Steroids, Inflammatory Arthritis & No Answers (My Dad)

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CazH
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 12:01 pm
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by CazH on Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:31 pm

Steroids, Inflammatory Arthritis & No Answers (My Dad)

Hello,

I'm really glad to see this clinic pop up as both my ageing parents now deal with arthritis and the associated pain. I'm sorry if this is a little long - the situation has affected me, the house and our family quite considerably so I want to cover as much as I can. I hope you don't mind.

A couple of months ago my father had a sudden onset of pain in his knee, having had no pain or joint problems before this and no injury to explain the problem. Literally, he'd been doing a bit of pottering around the garden, sat down to watch TV for an hour or two, then couldn't stand up; he was in agony and had to crawl up stairs. He was in excruciating pain, barely able to bend or stretch out his knees, for weeks. He lost about a stone in weight, unable to eat or more and his mood since this whole thing started has become incredibly negative, with the weight of pain and the fear things won't get any better.

The doctor was pretty useless saying it's 'just inflammatory arthritis' - she gave him painkillers and told him to take ibuprofen (no pain killers even touched his pain) and didn't do anything other than a blood test, until I went along to the appointments and insisted it was more serious and needed to be looked at; he's been on steroids for about 2 months now, and has been reduced to 10mg per day for the last 2 weeks as ongoing treatment. Over these months he hadn't left the house because on the one occasion he did his knee just gave out and he fell into the road, which was terrifying. He's just seen a rheumatologist, who's given him a steroid injection that should last up to 6 weeks. He's got better mobility in his knees and less pain, but he's still not there yet. He's also had some trouble with his hands, starting maybe 2 weeks after the knee problems.

He's been told it's inflammatory arthritis and arthritis elsewhere, such as his hands. I'm just wondering if anyone had any other thoughts in terms of what could have caused this, in his knees is the main one, so instantly and to severely? I'm a bit concerned he's on so many steroids as well as he's often complaining of troubles with breathing, pain in his chest etc (GP keeping an eye on his high BP and doing ECG monitoring). He's regained some of the weight he initially lost and hasn't had any fevers to suggest an infection. I've ordered a copper magnetic bracelet online this morning, just thinking that every little helps as I'm at a loss for how else he can be helped, especially when, as I said, it was so out of the blue.

Thank you so much for any advice or thoughts you can offer, anything would be much appreciated!
Kindest regards,
Caz
talkhealth Women's Health, IBS & Mental Health Ambassador
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Founder of http://www.invisiblyme.com

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Arthritis Action
Posts: 97
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:27 pm
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by Arthritis Action on Thu Oct 19, 2017 1:21 pm

Re: Steroids, Inflammatory Arthritis & No Answers (My Dad)

If your dad definitely has inflammatory arthritis, he will have been offered other medicines called disease modifying drugs (DMARDS) to help control his arthritis in the long term and prevent joint damage and disability. This will enable the dose of the steroids to be reduced as these are effective in the short term but preferably should not be used indefinitely. No one knows what triggers inflammatory arthritis - it is a problem with the immune system that can occur at any age. Your father has not done anything to cause this himself . Inflammatory arthritis usually starts fairly gradually, but the onset can sometimes be sudden as you describe. Swelling in the knees can cause weakness and instability and so you should try to arrange or request physiotherapy to help your dad to help himself. Feeling low and losing weight can also happen when inflammatory arthritis starts but you should make sure that this is improving as obviously there are other causes which may need further investigations.
Your dad's rheumatology department will most probably have specialist nurses plus a telephone advice line for more help and information, and it can be very helpful if you or another person can go with him to his next appointment as it can be very difficult to remember exactly what has been said in a consultation.
The future for people with inflammatory arthritis is not bleak and medicines can be very effective, but it is normal to feel a bit low at the start and worried about the future. It sounds as though your dad needs some more information and to ask more questions so that his worries can be sorted out. Encouraging him to eat healthily and to try to stay active will also help as exercise can't harm the joints.

Wendy
Dr Wendy Holden
Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action and Consultant Rheumatologist

Arthritis Action
56 Buckingham Gate London SW1E 6AE
020 3781 7120 http://www.arthritisaction.org.uk

CazH
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 12:01 pm
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by CazH on Fri Oct 27, 2017 4:17 pm

Re: Steroids, Inflammatory Arthritis & No Answers (My Dad)

Hello Dr Holden,

Thank you for taking the time to reply and so thoroughly and compassionately too, I really appreciate it. What you've said is reassuring and I'll certainly check out potential physiotherapy too as I think that may be very beneficial. Thanks again!

Caz :)
talkhealth Women's Health, IBS & Mental Health Ambassador
talkhealth blogger

Founder of http://www.invisiblyme.com

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Dr Claire Mansfield
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Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 9:32 am
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by Dr Claire Mansfield on Tue Oct 31, 2017 12:25 pm

Re: Steroids, Inflammatory Arthritis & No Answers (My Dad)

Hi Caz
Sorry to hear how difficult it has been for your Dad and the effect this has had on the whole family. As Dr Holden has mentioned, your Dad's low mood is understandable considering what he has been going through. Hopefully, with the right support, he will start to notice his mood improving. However, if this doesn't happen then he might want to consider psychological support. You may find that the rheumatology department can offer this, or if not, there will be support available via his GP or an organisation such as Mind. It may also be important to think about what activities he can still do or what changes need to be made to the house/garden, or walking aids etc to ensure that he still feels fulfilled and can leave the house. Your GP should be able to to make a referral to an occupational therapist so that they can assess your Dad to help him to make any necessary changes. Good luck.
Dr Claire Mansfield
Chartered Counselling Psychologist - CPsychol, PsychD, MA, BSc

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... sfield.php

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