Arthritis

I'm 41 and don't have insurance at this time, so everything I know is through reading up about arthritis online...

Here goes... I have constant knee pain (both knees) that gets worse with exercise.  They also hurt if I'm in a position where I have to sit down and stand up often (the action of sitting down and standing up makes my knees hurt.)  I also have a lower back pain that gets better with exercise.  When I wake up in the morning, I can barely move because my back hurts so bad. It's the same if I sit for an extended period. But it slowly gets better as I start to move around.  Those heated massagers help - or ice...

Since I'm overweight due to a combination of a very slow metabolism and anti-depressants (no longer taking those), the only exercise I get is walking. I can walk forever, as long as my knees hold out.

I also have occassional pain in my ankles, elbows, wrists, and fingers that tends to get worse with use. I can no longer work as a secretary because of the pain in my fingers and wrists.  Working as a cashier is what caused my elbows and ankles to start hurting. All of the standing and moving stock through the line...

None of these joints gets swollen, warm, or red (well, I can't tell about my back, but I don't *think* so) but they hurt.  I know that I have tendonitis in my right wrist from a car accident, but both hands will hurt when the fingers start aching. 

So, I guess my question is, can I have two different types of arthritis? one in my back, and one in my knees and other joints? Or, can it be that there is something else going on here?  I never had trauma to my back or knees, so arthritis is the only reason I can think for them to hurt like this.  Any insight at all would be great.  Thanks.

Hi. To give you a quick answer, YES, you can have more than 1 kind of arthritis at the same time. I have 3; osteoarthritis(wear and tear arthritis), a soft tissue arthritic disorder that causes chronic tendinitis and bursitis and an inflammatory arthritis known as a spondyloarthopathy(affects the spine in a particular way as well as other joints). And where the arthritis is can be diagnostic of the type.

Until you can get medical insurance, keep doing whatever makes you feel better. Most of us treat ourselves symptomatically aside from what the rheumatologists will offer. Heat, ice, ibuprofen, Tylenol, exercise, meditation....whatever it takes. But you really do need to see a doc to get bloodwork done and x-rays taken. That is the only way to seperate out what is what.

Gentle hugs...............Jenny

Thanks Jenny!  I wondered...  That actually makes me a little relieved because I had niggling thoughts of all kinds of weird immune disorders that might be going on... You know?  :-)  Now I'm pretty sure it's just good 'ol arthritis.  No walk in the park, but not some mystery disease. 

Medical insurance is not easy to come by - especially since I'm between jobs at the moment - but I'm working on it.  It's difficult to find work when I'm in pain all of the time! :-/