r/Thritis

Usually nsiads work quickly for me, but I'm on day 2 and I don't feel much different. Does this take a while? My pain is mostly tendon and enthesitis. Fingers crossed

71 f, had right hip replaced 10 yrs ago. In increasing pain over last 1.5 yrs now on left side - Also radiating pain (all on left side) in butt, flank, lower back, groin, upper thigh, shin and ankle area. Also seeing a neurosurgeon since I had a lumbar MRI with a fair amount of canal narrowing, stenosis etc - Except he thinks my symptoms if my pain was neural would tend to be on the right side, not left. Had two hip x-rays with different orthopedists over the last year, both said arthritis is moderate, not that bad. And that was that.

Had a lumbar epidural a month ago at L3-4; Didn't do much if anything. I cannot walk for longer than 10 minutes without being in unbearable pain. I have some bladder incontinence. Getting in cars is a process, butt first. Rotating knee outward is excruciating. One day I almost had to crawl back to our house because I couldn't continue walking. I have pain at night. I'm taking 1400 mg Gabapentin/day but the pain constantly breaks through, so I take additional anti-inflammatories.

Anyhow - I've just made another appointment with my original ortho and will try to make myself clear: I can't go on like this - It would be one thing if I were 81 or 85; okay, I'll stay at home and watch birds at the feeder; But two years ago we were traveling, touring, on my feet most of the day no problem. Yes, I'm too sedentary but I make sure to get up and move around regularly - My goal is to walk 3 miles pain free. As it is, I can't take one step without pain.

Who else has had their OA or spine issue underestimated? How did you handle it?

I am a middle aged woman with OA and some related back issues. The last couple months I've been in a terrible flare and I'm struggling with pain for days after sex (my partner is male). I've had imaging done and I'm waiting on a call to schedule my scs battery replacement, which should help a bit, too. So far imaging hasn't shown a real reason for the flare (will be able to get an MRI with my upgraded battery).

I have tried spending more time on my back, using pillows and even keeping my legs together more (the hips seem to be hurting more than in the past).

Does anyone have any tips for positions or aids that might help? I can't be the only disabled person to want to enjoy sex without increasing my pain, right??!? What have you done or changed that was useful?

Hi! I'm 20 and from Sweden, with a lot a of questions on what could possibly be going on with my body right now. I've had Arthritis symptoms for about 3 months now, starting around February at the same time as a Flu/Mystery Virus I had. It started with wrist and hand pain in my dominant hand. For a while I didn't notice much besides occasional leg pains and tingles, maybe some arm pain here and there but it gradually got worse. In early April I had cold and sinus infection for a couple of days and after that its been getting progressively worse.

Leg pain in the mornings and when I start walking, shoulder pains and arm pains, heel pain and tingling, and back pain along general body tiredness and many, many aches. So far I've had no swelling or redness but the aches and overall pain have gotten worse over time. My hands by far feel the worst.

Two weeks ago I went to the health centre for evaluation (vårdcentral) and got tests for arthritis. (inflammation, blood count, white blood cells, thyroid tests and rheumatic (CRP, RF) All those came back normal. Now I'm scheduled for another appointment in about a week. I'm not sure what to do, the only thing I can think of is reactive arthritis? No clue. If anyone is able to give me advice I'd really appreciate it, as this is very scary and my anxiety has honestly spiked on many days.

I am 37 years old, active with kids I participate at burn boot camp 6 days a week at 5am. Last year my left shoulder started hurting. I got a cortisone shot and it held out for a good while about a year later I was in need of another shot March 2026, this time just a few weeks later it’s hurting again. I am not sure if another cortisone shot is going to do much. Thoughts on surgery. My x ray says the AC joint is full of arthritis

Hi, I‘m a F (27). First of all I’m sorry because I’m not sure if this is the right subreddit to ask but I‘m just trying my luck going around asking different subreddits for advices/opinions.

I have been having painful joint pains that lasted until the next day, especially on my fingers/hands and knees. Some days my fingers and wrists hurts so bad I couldn’t even hold my phone or use a chopstick. There are nights (often nights) my knee joints and my whole foot just ache unbearably; I lost sleep time over this. I can only describe the pain as having heavy weights tied to each of your hand and leg, then the throbbing is a bonus. I also noticed sometimes after the pain started to slowly go away, my legs/hands goes numb—like I can’t feel them at all.

I noticed weather conditions and temperatures don’t really matter. I lived in a hot, humid country—everything aches. When I went on a vacation during winter with heavy snowfall—everything still ache. Being in a room that is cold or warm doesn’t matter either, if my joint decided to ache, it will.

I’m afraid of what all of this is about—autoimmune, mobility issues, nothing or everything. I do suffer from chronic migraines and is under Neurology and is on medication but I am not sure if these joint pains are related to it. I am at loss for now. What should I do? What is going on? :(

I have rotten no good arthritic feet. My right food is a hot mess with toes and foot bones affected. I also have a fused right ankle. Finding shoes that are comfortable is a struggle. I wear Hoka Bondi’s for most things. I am searching for some kind of flat and sandal that would be decent enough to wear to work, church, weddings, etc.

I've had undiagnosed knee and leg weakness and imbalance for 2 years now. My gp's have been quite dismissive due to my age (18-21) so I'm trying do some more research on conditions that might fit my problems, in hopes of being able to convince my gp to take me more seriously

Can arthritic pain feel like having pulled your muscles? If you did too much, could you have pain all over your legs, as if you did some kind of excessive excercising the day before? I see a lot about pain in the joint itself, but not a lot about the area surrounding the joints

(I aksed the mods for permission to post this)

I have a 5yo kid and end stage ankle OA. He, and his friends, are very curious about why I use a walking stick sometimes, etc.

I explained to him that I don't have any cartilage left in my ankle, so the bones are bumping together and it hurts.

Next thing I hear him explaining to his friends that his Mum can't walk because she has lost her shark skeleton 🤣🤣

Having struggled with RA for years and being a little overweight I didn't realise how much the pain was being contributed by my weight. I went from 12 stone 12lb to 9stone 9lb with the help of Cuva Health who prescribed me Mounjaro and noticed a huge difference in my arthritis control, massively better managed.

hey yall! i’m seeking advice to help my partner alleviate some of their symptoms, as i’m not super knowledgeable/experienced in this, & they have some… unique (?)… limitations when it comes to treatments.

the weather is really affecting their hand joints recently (cold-ish nights, hot days, random bursts of rain, etc.). the fact they are typing @ their computer most days for work & their favorite hobby is playing guitar really isn’t helping either. neither of us want them to give up this hobby, or to try & find a less-hand-intensive-job, but watching them suffer through their pain is killing me (obviously their pain is worse than my distress, tho!).

the problem: 1. they don’t have health insurance, so we can’t ask a doctor for guidance. 2. they can’t use most OTC topical creams since they can’t tolerate NSAIDs or lidocaine. 3. they are allergic to aloe.

these have made it pretty much impossible to treat, & i’m @ a loss for ideas :(

any & all advice is welcome!! medications, physical aids, stretches/exercises, whatever you’ve got - hit me with it! i miss being able to hold their hand, & would do anything to reduce their pain. TIA

I am having LRTI surgery on my left thumb in early June. What have others used for elevation post surgery? I’ve read that keeping the thumb above heart level helps a lot with pain management.

19M dealing with recurring knee swelling/reactive arthritis — looking for advice

A few months ago my right knee got extremely swollen to the point where I could barely walk. Doctors drained the fluid, tested it (came back clean), and gave me a cortisone shot. Blood tests were mostly good and one doctor believes it’s reactive arthritis.

After the first swelling, I eventually got back to normal. I was able to work again, play basketball again, and move normally for a while.

I also play a lot of basketball, and both times the major swelling happened after basketball games. When my left knee started swelling up, my right knee also started swelling again during the same week.

After around 2 weeks on medication, I started feeling a lot better and was finally able to walk normally again. I was walking normally for around 4 days, but now my right knee has started swelling up again as well.

The fluid has gone down compared to before, but I still get stiffness, warmth, and flare-ups where it feels like fluid comes back. No redness or fever. I’m currently on prednisone, celecoxib, sulfasalazine, and hydroxychloroquine.

I also need nose surgery because one side of my sinus is blocked, and I constantly have a lot of mucus draining into my throat. I’ve been wondering if the inflammation/infection from my nose could somehow be connected to the knee swelling and flare-ups.

Has anyone here dealt with recurring knee effusions/reactive arthritis like this? Did it calm down over time with treatment?

History of club foot correction surgery as baby. Now 35 y/o female. Talar head stress fracture along with bone marrow edema and moderate talonavicular arthritis with posterior tibial tendon degeneration. No trauma. Diagnosed about 8 months ago. Finally getting back to the routine. Hoka Bondi 9 are a game changer but cause pain when lifting weights. Anyone have similar injury or history and have a recommendation on a dedicated lifting/ weight training shoe?

[VENT]

I've (44F) had inflammatory arthritis all my life, but it got really bad when I turned about 35. This led to me finally getting properly diagnosed (no, it wasn't fibromyalgia and IBS) and getting on meds, which have been life-changing! Turns out I also have some form of microscopic colitis which goes into remission on Humira and Xeljanz.

But unfortunately, I've got breast cancer. And my oncologist says that's it for anti-TNF and JAK inhibitors as these interfere with the autoimmune process that scavenges cancer cells. Last time I had a lumpectomy they found four types of atypical cells, and apparently the action of anti-TNF and JAK inhibitors he believes is likely what led to these developing into cancer.

The really crappy thing is, I'm anaphylactic to NSAID, salicylic acid derivative drugs, and sulfasalazine. I've got liver damage from a genetic condition and my liver was unable to tolerate methotrexate or leuflonimide. I have another medical condition that's a contraindication for taking hydroxychloroquine. And because I have IBD, can't take a lot of the other biologic meds because they can make IBD much worse.

So I'm totally out of medication options. I'm already doing physical therapy or getting a massage every week. I also self massage, stretch, and will make more of an effort to exercise every day to reduce inflammation. I already eat the least inflammatory diet possible.

It feels so unfair. I have probably the cleanest, healthiest diet of anyone I know, haven't used alcohol, caffeine, THC, or anything similar in over 10 years because I just don't care for it, live in a low pollution area and avoid toxic chemical exposures as much as possible. And yet here I am. Getting a double mastectomy in just a few weeks and unable to take any medication for my arthritis.