On My Mind

Gershun,
I ordered a neck pillow, it came today.
It's too big, too hard.
Thinking I will cut it in half with a razor (memory foam). Just like you, there are other specialty pillows I could now re-design-useless in their current state.

I was thinking that I was eating properly, but tonight after a salad and veggies, I cooked a small piece of chicken breast, and now I am feeling more calm, comfortable, and finally full.

So, are you eating enough of what will satisfy you?

Always consider your whole body needs, not just your neck. I stopped going to the physiatrist (physical medicine doctor) when having to drive 45 min., pay cash, and they only focused on my piriformis muscle. Even though it was helping, the time and expense, and neglecting everything else was prohibitive, imo.

Thx Margaret, Today has been a bad day. I'm feeling discouraged. Being in discomfort all the time is tiring. I'm looking exhausted. Dark circles under my eyes.

I go for my second physio tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Gershun, I’d never say ‘don’t give it a go’ about physio. I’ve ‘given it a go’ to every therapy and device under the sun over the 50+ years of scoliosis. I’d just say don’t spend too much time and money if it doesn’t seem to be working. I’ve had natural therapists say ‘If it hurts, it means it’s working’, and ‘If it’s not causing more pain, it means it’s working’. I was forced read a fake doctoral thesis on ayurveda about treatment to a group of less than 20 people in India, which claimed both! It was given as a free treatment to paupers, which raises a whole lot more placebo issues. I saw a booth at an alternative medicine show where the very interested people told me they could cure my scoliosis, but it would take up to 45 sessions. Oh really?

You might try a TENS unit, that can work. It puts a mild electric current through an area close to the spine, which can ‘scramble’ the electrical pulses in the body that transmit the pain to and from the brain. I thought it was mumbo-jumbo when I first read about it, but the ‘electrical pulses’ are actually true. I should probably try it again. I lost my first unit when our house burned down, and when I tried another the sales person turned it up to max and I spent the next few days in bed. Be careful.

Keep your brain working and your hand on your wallet!

Diclofenac is a very strong anti-inflammatory. Voltaren, neurofen, ibuprofen etc, are also anti-inflammatories, but weaker. The creams did nothing for me. The pills worked for 3 days before I got serious stomach pain. My doctor said that 5% of the population cannot tolerate them at all, and another 5% need stomach drugs at the same time to tolerate them OK. You should always take them with food.

A locum doctor said I should try them as suppositories. I did, and 3 days later the stomach pain kicked in. My doctor’s face when I told him was deadpan. He said quietly that they enter the bloodstream as suppositories, just the same. I suspect the locum got told!

It might be worth trying weaker anti-inflammatories in pill form – less risky.

It might help to have a small firm pillow by your head in bed, rather than a ‘side-sleeper’ posture pillow. That way you can push it out of the way if you roll over. I do this.

Oh by the way, Countrymouse thanks for that uplifting story about the cattle and the vultures. Was gonna have beef tonight but on second thought...... ;)

gershun - my ex swore by Kalaya 6X and R says it is good. It's only available in Canada.

Gershun the cream was crap for me and my Mother,, But the pills are better for me I am also a side sleeper,, wish I was not

Golden, thank-you and I agree about being mindful of my posture. I'm really trying with that. Sleeping is hard cause I'm a side sleeper. I've bought so many posture pillows over the years that were useless. Pam as for Diclofenac I've used it. I've used the gel only. It works a bit but it's not the be all and end all.

Thx again everyone for all of your responses. Sorry for monopolizing this thread with my arthritis saga.

Countrymouse,, I have been taking it for a year now with no problems. I don;t take it every day, but I do take on work days. I talked to the pharmacist at work and she said I would be better off taking it every day but I dont.. LOL Good info to know however! Sorry you had such a bad reaction! It was prescibed for my arthritis,,

Oo Pam, just on my way to bed but saw your post -

Diclofenac is a very very effective anti-inflammatory but if you want to be able to continue using it be *meticulous* in following directions; and if you get even a hint of the side effects, especially bleeding or bruising, report it immediately. If you wanted to use it long term for arthritis, I think I'd actually take advice on that point specifically, e.g. should you take breaks, are there any other things you can do to protect yourself so that you can go on using it, that kind of question.

Its use in cattle in India almost wiped out the vulture population about twenty years ago before they figured out the connection - the vultures were eating carcases that still contained the drug.

On a more personal note, I was px'd it for RSI/carpel tunnel and it worked like a charm. Then less than a week later I had a bm of pure blood and decided I had better do my hand exercises and stop playing minesweeper instead.

It's bit too dam'ed effective, seems to be the thing...

Gershun I also have bad arthritis, and I have found the diclofenac (sp) pill to be very helpful,, one of my friends got a script for it after I did and she loves it too. It is a pill form of Voltarin cream,, which was useless for me. I have been through alot of stuff,, none lasts forever but while it works it is better than nothing. I am also trying to avoid surgury.

cw -totally agree with that. There is no magic pill or whatever for most health issues. Improving takes hard work and usually doesn't get you back to where you were before.

Golden - what I was trying to say is that I think people who have unrealistic expectations are more apt to report that physio (or other therapies) were of no benefit, or no lasting benefit.

gershun -so glad you have a diagnosis and treatment. Sorry you have arthritis but better to know it and treat it. Being mindful of your neck tension and addressing that should help and should physio. I had it for my arm and shoulder and it made a big positive difference.

cw - Mother was a physiotherapist and PT is more than your attitude. For example tendons can be stretched and muscles strengthened to take the pressure off of joints. She had several bad disks but had such good posture and body muscle strength she never had back problems.

glad - good to hear some prices are dropping in some places. Not great if you are the seller though.

Even newly built home prices are beginning to come down. Wonder how much profit is built into new homes?

Yes, I know Willie but I'm expecting a lot! LOL

No, but really I know what you are saying. I know
physio isn't going to cure anything but even if it
makes arthritis more tolerable I'll take that.

Gershun - I think that the benefit of things like physio, acupuncture and any other alternative therapies depends a lot on your expectations, nothing is going to cure a chronic condition but even short term relief can be worth pursuing.

Thx Beatty, I know they do offer dry needling and acupuncture at the physio place where I'm going. Right now he's recommended some neck stretches and I've been doing them. I already feel slight relief. Time will tell if it's a long term benefit. But I'll persevere until I find what works and what does not. The posture thing is a problem with me. I've always carried all my tension in my neck so learning to keep my shoulders down and relaxed is something I also need to work at.

Thx for the advice!

Gershun, sorry to hear about the pain in your neck.

My experience has been the arthritis/inflammation irritated nerves, causing some muscles to stay 'on' & staying all tight. (Lower spine though not neck).

I had quite good, but short term success with 'dry needling' from the physio.
I had better & almost immediate success with acupuncture, but short term too. These were more treatments than cure. Still worth it!

Next came trying to build better muscles for better posture habits with the physio. I'm sure this did help over time.

Not pain free but I have a plan for flare ups now: heat, stretches, rest, rebuild.

Hope you get it sorted.

Margaret you are the third person on here who has told me physio did not help them. But I've only been once and I'm going to give it a good try. It may work for me. I hope it does. Trying to stay positive. Cause what other choice do I have.

I did ask for people's experiences, good or bad. Be careful what you ask for they say. Gulp..................

But thank-you just the same.

Gershun, I tried acupuncture for my back pain years ago. It did help a bit, but the ‘help’ only lasted a day or so. Too difficult and expensive for daily repeats.

I’ve never heard of physio for arthritis, and my experience with physio has been totally unhelpful – including ‘I’ve never seen one of these outside a text book’, when I’d given the details when I booked. They never say that they can’t help.

My personal choices are lying down (often flat without a pillow) on a hot water bottle, and codeine when I need to shift the pain (not enough to get addicted). Life changes, but you find ways to cope. Good luck!

Gershun: You're welcome.

Thank-you Llama too!

Thank-you Willie. My sister mentioned that she tried acupuncture for her neck too. I may consider it if the other physio doesn't do the trick. It's still early days so I'm going to give it a chance, do the stretches he recommends and go from there.

I've done a lot of googling too and I definitely want to do all stuff that does not require trigger point injections/ surgery if I can possibly avoid it. I know there is no cure for this but it can be managed so I'm going to try really hard to manage it the correct way.

I'm sorry you have cervical arthritis Gershun 🙁 Being a nerd I've been googling and the web tells me that acupuncture can be very helpful, I know it did wonders for my mom's sciatica.

Thx Lu!😊

Gershun~
I'm so sorry youv'e got neck problems.
I have arthritis in my neck too.
Physical therapy helped me with mine for awhile.
The more they mess with your neck though,you really pay for it later.
I'd be fine and then get a neck rub and then I'd hurt all the next day.
I hope you find a way to get better & soon~

Geaton, not a gall bladder problem. He had it removed about 6 months ago. But, he said since that surgery, the area did not feel right. He thought something must still be wrong.

Gershun: So sorry.

Glad, when you say "bile blockage" do you mean gallbladder problems? My husband had an emergency gallbladder removal surgery on Monday morning. He was never vaccinated and got covid earlier this spring with just flu-ish symptoms, then recovered. He did have 2 suspected gallbladder problems prior to his covid (most likely stones migrating, causing intense pain, but then passing successfully). This time the stone they removed was 1.3" in diameter so it wasn't going anywhere. I'm wondering if covid "ramped up" his gall bladder issues. He doesn't fit the profile of someone with this type of problem.