Just can't seem to cut a break -osteoarthritis

**Cyndie32** · 02-14-2012 12:01 PM

was all excited about the results of my physical this year. i have been getting healthy nutrition wise and exercising. my blood work came back with outstanding results. doctor said it was the best results she had seen in some time. but today, i got back the results of my back xrays. i have been having back problems for about a year now. i have been going to the chiropractor, doing stretches and physical therapy at home, yoga, i have lost a lot of weight..... but my xrays show osteoarthritis. i have been working on managing the pain and hoping it would get better. now i know... it won't get better. all i can do is manage the pain. i just want to cry.....

**snooks** · 02-14-2012 08:00 PM

Oh dear, dear Cyndie, that is such a tough break. Its moments of accute disappointment like that when we as humans simply want to give up. Throw the baby out with the bath water.

When I am met with such tremendously upsetting news, I allow myself a little while to feel miserable and depressed. That is part of our nature. But then I know I anyway, get fed up with myself feeling so negative and think a little more about why, where to from here, what are the options. It has become really cliche to say this but s#*t happens. What we do about it is our decision. You can choose to be forever discouraged, or you can say, thats what has happened, now how do I get back on track. Our attitude to the blows of life determines our happiness NOT the events of our lives.

So many times you have got back up after being down. I know that you are only venting your disappointment and that tomorrow-or the day after, you will be up and running again. You have shown time and time again that life cannot keep you down my friend so let yourself feel bad but then tomorrow..... Hugs and love xx

**Cyndie32** · 02-15-2012 06:59 AM

omg snooks ... you are so right. that is exactly what i did. i felt sorry for myself all afternoon. but by time i made it home. i decided i was not going to let this ruin all my hard work. all the things that i have been doing. the stretching, the yoga, the walking, the nutritional changes, the exercising, and the weight loss. they are all things that are suggested to help someone manage the pain of osteoarthritis. so really.... (this is my new way of looking at it) i am a step ahead. my newplan has already gotten me set up for pain management. just imagine if i was still 179 lbs, inactive and unhealthy. this would be soooooo much harder but i have already done the hard work of breaking old bad habits. this will be just another reason that i am soooooo glad i have changed my life. this, getting healthy one month at a time has prepared me to manage my pain. i am thankful!

and i soooo appreciate you and your wonderful support. You, my dear, ROCK!!!!! have an awesome day....

**snooks** · 02-15-2012 01:26 PM

You are simply wonderful Cyndie!

Saying out loud like you did can put difficult experiences into perspective and that makes it far easier to see a way through. You know the old adage, A trouble shared is a trouble halved. So true. I'm really pleased you could trust this forum with such pain.
So terribly proud of you and your terrific resilience to all the hard knocks life has thrown at you. This chic is the best. xxx

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 02-15-2012 01:39 PM

If one of you was a male and the other a female, I'd be going get a room

You two are so motivated, you have a positive look on everything, nothing that crosses either of your paths will bring you down for longer than it should, that being the realisation that there is positive in everything and people with worse problems, situations

Cyndie,

In addition to all that you are doing which does help any form of arthritis, drink lots of water, which I think you do, try a lavendar heat bag, they do wonders as well, keep moving the joints, keep stretching..and as you can afford, massages.

I have lived with an injury since 1999, 20% loss of muscle, right hand side. This means when I work to much (all the time

) and don't move it, I lose it.. My injuries are stiff joints, muscle pain and the inability to type, hold a hair dryer long enough without it hurting, which then creates fibromyalgia and myofacical pain and IBS sometimes as well, all that takes a good month to get rid off UNTIL I moved it, got massages, stretched alot, and now, when I get too bad it only lasts a couple of days... That's 13 years now sweet, so chin up and keep going

**Cyndie32** · 02-15-2012 02:06 PM

hey cw..... i go to the chiropractor every two weeks and he gives lovely deep tissue massages along with manipulating and moving my joints. i drink 8 - 10 glasses of water a day minimum. so i am pretty good on the water. but this lavendar heat bag sounds absolutely wonderful. where would i get something like that? currently, i heat my muscles before exercise and then ice them when i am done. my chiropractor has been extremely beneficial in the management of the pain. it was just that i thought that everything was going to get better and now i know that its not.

as for getting down, i figured out a long time ago, if worrying about it won't make it better..... why bother. and i always start my day out with a smile. i get up and look at myself in the mirror (can be a horrifying site sometimes) and smile and say out loud, "hey good looking!!!" usually makes me laugh and thats good too. hubby thinks i am just a little crazy but hey.... crazy makes the world go round.

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 02-15-2012 02:28 PM

I am not sure, here in Aussie land you can buy them from a health store ask your chiropractor he may know...

It is a cloth bag, filled with wheat and lavendar... When you put it in the microwave for say 2 minutes, or more if needed it warms up like a hot water bottle, and the aroma comes out, placing it on the effected area, stimulates it and eases it, much like massages

it was just that i thought that everything was going to get better and now i know that its not.

That's not entirely true

You were hoping for good news, cured results and got the death sentance in as much as a condition that won't go away.. Um, re-read what I wrote, I was told I would never work more than 20hrs a week, would live with this and be on pain-killers for the rest of my life...

So, I've cured it somewhat? Yessum

And I work 40hrs a week or more and don't take drugs.

You laugh, he laughs and the whole day is a new one : )

**Cyndie32** · 02-15-2012 02:42 PM

i see your point, in a way, you have cured it. i guess it is all in your definition of cure. since i have this disease, i have to learn how to manage it. disect it and figure it out like i do with all the other areas of my life. good thought. i will search tonite and see if if can find somewhere that sells those bags. if i can't find them, i see my chiropractor on friday and i will ask him. thanks, my dear, your input is always insightful. have a great day and don't forget to smile even if no one is looking!!!!

**Healer** · 05-09-2012 02:40 PM

There is one thing that most people overlooked. The majority of any pain, is that you have dislocated & pinched nerves in different areas of your body. By the way, fibromyalgia and myofacical are names the doctors give to problems which they do not know how to get to the root of those problems. I have been in the field of relieving pain for 14+ years and I have yet to believe that 90% of pain can not be healed. Anybody who tells you different, they are wrong and I say so.

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 05-09-2012 03:31 PM

By the way, fibromyalgia and myofacical are names the doctors give to problems which they do not know how to get to the root of those problems.

But, the names exist, they have meaning and purpose and descriptions that are correct.. I say so, as I have it... However, I agree they do not know how to solve it.

I have yet to believe that 90% of pain can not be healed. Anybody who tells you different, they are wrong and I say so.

The power of the mind is one tool everyone should look at with healing. Anyone who tells me different, is wrong, because I say so...