Arthritis symptom question

[braumeister]

I'm a newbie at dealing with arthritis, since I only first began feeling the pain a bit over a year ago. Knees aren't too bad, but the hips are most annoying.

Here's what I'm curious about:
I'll experience pain in one area of the hips, say lower left as an example, for a while, then it will go away and be fine for a while. Then a month or two later the pain will suddenly flare up in a completely different hip area (like upper right side).

I've experienced this in about six different hip locations over the last year, and I don't understand why it should be so. Seems to me that when an area starts to hurt it should just keep getting worse. But I've never had the pain in any particular spot recur. It's always someplace different.

As I said, I'm new to this, and I haven't found any explanation online, so I wonder if someone here who has more experience with osteoarthritis can explain it to me.

BTW, I know it's osteoarthritis based on an MRI I had last year.

 

[Bamaman]

Sorry for your problem. Pain problems that come and go can also be bursitis.

I'm always looking for the superlative physicians when dealing with things like back problems and hip problems.

 

[Ronstar]

I used to have pains that come and go -hips, knees, a bunion, and shooting pains where my middle toes connect to my foot. Some of which I understood to be arthritis.

DW talked me into going to a holistic dr. The doc recommended a paleo diet and several supplements. After a couple months of paleo, I lost another 20 lbs and the pains eventually went away. The little research that I've done showed that paleo diets low in carbohydrates reduce inflammation. Maybe the reduced carb diet helped reduce my symptoms. And maybe reduce the pain associated with arthritis. Just an idea.

 

[braumeister]

Glad that worked for you, Ronstar.
I've been on a low carb diet for years, since long before my hip symptoms began, so I'm a bit skeptical about cause and effect there. Although losing weight should certainly be an important factor. I'm not really overweight (BMI 25), although probably borderline.

 

[jim584672]

I would ask the doctor for blood work to rule out Rheumatoid Arthritis, maybe see a specialist for it.

 

[Dash man]

I have a pretty bad case of osteoarthritis throughout my body. I'm a daily user of Celebrex to make life livable, but I also recommend exercise. I walk four miles 3-4 times per week, do stretching and some strength building exercises. Movement is the best way to fight it, but mine is bad enough I need some help from meds. Talk to your doc, some physical therapy may be the best way to start. I did and it was priceless.

 

[Meadbh]

Here's what I'm curious about:
I'll experience pain in one area of the hips, say lower left as an example, for a while, then it will go away and be fine for a while. Then a month or two later the pain will suddenly flare up in a completely different hip area (like upper right side).

I've experienced this in about six different hip locations over the last year, and I don't understand why it should be so. Seems to me that when an area starts to hurt it should just keep getting worse. But I've never had the pain in any particular spot recur. It's always someplace different.

Hip pain - Mayo Clinic

 

[tennisplyr]

Obviously this is highly subjective and personal, a few things I do is to exercise regularly, try to keep the weight down and realize I am aging and this is pretty much normal.

 

[Helen]

Do you do any stretching or yoga? Do you know for sure that you have arthritis?

I've been having a pain in my left butt check for several years. I do a lot of yoga and stretching but it hasn't totally gotten rid of the problem but it has helped quite a bit.

I've also been strengthening my abductor muscle in the hip and I think that is where I've seen the most improvement.


***Edit: sorry I just re-read your post and had missed your last sentence that said you had a MRI to confirm the arthritis.

 

[splitwdw]

Braumeister, My mom's in her 60's and her arthritis pain comes and goes. She was telling me last week that her pinky finger was hurting really bad but when I saw her today she was out gardening and had no pain in that finger. Since that finger is small you probably can't tell if the pain comes from the same spot.

 

[Nemo2]

Easy Peasy......if I'm breathing, I'm hurting......somewhere.

 

[kitesurfer2]

the doc gave me diclofenac for my arthritus in my knees. it caused a blood clot in my right calf that put me in the emergency room. there were lots of issues....

so i replaced the meds with cannabis. I can now play guitar again after not being able to make a chord for years. The knee rarely causes me problems now, IF I smoke some regularly. 5 days without any my knee won't work. Living in Fla, i voted for med mj but the med stuff does not work for arthritis. Arthritis treatment works with THC.

 

[eytonxav]

The thing I struggle with when feeling pains like you describe, is it just part of the aging process (I'm 67) and inevitable or is it something I should see the doctor/specialist about. I know from an abdominal CT I had back in July, the radiologist indicated some spinal facet degeneration, and yes my back does get stiff and sore and even extends down thru the hips, but what to do. I also lift weights and have done a lot of hard running when playing softball, so not sure if that contributes or is helpful.

I just started taking a joint supplement to see if it helps, and maybe I will mention it to the PCP at my next checkup.

 

[Amethyst]

I have osteoarthritis pretty much everywhere (per my Dr.) and some places hurt while others don't. The difference (for me) comes down to:

Does the joint itself hurt when pressed on, and is it somewhat stiff and hard to move when getting up in the morning? Then it's probably the OA that's responsible.

If not, then it's probably a random sprain caused by worn athletic shoes; doing something I don't usually do [aka zigging when I should have zagged]; and having been on this Earth for quite a few decades.

Edited to add: My Dr. thinks I even have OA in my breastbones (ribs), based on "thickening" she has observed. My ribs don't hurt (yet). Good thing we don't need to use our ribs to open jars or something!

Hope you feel better.

Amethyst

 

[TromboneAl]

Lena is now dealing with this in her knee. The doc confirmed it to be arthritis (heard bone-on-bone sounds!). She's been reporting the pain as moving around.

When I've had back pain in the past it moved around. Pain is weird.

OA runs in her family. Her sister found the hyaluronic acid injections helped her.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[ls99]

No idea on how to fix arthritis pains.

Just remember IIRC George Burns' line: If I wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, I must be dead.

BTW a few years ago had some pains in my hands in the mornings. At some point the doc diagnosed it as arthritis. A few weeks after the diagnosis no more pain, has not had any in at least two years or more. Do get some other pains, usually from overdoing workouts, hard jujutsu falls, logging, fancy figure skating moves or too many ballett plies. Heh, maybe these just cover up the original problem.

Perhaps the brain prioritizes which discomforts to recognize and inform me of as pain.

 

[TromboneAl]

No idea on how to fix arthritis pains.

Just remember IIRC George Burns' line: If I wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, I must be dead.

BTW a few years ago had some pains in my hands in the mornings. At some point the doc diagnosed it as arthritis. A few weeks after the diagnosis no more pain, has not had any in at least two years or more. Do get some other pains, usually from overdoing workouts, hard jujutsu falls, logging, fancy figure skating moves or too many ballett plies. Heh, maybe these just cover up the original problem.

Perhaps the brain prioritizes which discomforts to recognize and inform me of as pain.

The same happened to me. No pain in my hands for years.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[harley]

The thing I struggle with when feeling pains like you describe, is it just part of the aging process (I'm 67) and inevitable or is it something I should see the doctor/specialist about. I know from an abdominal CT I had back in July, the radiologist indicated some spinal facet degeneration, and yes my back does get stiff and sore and even extends down thru the hips, but what to do. I also lift weights and have done a lot of hard running when playing softball, so not sure if that contributes or is helpful.

I just started taking a joint supplement to see if it helps, and maybe I will mention it to the PCP at my next checkup.

Not arthritis, but I partially tore my rotator cuff and there's a fair amount of pain from that, especially any stretching like tucking in the back of my shirt or reaching for a high shelf. I've been thinking about some supplemental joints too, especially since MM was just passed in FL.

 

[Happyras]

My wife and I take Cosequin ASU. We also buy it in bulk for our horses, show jumpers, that have various joint issues. I believe it really helps my knee and neck pains if I maintain a daily dose. My wife, who is a retired vet, swears that the ASU version of this product is superior in efficacy. We get more options for our horses, since the FDA has not approved certain things yet for humans. So this is the best you can do for joint health.

I would say check it out, it seems to help. Costco started selling the ASU version this year and has a good price for it.

 

[Nemo2]

the FDA has not approved certain things yet for humans.

Have earmarked the product, thanks.......as to the quote above, when in S. Carolina about 18 years ago with our Border collie, we stopped into a vet's to try and refill a prescription for him......vet made some calls since he was curious...turned out that, in the US, the stuff had been approved for humans but not (yet) for animals!