osteoarthritis of the knee.

[Tates]

Basically, wanted some advice on medication..don't wana go waste a doctor's time if there's somet else i can get non prescription. Any advice?

Advice - get yourself to the doctors :yes: What type of arthritis do you have? I'm guessing it's probably some type of inflammatory arthritis since you're young? It's really important to get prompt treatment to minimise joint damage - once your joints are damaged there's no reversing it, so you really don't want to mess around. If it is inflammatory arthritis then there's all sorts of medication they can give you, anti-inflammatories, disease modifying drugs etc, stuff that you need to get on prescription. And even if all you need is simple painkillers or anti-inflammatories, you can normally get them in higher doses if necessary on prescription. It's also worth taking cod liver oil and glucosamine if you can afford to - they might not do much for you, but it's worth a try (but you need to take a high dose of glucosamine for it to have any significant effect, do a google search and it should come up with recommended doses etc - I think I remember the doses recommended by rheumatologists etc was significantly higher than the doses you could buy from places like Boots, and it was also cheaper to buy them in bulk, i.e from Holland and Barret or somewhere like that).

Hope that helps x

[morrocan roll]

joints for joints?