ARTHRITIS - KNOW YOUR ARTHRITIS

KNOW YOUR ARTHRITIS

My experience with Arthritis is not first-hand, as an arthritis sufferer but more as a hands-on care giver. Both my only sister and my ex wife are arthritis sufferers having rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), respectively. 

Quite recently, my sister has had both her knees operated on because they audibly "clicked" and "squeaked" whenever she walked. For her, it was embarrassing and very painful. However, after the op, the noises subsided but the pain and the immobility remained. She is so physically impaired, that she never or hardly ever leaves home because getting in-and-out of a car is a mission, no, for her, its a double mission.


My ex wife suffered from finger-joint pain and wrist pain, often crying into the early hours of the morning because of it, especially during Winter. At times, she would wake me to rub her joints or to make her a hot water bottle only to return to bed and find her sitting-up, silently crying. 

But her arthritis was not limited to her hands alone, it was also in both her knees, both her ankles and the left shoulder blade as well as her toes on both feet. Often she would get a cramp in a toe, requiring me to apply mild pressure and pull the toe erect until the cramp subsides. 

Poor circulation resulting in her having cold feet which really got her under but keeping warm helped somewhat, so I invested in an electronic blanket for her. For more than 20 years I've watched her suffer and brave the pains of arth-ritis.

What I am about to say, is debatable or even controversial but of all the books and literature I've read and seminars I attended and physicians I have consulted, I concluded "there is no cure for arthritis" but by taking charge and managing your arthritis, you can lead a full and richer life. 

To qualify my statement, arthritis is so varied in its symptoms and just as vast in its treatments, that we cannot call arthritis a single disease but rather a disease with more than a 120 separate disorders, among which are gout, psoriatic arthritis, fybromyalgia (FM), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), bursitis, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and polymyositis to mention but a few. But collectively we may call them idiopathic arthritis (IA) meaning doctors do not know the cause of them.

What type of arthritis you have is dependent on your chemical profile and the childhood illnesses or allergies that you may have had. This statement may cause some controversy but my sister suffered rheumatic fever as a child and my ex wife suffered psoriasis and hay-fever as a child. 

My son inhered the hay-fever from her and only time will tell if he will also sufferers from arth-ritis. My neighbour due for a hip replacement suffered colic as a baby.

Next-up I will chat about allergic arthritis.