Any BPL folks that suffer from Arthritis? Which kind, Osteo or Reumatoid? What do you do and what do you not do?

My mom has been dealing with pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis since her 20's. She is a badass, and still goes on hikes with me, even though her feet are all gnarled and twisted and covered in crazy nodules. Incidentally, I'm really hoping none of my current foot issue are actually RA. Runs in the family. Her grandma was bed ridden by age 40 (before the arrival of miracle drugs).

She takes methyltrexate (sp?) and has been on steroids for years. She tries to stay active, keep moving, that kind of thing. Naproxen for mild pain, though it doesn't help much. Swimming is what really helps her, and also allows her to stay active. She has had a few foot surgeries to remove nodules, but they always come back even bigger. More than anything, she is just tough.

Thanks for the reply Ozzy. Nice to hear about your mom, gives one hope.
Your foot issues don't sound like RA to me :)

I have what a 'normal' person would class as minor osteo in my big toe joint in my foot.
A 'normal' person wouldn't be upset because it stopped them from running, or caused severe pain on multi-day hikes.

I have osteo arthritis of the knees diagnosed when I was 30 and I was into running,I went to a sports medicine doctor because I was in such pain.I don't run anymore which I really miss,and no lifting extremely heavy weights.I do stairs ,squats and yoga a lot,building leg strength and keeping my wight down is important I also use trekking poles which really help on the pounding down hills.I noticed a big difference also when I started taking Osteo Bi-Flex triple strength a number of years ago.

Osteo, in my wrists and thumb joints. I consider it the price I pay for the games I've played and will continue to play until I can't move anymore. No drugs so far, just get used to the discomfort, pain, whatever, and keep doing what I do, which involves continuing to use my hands as if there were no arthritis. I don't know how long I will be able to get away with this approach, but so far, go good. :0)

Osteo is what I was hoping for....I guess putting up with aches and pain,figuring it was just part of life, isn't a good idea after all.
Thanks for the input.

Reumatoid A for me.

As I'm not a doctor, the webMD stuff says sensitivity to temp triggers inflamation about 5x more than the avg person. For me, slight sudden cold temperature causes Inflamation which then causes pain for hours.

Something simple like getting out of a warm bed 90F to let the dog outside at 65F in less than 2 mins I feel the pain.

So option 1: avoid sudden change, not easy to do. Get out of the truck, walk from the parking lot to the store... Pain.

Option 2: take on the inflamation, with NSAID like pre emptive ibuprofen and tylenol. Not too crazy about making those pills part of my regular diet, because they will mess up the kidney and liver with prolonged use.

Option 3: smelly BenGay cream. Everyone will know your dirty little secret.

Option 4: I slowly trained my body to shift weight from my leading dominant knee to now use my beta knee as primary. I am ambidextrous so that is my secret super power.

Option 5: take every opportunity to rest, just because it doesnt hurt now, dont exert it too much in the morning, by noon time the pain will accumulate.

Option 6: picked up from Trader joes some suspicious Joint Pain vitamins, ingredients crab and shellfish. It doesnt say anything about cholesterol, but I am suspicious.

Option 7: make jello. Eat jello. Supposed to help joints. According to the Jello people in the sales and marketing department. Sales people never lie.

Option 8: hey I never promised to list 10 options. Ask a doctor.

Footnote: my cousin in Canada has severe RA, and the Canadian cold freeze makes it worse, but the healthcare system is free, so he stays there. the irony is that if he came down to sunny and warm Southern California, his RA wouldnt be aggravated, and would not need the Canadian doctors, oh well.

Option 9: move to Arizona, Florida where all the old folks go to avoid the cold.

Option 10: doctor did this for my mom, a cortizone shot, although they won't give you too many, depends on your age and pain level, because they dont want to build up the steroids and mess with your hormones. Also, the first shot lasted 6 months, second shot lasted 5 months, then 3 months and the pain returns. So obviously the body adapts to the meds, pain returns, and there is a diminishing return and high negative side effects.

Edited by RogerDodger on 03/15/2013 20:33:59 MDT.

I have osteo arthritis in my knees. I can't fully articulate them and the orthopedic surgeon says I am a candidate for knee replacement. I take 600 mg Ibuprophen 3x a day while hiking. I have also used the Osteo Biflex for quite a few years and feel it helps.
I really can't backpack without poles anymore. Did 17 mi. in the Big Sur on Wed, 11mi. with a 30 lb pack and 6 with my 10 lb pack. I will keep what I have till they don't work anymore then go for the new ones. "Use it or loose it" and "Keep on truckin'".