Diabetes and Arthritis

anna29

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What ever you do, don't leave in the microwave to long. but if you do you will know about it.
We have overcooked a few, terrible smell.
however still a great idea. they are also quite easy to make ( smelly socks might need washing first )Microwave Heating Pads | ThriftyFun
Thanks for the tip and link .
It is appreciated .
 

anna29

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:joyful:
Hi guys, I hope your aches and pains are not too bad today, but the colder weather we now have must be an extra problem.

Well, since my horrible multi fragmented wrist break, I have complications. It is a form of Arthritis, RSD/ CRPS . The excruciating pain is subsiding but my hand/wrist was quite painful this morning. My wrist is a deformed shape and locked solid, fingers bent, hand swollen and many more symptoms. I attend a weekly hand therapy clinic at my local hospital.
Went back to GP today to tell him how I was getting on, and told GP my hand therapist suggested a medication called Amitriptyline, (as the two Tramodol tablets I was taking, were making me so ill with vomiting), but this has quite a lot of side affects, so he gave me Nortriptyline instead as this ( after a couple of weeks) should help a little with the pain. I found out there are about 100 different forms of Arthritis, just incredible. Has anyone been given Nortriptyline or Amitriptyline for their symptoms.?

Take care, RRB:)

100 types of arthritis :wideyed: that's a lot to read up on
Poor you RRB - first the break - then all the swelling and pain issues
you suffered with .
Now this :eek: - its not fair eh

Amitriptyline I use for the pains in my feet
Have a foot deformity mechanical pain with bone structure born with .
In the winter I get both chill blains and arthritis in my toots .

Have to take my amitriptyline before 6pm or else I can still feel
quite groggy headed the next day .
I use the 10mg dosage only for this reason .
Any stronger affects me too much .

It works by blocking the pain signals hitting my head -
professor has explained !
It is used for persons suffering epileptic fits .
Prevents the pain signals hitting your head kind of thing .
The main thing - for me - it has been very successful with my feet :D
Will ask him about my fingers at next appointment in November .

The other meds you mention of RRB I don't use .
 
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Kat100

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Hi guys, I hope your aches and pains are not too bad today, but the colder weather we now have must be an extra problem.

Well, since my horrible multi fragmented wrist break, I have complications. It is a form of Arthritis, RSD/ CRPS . The excruciating pain is subsiding but my hand/wrist was quite painful this morning. My wrist is a deformed shape and locked solid, fingers bent, hand swollen and many more symptoms. I attend a weekly hand therapy clinic at my local hospital.
Went back to GP today to tell him how I was getting on, and told GP my hand therapist suggested a medication called Amitriptyline, (as the two Tramodol tablets I was taking, were making me so ill with vomiting), but this has quite a lot of side affects, so he gave me Nortriptyline instead as this ( after a couple of weeks) should help a little with the pain. I found out there are about 100 different forms of Arthritis, just incredible. Has anyone been given Nortriptyline or Amitriptyline for their symptoms.?

Take care, RRB:)
Hi RRB sorry to learn of your outcome ...the pain must be awful ....
My spine flares up with sciatica and that is awful ...
Yes many years ago I took Amitiptyline ....I could not tolerate it ...it just made be me very tired ..it was for muscle spasms ....I take other meds now ..
It was a while ago,though ...both these drugs I understand are used a lot with good results for many ...
I take paracetamol with codeine ....for my back pain at the moment ...but does not really help ...
Glad you have the hand clinic I really do,hope the medication helps with the pain relief ...no one should have to suffer pain ...sending you my best wishes ...take care ..Kat
 
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Thanks anna and Kat :) arthritis can be so crippling :(:inpain:

I did start a thread about getting some help and advice and the support, help and advice I received was just fantastic and I didn't feel so alone with this condition. I took some of the information to my Hand therapy clinic and the condition is actually RSD. I posted a couple of photo's as well of my hand/wrist to show what was going on and someone was spot on with the diagnosis. I must post again and update my progress.

Take care and I hope you both can get through the discomfort and pain.

RRB xx.
 
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Janiept

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Hi guys, I hope your aches and pains are not too bad today, but the colder weather we now have must be an extra problem.

Well, since my horrible multi fragmented wrist break, I have complications. It is a form of Arthritis, RSD/ CRPS . The excruciating pain is subsiding but my hand/wrist was quite painful this morning. My wrist is a deformed shape and locked solid, fingers bent, hand swollen and many more symptoms. I attend a weekly hand therapy clinic at my local hospital.
Went back to GP today to tell him how I was getting on, and told GP my hand therapist suggested a medication called Amitriptyline, (as the two Tramodol tablets I was taking, were making me so ill with vomiting), but this has quite a lot of side affects, so he gave me Nortriptyline instead as this ( after a couple of weeks) should help a little with the pain. I found out there are about 100 different forms of Arthritis, just incredible. Has anyone been given Nortriptyline or Amitriptyline for their symptoms.?

Take care, RRB:)

I have been prescribed amitriptyline this week and taking it for 3 days RRB. So far no relief, but I have read that it can take several weeks to start to work. I was a bit concerned about your mention of side effects........I have obviously read the blurb that comes with the meds, but it seems that all medication has the potential to cause just about anything and everything, so didn't know what to make of it.
What were the side effects your doctor was concerned about please?
 
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Hi The problem I have been having was mainly vomiting, I have been so unwell with the break and now with RSD/CRPS Amitriptyline can make you quite sleepy/drowsy also vomiting . If you google the side affects, look for NHS site and that has quite a lot of information. I took my first Nortriptyline tablet tonight, but it will take a couple of weeks to work, BUT my hand and wrist have been very,very sore today :inpain: :(

RRB
 

Janiept

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Thanks for that info RRB I will go and check the site now. So far no vomiting thank goodness and yes I have been sleeping more but that's quite welcome after sleep loss from pain.
So sorry to hear that your problems are not getting any better and I will keep my fingers crossed for you that the new meds start to help sooner rather than later. Continuous pain sucks doesn't it!
Take Care
Janie
 
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Thank you for asking, it will take a couple of weeks to feel anything.Last Thursday was a bad day for pain but over the past few days it has tn't been to bad. Pain is always there, maiinly over top of wrist and lower thumb area, but not the cxcrcutiaing pain. I still take Tramadol but only one every six hours.. with this condition I can have a great day and then it turns the other way. Trying to look to a positive outcome. Hope you are well and you have had a good day, dispite the horrible weather !! Take care.
RRB
 

Ricky

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I have type 2 and osteoarthritis in my fingers inherited from my mum!! My mum was correct when she told me that the pain stops after the joints have swollen up and the bone growth (knobbly joints) has finished. So basically after having the pain when the bone was growing out of shape (very hot water helped) I now have stiff joints in my fingers and I can't make a proper fist anymore. This means things like holding a knife and cutting veg up and holding a pen can be difficult. The bigger the knife handle (and the pen) the easier it is and there are brands in kitchen shops that do specially wide handles.
What I do get now and again is very strange and the doctor looks at me as if I am mad. My joint in a finger will seize up completely and it can't be bent because of the pain. I then feel around for a a little bubble (air?) which I press and try to disperse. Once I have done this (the bubble moves as well!!) then the joint will then move easily and painlessly again. Anyone else had this?
 

Herbie1972

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My mum is crippled with rheumatoid - she's been in a wheelchair for the last 20 years and now can no longer walk at all. The constant pain is unbearable, despite high levels of 'pain relief'. She was diagnosed with RA the same time I got type 1 diabetes, and the doctors at the time (back in 1983) said that they thought they could have been linked, both being auto-immune diseases. Feel quite sad realising how easy I've had it, compared to Mum.
 
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I have been living with ankylosing spondylitis, a type of rheumatoid arthritis since the age of12. At the age of 42 I was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. I have always been broad chested and on the heavy side but at 5,10" and 13 st 4 give or take 4 lbs either side not really too overweight but this did come as a shock as I have a good fruit and fibre type of diet. The docs all told me this was probably due to medications over the years for the AS. I have had issues with the AS causing poor leg responses and fused vertebrae/ breast bone etc but these nerve damages are being compounded by the diabetes I am told. I would recommend scuba diving though, as well as the exercise to the cv system, the enriched air and depths leave me with a day pain free ( worth a massive amount when you are in the pain of arthritis) and sensations back in both legs for a couple of days.... Quite extreme lengths for a " day off" but I did not know the benefits until I tried scuba with my son.. I have since been on holidays and trips with magical experiences. If you get the chance... Give it a try.
 

diddly425

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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
I've recently developed painful lumpy growths on the knuckle of my middle finger and thumb of my right hand and my thumb locks and is painful when I try to straighten it. I struggle to make a fist and am finding my grip is poor and am constantly dropping things. I've been a T1 diabetic for 43 years since I was 10 years old. My GP prescribed Ibuprofen but this is having no effect and I don't want to have to keep taking pills indefinitely..........my diabetes control is very good and I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions.
 

Redbegonia

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Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have type two Diabetes which is well controlled but I also have ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease . I have played a lot of sport over many years and at nearly 69 I am still playing tennis 3x week do Pilates and work out in the gym. I find sport helps me mentally as well as physically, my diabetic nurse tells me that people who do sport generally keep their BG low. Recently( 6 months ) ago I developed severe pain in my back and down my legs and into my feet, bizarrely it has t affected my ability to play sport walk or do life in general. Trouble is I can't sleep with the pain it wakes me on and off all night. I can't take anti inflammatory medicines , we tried Tramadol but it flared my Colitis . Now my Doc has put me on Amiitriptyline and at last I can sleep with no side effects. I've been on it for about 3 weeks now and because I can sleep better I feel so much more able to cope with everything. I do hope all of you suffers out there find lots of relief for your problems, I've always explored every possibility and Im certainly going to try the massage with oils. I also eat a low carb diet and try to avoid dairy as well.
 

Alanp35

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Diddly - ask for referral to consultant rheumatologist. If it is arthritis it is best managed by an expert. I have rheumatoid arthritis for over 55 years, still mobile, worked very successfully etc, all due to expert management.
 

jackie4617

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
hi all im T1 and also ave form of arthiritis in my hands which rheumatoligist told me was called chiaropathy xcuse spelling has ne1 heard of it?
 

Sid Bonkers

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Hi Anna, I feel your pain, literally ;)

I have suffered with crippling spondylitis of the lower spine for years at least two or three times as long as I have been diabetic but it has got worse over time so where as it started off causing me to have odd weeks off work with a "bad back" inflamed and painful, now it manifests itself in constant pain down the inside of my right leg from groin to my big toe and the pain can come and goe in different places day by day and hour by hour. This pain I am told is caused by a nerve or nerves having been killed due to prolonged pain and is untreatable other than with pain killers from which I have tried most over the years and am now using synthesised morphine patches which I have found to be a game changer that allow me to do things mobility wise that have been impossible at times before now :)

The symptoms are like many other type of arthritis and are a malformation of bone on a joint or in my case a disk in the lower back and the inflammation caused by this. After being diagnosed with diabetes and losing over 4 stones (over 5 stones now) that helped the inflammation no end and even today I rarely get back pain now but due to the damaged nerve/s I still get the leg pain.

So losing weight and taking the weight off joints can help enormously although thats not going to help much if your arthritis is in your hands obviously but for arthritis in knees, legs and back it could be the best thing you can do but do it sooner rather than later or like me you can suffer permanent nerve damage.

Pain killers: paracetamol is a brilliant pain killer but it needs to be taken regularly every 6 hours for it to perform at its best, its no good taking it when the pain gets bad which is what I used to do and ended up with damaged nerves!! Taking a pain killer regularly will also have the advantage of a constant dribble of pain relief rather than an up and down wave if you only take it as necessary, this may or may not be true of other pain killers but it is definitely true of paracetamol as I was told by a consultant who knows his stuff where pain is concerned.

I found that pain relief is all about getting the drug and the dose that suits you as it relates directly to the amount of pain you are in and both the amount of inflammation and the malformed bone structure.

Anyone who says that diet can help with arthritis is kidding themselves there is no diet on earth that can change malformed bone structure and those who write books saying such things should IMHO be tarred and feathered and run out of town as quacks and charlatans.

There is a very small but good forum run by Jan Sadler MBE that I found useful and still visit occasionally , find it here http://www.painsupport.co.uk/
 
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anna29

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Thank you sid for your help and suggestions.
It really is appreciated :)

I find with having it in my hands and fingers .
It is the little things that I cant do is anymore painfree .
So frustrating :mad: !
Things like opening seal on the milk for a brew .
Opening a jar ,holding firmly a piece of fruit or veg to chop/cut up .
Opening a packet is easier as I can use some sissors .
Carry something heavy that requires a stronger grip -
it is so :inpain: painful .

I am aware now as soon as the weather gets wet/rainy or cold sharp mornings .
It sets it all off again .

Agree with you in regards to my own feet deformity structure no
diet can or ever will change my mechanical foot pain .
Any malfunction bone shape(s) is permanent and any stress,impact
trauma can and does do in my case - sets the pain 'off' .
Even despite wearing and using hand made orthotic foot wear .

I have to use own pain meds combo (that works for me)
Regular exercise and don't give up , warm seam free diabetic socks ,
cost a bomb like but have to look after my toots !
Regularly check my skin condition and moisturise often .
After all my toots carry me around .
 

Poison-dwarf

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I have been a type 1 for over 48yrs now & i can say stay away from feeding the drug companies and look for natural alternatives!
I use Colloidal silver for my ill's and it has kept me clean from infection and many other things like arthritis.
My hands did suffer badly, well my knuckles did that is and colloidal silver and gold taken daily stops it and also stops any other illness as well. I also suffered with bad reflux as well. this also stopped this and its a age old natural remedy, but one that works. to buy it and its cheap put
uk colloidal silver into google and you will find it. you only need 5ml a day you will feel the results fast
 

bobandpat

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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Hi all,

I've read all of this thread (unusual for me) as I'm very interested.

Hubby and I had a motobike accident about 18 years ago. As I came off the bike my right hand dragged along the ground, thankfully we always wear full leathers when on the bike. 2-3 weeks after we got home I started with excruciating pains in the right hand/wrist. Went to the docs, told him what had happened so he sent me for an X-ray. Turned to be arthritis caused by the drag action bringing on something I was meant to suffer in later life :mad:

I asked him what I should take as I couldn't open my hand enough to be able to give customers their change (owned a shop and market stall at the time). He advised paracetamol as a pain reliever but I told him that I wasn't interested in taking anything like that for the rest of my life.

He asked if I was into alternative medicine o_O so I told him that I could be convinced if it would work. He told me to try glucosamine but warned that it may not work. I researched it, on the internet (very difficult using a mouse left handed but, hey ho, it had to be done). I bought a 3 month supply from our local herbalist thinking that if it didn't work that I'd not wasted too much money. The herbalist did explain that it could take upto 8 weeks for it to kick in. I was virtually pain free within that first 8 weeks :D :woot: :D

I've had to increase the dose during this time, gone from 1,000mg glucosamine per day to 1,000mg glucosamine along with 500mg glucosamine/500gm Chondroitin in another tablet.

Hubby was so taken with my results that he started taking it too. He's had bad knees because of his early years crawling around on metal plates at work.

I know I'm still taking tablets but it feels better to me because they're herbal rather than chemical. I've been type 1 diabetic for 41 years now and they didn't have any effect on my control and, obviously, my doc new about the diabetes when he recommended them.

All the best to all of you who are in pain, it is SO debilitating.

If you think you may like to give glucosamine a try look here http://www.healthspan.co.uk/products/glucosamine-optiflex-hcl-1000mg . Though I still get mine from my friendly local independent herbalist (he price matches for me :D).