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Old 05-15-2016, 01:12 AM   #1
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Arthritis

Does anyone else suffer from arthritis and how well do you deal with it when camping?
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Old 05-15-2016, 05:30 AM   #2
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Does anyone else suffer from arthritis and how well do you deal with it when camping?
Yes , it is one of the reasons I retired early ( Doctors Advice).
Camping is a walk in the park so to speak compared to going to work. I know my limits and realize I'm not 30 anymore .
plus sitting at home does not make things better.
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Old 05-15-2016, 06:02 AM   #3
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Thanks Steve, that makes me feel better about getting into camping. You're right, sitting home isn't great--might as well be sitting somewhere outside and seeing nature at it's best. Thanks.
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Old 05-15-2016, 06:26 AM   #4
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Glucosamine Chondroitin was recommended to me several years ago by a doctor. It has helped me with joint pain. I buy it off the shelf at Walmart or CVS
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Old 05-15-2016, 07:01 AM   #5
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Severe arth of the spine which mainly bothers after being in bed for 1-3 hours at which time I take either two acetaminophen or a half or whole Norco. Rarely bothers during the day. It stems from (I think) from a car crash in 1964. Doesn't really restrict me very much. Heat helps too. I have one of those things that I heat up in the microwave.


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Old 05-15-2016, 08:02 AM   #6
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Thanks Mary&Bob, I'll have to check that out.

RGRugg I'm sorry to hear about the car crash--that can have lasting effects. But you still camp and that gives me hope. I personally believe that getting out into the fresh air will help a lot...if I ever get there.

I find that drinking to much diet coke is causing my pain--to much sodium. Trying to give it up or at least cut down a great deal...plus losing weight will help. (i hope). But I want to start camping ASAP because believe that would help me to lose weight and keep me busy.
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Old 05-15-2016, 08:23 AM   #7
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Yes, a watchful diet can go a long way to lessening your pain. My left knee is so bad that my hobble has caused a bone spur in my right heel. OTC medication helps as does heat and sunshine and exercise, all the benefits of camping.
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Old 05-15-2016, 09:15 AM   #8
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Yes, a watchful diet can go a long way to lessening your pain. My left knee is so bad that my hobble has caused a bone spur in my right heel. OTC medication helps as does heat and sunshine and exercise, all the benefits of camping.
I have a bone spur on my left heel--doesn't bother me much but I find that ice helps a lot as well as OTC medication. Sometimes my knee will hurt a little and I'll but an ice pack on it for about 20 minutes; also have an ice pack that is flat and keep in the freezer so just take out and put my foot on it at my desk at home and it helps my bone spur. Find that ice helps a lot more than heat.

I also read that caffeine can help with pain medication. It seems to increase the benefits of the medication, not a lot but it does seem to help. I always wondered why I felt better after drinking a diet soda about an hour after I took Motrim. So I looked up caffeine and found this information. I would drink coffee but I hate the taste of it.
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Old 05-15-2016, 09:34 AM   #9
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A few years ago, I had terrible arthritis in my right ankle so bad I could hardly walk. My employment took me outdoors, on my feet, on damp pavement for 8 hours a day all winter. Painkillers were only slightly helpful. I tried an acupuncture treatment and it was amazing. One treatment was all I needed. I was skeptical at first but the experience made me a believer.
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Old 05-15-2016, 10:53 AM   #10
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Peripheral neuropathy in both feet's my problem. Really got to watch my step now. Got diabetic socks but on a recent trip I was wearing other socks that were much too tight. We stopped after 3 hours driving and suddenly I was walking like a 120 year old. I didn't know it but not moving the leg wearing them damn socks cut the circulation so bad it was like a tourniquet. Lesson learned: Threw them socks out. Always stop after at least 2 hrs, get out and walk around.
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Old 05-15-2016, 11:15 AM   #11
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Hey Janis,
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis almost 10 yrs ago now. I have a pretty serious regimen of prescription meds that I take on a daily basis. Even still I have aches, pains and lethargy. Prior to my diagnosis, I was having a hard time.
I believe that for me being out and on adventures are the true key to my control over the disease. I get out and hike, and bike and just go for walks because you are right, being active and healthy (in my case at least) makes me feel way better than sitting on the couch getting stiff. In the summer when I can be more active and I shed my winter "hibernation" weight I feel even better.
The great outdoors cure your soul and your body. Get out and explore!

I took this photo to remind myself that I don't have to let the diagnoses limit me. I shared this moment with my specialist last month and thanked her for helping me live my life. This photo is at the top of Hermit Trail, Roger's Pass, B.C. It is almost an 800m elevation gain in less than a 3km hike. I will admit, it was hard and I had to take my fair share of breaks on the trail but the top made it all worth while. Besides, if my 7 yr old could do it, so could I!
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Old 05-15-2016, 11:51 AM   #12
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So I see a lot of people are suffering from pain and still keep going. I thought I wouldn't be able to try camping because of this (sometimes the pain was reallly bad) but you all are handling it just fine. Jay, you're so young to have this problem, but you also keep going. Your a good example to your 7 year old--plus I'm sure he/she keeps you going too.

Myron, good advice about the stopping every couple of hours--and that's hard to do. Once in the car I like to go till I get to my destination. Sometimes I had to take my sneakers off because my foot swelled to much to drive comfortably. Better now since I cut back on my soda intake.

Jack, I hope your retired now. Being out in the damp cold for 8 hours is very hard. One thing about men--they put up with a lot in life. I pointed that out to my daughter once when we were passing the road crew and I said to her how men always seem to put up with bad working conditions to feed they're family and keep a roof over their heads. It was summer and very hot out at the time. She said yeah, and they show up everyday!
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Old 05-15-2016, 11:51 AM   #13
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My back pain kicked in many many years ago, my fellow Scoutmasters used to laugh as they heard me crawling out of my sleeping bag and tent. Sometimes one who didn't know me too well would ask why I was camping if I felt that bad, to which my response was always "Well, it's better than not camping".

Yes, caffeine kicks up your painkillers a notch. I am a Hospice nurse/symptom control instructor of 24 years experience prior to my early retirement in 2014 due to chronic pain. Here's more helpful info.

It takes less medication to prevent pain than to catch up to pain.

7 1/2 oz DARK Chocolate is equal to 2 aspirin in pain killing power.

Certain antidepressants have pain relieving power. I started Elavil 25 mg back in 1994 for chronic pain. Since I didn't have the good sense to get out of patient care , kept re injuring myself and needing to kick up the anti depressant to deal with pain. Now at 100 mg daily. Side effects are sedation and constipation, so I take it at night. I also take Magnesium, see below. BTW the dose for depression is 150-200 mg daily, BUT my depression was almost entirely resolved within 48 hours of starting the Elavil for pain control!

As mentioned, sedation and constipation are side effects of some meds. Magnesium 500 mg 3 times daily has been used for bone pain in some instances. That is too strong for me, and Magnesium makes some people (like me) sleepy. I take it at night.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin help some people. Glucosamine is a sugar and some people using it have gone from border line diabetes to full on diabetes. Didn't help me, has helped my little black feral cat.

Exacerbations are sometimes treated with steroids. I found this particularly helpful with people with high resistance to opiods. Dose pak of prednisone would knock their pain back to where the usual meds took care of it. The problems with steroids-can knock you into diabetes. Can demineralize bones. Can trigger insomnia and mania.

Non steroidal anti-inflammatories such as aspirin, Naprosyn, ibuprofen, and magnesium salicylate all reduce the inflammation in arthritis, and reduce pain. They also interfere with your platelets ability to clot, meaning you bleed from just a stern look, and can reduce your gastric secretions leading to ulcers. They can also interfere with cardiac function. Vioxx was taken off the market because it was causing heart attacks in too any recipients. PLUS, NSAIDS suffer from having 2 limitations- Maximum Daily Dose, and Ceiling Dose.

Ceiling dose is where you shouldn't bother taking any more of that drug right now, because additional will have no increase in action. The ceiling dose for Tylenol for instance is 1,000 mg. If you take 1500 or 2,000 mg at a tie any above the 1,000 mg ceiling will be wasted, as well as endangering you.
The Maximum Daily Dose is the therapeutic dose above which you start having unsafe reactions. I have seen Acetominophen's Maximum Daily Dose come down in my nursing career from "unlimited" (I already was looking up the unofficial, negative results from unlimited use in my nursing school) to 2,000 mg a day for the elderly and infirm.
Naprosyn's maximum daily dose is about 1900 mg a day. Therapeutic levels for severe pain are about 1500 mgs a day

Acupuncture has been mentioned. Worked for my daughter, not for me.

For years I used capsaicin patches. The large patch will splint the sore muscle so it doesn't move and compound the problem. Capsaicin depletes the chemical that tells the nerve to register pain (called Substance P)

I have been undergoing non invasive laser treatments and they have worked very well but it took 4 months. I also have therapeutic massage every week. Besides the muscle and joint manipulation by educated practitioners, there is the fact that touch causes the release of endorphins- mother nature's feel-good chemicals.

Hope this small review of pain control has been helpful as far as stimulating discussion with your health care providers about what is best for you.

Lastly, there are opiods- but the DEA is trying to put even more roadblocks into the generalist physician's use of these meds.
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Old 05-15-2016, 09:04 PM   #14
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Thanks Mitzi for all the information--I'm sure a lot of people will benefit from it. I've learned that a lot of people do suffer with pain and still keep camping--that helps a lot.
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Old 05-16-2016, 12:15 AM   #15
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Camping and pain

There has been a LOT of excellent advice offered here! I'm developing arthritis in my back and hands, and have had FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome) for 30+ years.

Vioxx was excellent for pain relief -- I felt *normal* when I was able to take it. (Except for the crushing chest pain!) Celebrex has caused chest pain also.

Cymbalta worked for pain for quite some time, until intestines revolted and all kinds of bad things happened. No ulcers, but a nearly 20 lb weight loss before things kind of sorted out.

I'm managing without major meds at the moment. I have a heating pad permanently installed on my chair, along with various pads and cushions to keep my back straight and shoulders back (most chairs cause your back to round, which in my case causes pain -- back straight and shoulders back = relief). I need heat several times a day, and often use the seat heater in my car even in the summer. Sigh.

Magnesium is good for pain, and also for the constipation problems other meds can cause. Since FMS also causes constipation, I take magnesium regularly (500-750 mg at night).

Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory properties. I take 2000 units a day. When I was teaching, I took *4000* units. Young people are walking germ factories, but as long as I kept up that regimen, I did not get sick. Vitamin C also relieves constipation.

Turmeric and curcumin are very good for pain. Curcumin hits the pain I'm developing in my finger joints and keeps it at bay. If I miss it a few days, the pain comes back. NSAIDS have not helped it, but Curcumin does.

I also take a glucosamine/condroitin/MSM complex.

As far as camping and pain... I have two thoughts. Don't get too cold, and make sure your bed is comfortable. My husband has foam cushions in his van that are too hard for me. Trying to sleep on them in my condition made any van trip a true misery. I had to insist on bringing an eggcrate cushion with us.

Air mattresses are wonderful, but make sure you have very thick insulation between you and the mattress. If you have a pain condition of any kind, you'll discover you feel worse or even TERRIBLE if you don't. Even if you have warm covers on TOP of you, the air in the mattress is not as warm as your body. Therefore your body works all night just to maintain its temp, and the result is misery. At least it was for me until I figured this out. If we use an air mattress, there has to be a comforter or sleeping bag between me and it. As long as we do this, the sleep on an air mattress is delicious.

The cushions in our little bigfoot are not too firm, but we use a memory/gel/eggcrate pad anyway. We don't get too cold in the trailer, so my body is happy.

And then, just avoid getting chilled outside. Wear warm clothes when its cold. Wear layers and gloves and warm socks. The other bad reactions I've had have been from getting too cold outside. (Pain and fatigue after one ill-advised midnight swim lasted for nearly three weeks)

I agree with the other poster who advised that it's easier to prevent pain than to stop it once it happens. Don't wait too long to take a med. You will accomplish nothing except suffering more and longer (and ultimately having to take more medicine).

In warm weather, wear sunscreen and hats but soak up the warm sun. It's wonderful for achy joints.

Oh, and yoga. Yoga has greatly reduced my symptoms, and if I miss too many classes they come creeping back. Exercise, walking, biking, hiking -- these will all help with arthritis.

And camping. Most definitely camping.

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Old 05-16-2016, 03:10 AM   #16
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Thanks Ellpea for your input. Yes, I've heard yoga is good for arthritis--i've found a few sites on youtube that has yoga for seniors--keep forgetting about them..i've got to do that again. But when feeling bad i just want to sit and not do anything but watch TV, which i know is wrong. I take a prilosec every morning and wait an hour before eating and taking motrim--this protects my stomach from getting upset. Then a few hours later i take more motrim--being careful not to go over the dosage recommended for 24 hours. But giving up the soda last week really helped a lot. Again thanks for all the info you provided.
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Old 05-16-2016, 06:33 AM   #17
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Thanks Ellpea for your input. Yes, I've heard yoga is good for arthritis--i've found a few sites on youtube that has yoga for seniors--keep forgetting about them..i've got to do that again. But when feeling bad i just want to sit and not do anything but watch TV, which i know is wrong. I take a prilosec every morning and wait an hour before eating and taking motrim--this protects my stomach from getting upset. Then a few hours later i take more motrim--being careful not to go over the dosage recommended for 24 hours. But giving up the soda last week really helped a lot. Again thanks for all the info you provided.
Hi: janisg... "You are what you eat". A hand full of black sweet cherries... or tart red ones... each day helps a lot. There's something in the cherries that works on the joint pain. Pure cherry juice is also good... but can be expensive though.
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Old 05-16-2016, 08:25 AM   #18
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I have moderate arthritis in my back. While OTC pain medication helps, the most help has been swimming laps weekdays for half an hour. The first couple of days are a bit rough, but after that things get better each day. By the end of a week or two I'm in pretty good shape.

Of course finding pools that are large enough for lap swims is tough while camping, so I slowly deteriorate while away from the pool. I probably should try yoga.
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Old 05-16-2016, 09:42 AM   #19
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I have moderate arthritis in my back. While OTC pain medication helps, the most help has been swimming laps weekdays for half an hour. The first couple of days are a bit rough, but after that things get better each day. By the end of a week or two I'm in pretty good shape.

Of course finding pools that are large enough for lap swims is tough while camping, so I slowly deteriorate while away from the pool. I probably should try yoga.
A pool is very important in my life . Besides pain relief , even just walking in a pool helps with keeping your balance , your legs and pains of aging . I also start to deteriorate when I can't swim and get to a pool . Pat
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Old 05-17-2016, 04:50 PM   #20
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Does anyone else suffer from arthritis and how well do you deal with it when camping?
I have osteo arthritis in many of my joints. It was exacerbated by the wear and tear on all of my joints from my 30 years' employment. It was so bad that there were days toward the end of my career when I didn't want to get out of bed.

I retired about six years ago on a full service retirement at 55. I didn't want to just roll over and die, that's not my style, but neither did I want to burn out my kidneys or liver prematurely with oral pain and other nasty meds, so I began doing research into how to deal with it more holistically.

Arthritis is an inflammatory disease. Cutting inflammation is key to cutting pain. You've had good advice from a number of posters here: you are what goes into your mouth.

Investigate foods that cause inflammation and cut them out of your diet. Wheat and un-cultured dairy are two of the biggest culprits in our diet today, for a variety of reasons. Cultured dairy, cheese, yogurts and so forth don't seem to be an issue like cow's milk is. Butter doesn't seem to be a problem either, and is certainly less problematic than margarine. Wheat seems to be a real problem. If I eat bread or pasta made from wheat flour, I really feel awful and painful within hours until my system clears it and that takes a couple of days. Cut out chemical preservatives to the extent you can. Cut out inorganic chemicals like artificial sweeteners. You need to read labels.

Learn about endocrine disrupters (like dietary bromine) and where they're found in our diet and environments and try to stay away from them.

I've adopted a modified, casual Paleo-type diet that works well for me and is easy to maintain. I take regular supplements daily including B-1, Methyl-B-12, D-3, C and then some multis. The B-1 in particular works to help control pain. B and D-vitamins are water-soluable, so there is no 'toxic' dosage. You can pretty much load up on B and D-vitamins, and I do. I also take a proprietary Chondroitin-Glucosamine combination called Flex-a-Min that seems to work well. I've tried other similar products that just didn't do anything for me, but this one seems to work.

And while I'm not pain-free every day... I have my days, I'm mostly pain-free most days. I bike and hike and go sailing and camping and do pretty much whatever I want to do now when I want to do it... life is good!

YMMV, but it's amazing what a positive change in diet, getting the right supplements and regular exercise does for arthritis. It's not what "medicine" says we're supposed to be doing... but it works for me, is inexpensive, and has led to a healthier and more active retirement lifestyle.

Good luck!
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