Cate's Diary

Cate said:
My pain is almost certainly osteoarthritis (more of a mechanical thing) & I am going to start taking more slow-release paracetamol (2 at midday as well as 2 in the morning & 2 at night. I start playing golf feeling good & get stiffer & experience more pain as I go. She seemed quite sure that is what I have. I can't take any anti-inflammatories as I am allergic to the NSAID family. I think I will see if I can get a massage soon. I used to go to a woman who gave a tough massage that I liked. I'm not sure she's still doing them. I'll ask around.
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I hope the paracetamol helps. Is that about all that can be done for something like osteoarthritis? That is a tough thing to deal with-on-going pain.
 
liza3 said:
I hope the paracetamol helps. Is that about all that can be done for something like osteoarthritis? That is a tough thing to deal with-on-going pain.
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Thanks, Liza. It’s the only pain-killer that I can tolerate unfortunately. I remind myself that it could be much worse.
I went to bed early & rubbed comfrey cream in as many places as I could reach. I think it helped & I don’t hurt as much today. Sleep is so good!
I’ll be heading soon.
 
Sleep is essential, even more so when dealing with inflammation. Also water and greens, but I'm sure you get plenty of those courtesy of your wonderful husband.
 
Cate said:
I am going to start taking more slow-release paracetamol
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Hope it works for you. I take meloxicam for arthritis, quite mild and it works for me. But I think it is one of the NSAID family.

The painkiller prescribed by my doctor that I am taking now for my neck is Norco, a hydrocodone/paracetamol blend. I just assumed the hydrocodone was the active ingredient, but maybe the paracetamol does something too.
 
Thanks, Llama & Rob. I think I need to investigate Chinese medicine more for my Arthritis. Panadol Osteo is just not enough.
I’m back home again after my fourth game of golf in five days. I’m not in as much pain as yesterday but….
 
Consistent but gentle strengthening and stretching (both, not just the stretching) tends to help with the pain from osteoarthritis. As far as I know there isn't a single alternative medicine option that's been proven to work but sometimes the piece of mind from having something you can take (my grandpa swore by fish oil) is still worth it.
 
Sorry to hear about the arthritis giving you problems, and I do hope a combo of paracetamol and strengthening and stretching like Llama said helps. My yoga teacher talked about how doing poses where you use your own weight to strengthen and where you can also get a good stretch really helped with that. I hope you find a fantastic routine that helps!
 
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Cate said:
I can't take any anti-inflammatories as I am allergic to the NSAID family.
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That does make it hard to find a drug for osteoarthritis. I understand much of the cause of our arthritis pain is inflammation, so without treating that it's just hard. Are you sure you can't take any of the NSAIDs? It is a very broad group of drugs, just stands for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Most of the NSAIDs work for most people, most work for me. Its just a matter of finding one that works best without or with minimal side effects. I have few if any of the known side effects, the only one I know of was when I tried Celebrex (celecoxib). It caused an upset stomach. I used to take aspirin (also an NSAID), but the doctor told me meloxicam (mobic) was gentler, and I think it works better for me.
Llama said:
Consistent but gentle strengthening and stretching (both, not just the stretching) tends to help with the pain from osteoarthritis.
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I agree, it works for me. I do a lot of stretching at the gym, more than most others there. I think it has helped.
Marsia said:
Sorry to hear about the arthritis giving you problems, and I do hope a combo of paracetamol and strengthening and stretching like Llama said helps. My yoga teacher talked about how doing poses where you use your own weight to strengthen and where you can also get a good stretch really helped with that. I hope you find a fantastic routine that helps!
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Agree on yoga, when its available at the gym I always go to the yoga class. I think of it as the ultimate stretching thing. I've only had the one instructor, she says there are different kinds of yoga, some more of an aerobic exercise, some more stretching. She says her's are stretch yoga. As Marsia says it is also a good own weight strengthening thing to do.
Llama said:
As far as I know there isn't a single alternative medicine option that's been proven to work but sometimes the piece of mind from having something you can take (my grandpa swore by fish oil) is still worth it.
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Have to agree there too, I have tried a lot of them (various fish oils included). Usually go through a cycle, at first convincing myself it's working but then realizing it wasn't and stopping. Stopping has never had an ill effect. In the end I don't believe any of them did any good, except maybe to the manufacturer's bottom line. Meloxicam I know works for me, I have to stop it a week before surgery, when I do the aches and pains come back, takes a few days. Then when I restart they go away, or are reduced anyway.
 
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Cate said:
I went to bed early & rubbed comfrey cream in as many places as I could reach. I think it helped & I don’t hurt as much today.
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That's so great the comfrey cream seemed to help.
I hope you can figure out a good pain relief system. Not fun to come back in pain from golfing!

4 games of golf in 5 days is a lot! Good for you getting that in. I hope you can rest and recover well now.
 
Thanks, folks.
I don't think there are any easy answers. I have been taking fish oil forever & should probably stop wasting my money on so many supplements. My skin is dry & nothing much seems to work. Once you start taking supplements, it's hard to stop. I might see if there's a stretch & strength class locally. Four games of golf in 5 days was just too much. I feel OK this morning, but I won't do that again (except for the Nationals in March next year).
Yesterday was a pleasant, social day. T came along & walked around the course & we had a chance to catch up & have a few laughs. Her hand is slowly healing & I don't think she'll be back to golf for quite a while.
Today will be a very quiet day. Tomorrow I will stay at home, while G plays golf. Wednesday I'll play golf, Thursday I go to the dentist on my own, Friday I have a hair appointment and next weekend I can do whatever I like while G plays golf again in the club championships.
 
Sounds like a couple of quiet days are very much in order. And you're 100% correct that there are no easy answers to osteoarthritis, especially with allergies in the mix.
 
Some quiet relaxed days definitely sounds like a good idea. 4 games in 5 days is a lot!
Glad you had a nice social day with your friend. Good laughs always the best medicine for everything!
 
Thanks, Llama & Liza. I really did have a quiet day yesterday but still took Archie for a good walk. I'm going to stay at home again today & do some housework. Tomorrow I'll play golf as I can't play on Wednesday of next week as I'll be having the crown fitted. G & I have a lot on at the moment, mainly organising a big golf tournament on the 23rd. We think we'll go into town & do the final shop for the tournament so that it's one less worry closer to the day. I'll change my hair appointment to next week. I look a bit like a shaggy dog, but 🤷‍♀️
I think I'll take my glasses back on Friday too as I tried wearing them on my walk yesterday & they make me dizzy. So, the glasses I got for golf & for walking Archie aren't any good for either of those things. I'll see what they offer to do for me. I really can't afford to spend any more money on them.
R rang yesterday and is doing well. He was camping on his block of land down at Bruny Island. Check out Bruny Island sometime online. It's a beautiful place. He works down there three days a week & I think he will most probably stay there while he works, rather than catch the ferry every morning & night.
 
I'm sure your hair looks better than you think - we all tend to be way harder on ourselves than others. Shame about the glasses: fingers crossed you'll be able to get a decent replacement.
 
Thanks, Llama & Tru. Usually I get compliments just as I’m about to have a haircut.
I spent all of today cleaning our house as G’s sister was going to be visiting tomorrow morning.
When G got home from golf he was so sick. He woke with a headache this morning & had a terrible night’s sleep. I thought he had hay fever.
He was cold (I was not) & he walked into a wall. I got him to do a covid test & he was instantly positive. I think we’ll both be grounded for a week. I have registered his test. I’ll test in the morning & will probably stay home anyway to keep an eye on him.
 
Oh, poor G. I hope he recovers fast and can sleep better tonight. Good you stayed home and didn't get run down the last few days. I agree about bifocals. You really need them so you're not constantly taking your glasses on and off, but they seem hard to get so they are what you want. At least now your house is clean so you can just focus on you and G eating well and resting. Hugs!!
 
Thanks, Marsia, Llama & Liza :grouphug:
G had a much better night's sleep & so did I, as he slept in the spare king-single bed. I dosed him up with paracetamol & a sedating anti-histamine & a blackcurrant drink & put four handkerchiefs next to the bed. I didn't wake up until 4 a.m. I think my bad nights' sleep is usually due to him waking me when he gets up during the night as the week he was away I hardly woke.
He is aching this morning but doesn't seem any worse.
I'll do a test this morning before I ring my dentist as I'm meant to see him tomorrow to get fitted for the crown. If It's negative I'll leave it up to them.
 
Oh no, sorry to hear about G but it sounds like you're taking well care of him!
 
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