I'm getting old...

[bladespark]

My hips are just making the usual arthritic mumblings (no, I have no idea if it's actually arthritis, but that's what it behaves like. As I have no form of insurance whatsoever, I'm not going to go to get it checked out unless it's a lot more severe than it is,) but my knee has informed me that it Does Not Approve. I can't extend it normally while walking. Extending it while sitting with no weight on it? Fine, no protest at all. Walking while taking care to keep it slightly flexed? All good. Forgetting and walking normally? Youch!

It's disgusting! I didn't even walk five miles yesterday, and I was carrying maybe three pounds of stuff! Argh! I walked slowly! I was barely tired when I got home! This should not be beyond my ability! But apparently it is. So now I get to sit about and walk as little as possible for a few days while the knee recovers, and then I suppose I'll have to work my way up slowly to longer distances, or something. Argh! I wanted to walk to the post office tomorrow, but that's nearly four miles round trip, and though it ought to be plenty easy to do, there's just no way I'm going to make that distance with this stupid knee not letting me walk normally.

I'm starting to feel like I'm getting old, and I don't like it! (And there's a little worried gibbering in the back of my mind... if I get arthritis in my hands, how will I sew? Without insurance, if something else goes wrong, something serious, what will I do? Mrf. Not fun.)

Comments

[jennycatar.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain Spark ... I KNOW I have arthritis at the base of my spine. When it's bad, it affects everything from head to toe. There were days when I lived back east that I literally crawled up the stairs and couldn't summon the energy to actually crawl into the bed that was at the time just the box spring and mattress on the floor. Winters were absolute hell. I'd at times be in tears thinking, I'm only in my 30s now, what's this going to be like when I'm in my 40s, 50s etc.. It's been 99.99% better since moving here. The warmer winters don't cause the inflamation that the harsher cold of the northeast did.

My advice, invest in some Tylenol Arthritis Formula. It's a bit pricier than regular Tylenol but it works so much better. Neither Rick nor I have insurance either, so I can't get anything prescription wise. Though actually nothing a doctor could prescribe would work for me, all the meds I used to take have been pulled off the market except ibuprofen, which I'm allergic too.

Good luck with this, and if you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me :)

[graydown.livejournal.com]

Stretches. When my knee went out, that's what fixed it: stretches that helped strengthen the muscles around the knee joint.

(I went to a physical therapist for this advice, paid almost $200, and caught bronchitis while I was there. But my knee doesn't hurt anymore! -_-)

[dexam.livejournal.com]

Have you considered taking glucosamine supplements? That is supposed to be good for fighting arthritis and joint pain.

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

I can't vouch for glucosamine (though I've heard it's pretty good; not tried it myself yet), but you might want to try fish oil supplements too.. er capsule form, not the pure liquid (bleah!). Or Advil/ibuprofen if you can have that. And warm baths! Hence my near-nightly ritual. ;) You might also want to give topical rubs like tiger balm, Lakota products and other such a try, at least for temporary relief.

Thankfully all those kinds of remedies are relatively inexpensive and (barring allergies, etc) relatively safe to experiment with.

Take care of yourself, eh? *hugs* Don't push too hard. You'll get there with patience and time.

[streakthetiger.livejournal.com]

*huggles* you`ll be fine.

Don`t worry be happy now :D