So much better than using opioids for both your wife and you who will also share the consequences of mood changes etc.
I can recommend Lidocaine patches for severe pain. No side effects in my case.
Before my last knee surgery they were the most effective pain relief apart from opioids and other well-known drugs which can have side effects.
Problem is Ken, patches are great on small joints where the chems can reach but on a big joint like a hip they dont penetrate deep enough. Of course always worth a try for the reasons you mention.
Thanks for that update
Until last week I’d used the patches only on my knee but have now retrieved the “leftovers” from the meds cabinet to use on my ribs after a painful fall. Of course as with the knee these are close to the surface – so their efficiency is not much of a clue for you.
If you do want to try them – or talk to your médicin traitant – the ones I’ve used are Versatis brand.
HTH
The pain started about a year ago. It got so bad Mary asked for a cortisone jab in the hip. The GP was nervous about doing it and didn’t hit the right spot. She then had an x ray which indicated arthritis in the hip and lower back but the result was marked as none urgent. The GP suggested physio but none were available on the NHS so Mary went privately. From then on the pain has got rapidly worse. Sometimes she can feel the hip bones grinding together which is a bit scary. She asked the osteopath if a hip operation would get rid of the pain and her answer was a definite yes. The GP said it was not yet serious enough for an op. Both the physiotherapist and osteopath said there were problems with the back a kink in the spine. So at the moment Mary is taking a low dose of codeine applying a cold compress as often as possible and taking the CBD capsules. We have ordered the CBD oil from the Swiss company as suggested. She is going to give up the codeine and try the iboprefen. Also we are trying a private clinic to see if they can suggest ways of making the traveling more bearable. Until recently sitting down or resting has been very uncomfortable but the CBD capsules have helped her to relax better.
That’s dreadful Geoffrey. I hope Mary gets the help she needs quickly.
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So sorry to hear all this Geoffrey. I’m assuming that is in the UK. You may find you get a very different response in France. I do hope so. Again, I’d recommend acupuncture for pain relief. I met someone some years ago who had been told by his consultant that he would need to have his spine fused. All of the pain went with acupuncture and he never went ahead with the op.
Very best wishes to you both.
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Just yet another thought for pain relief - has your wife considered a TENS machine? My mother used to use one to help manage her pain whenever she had a rheumatoid arthritis flare up.
My dear sister had osteoarthritis. It started developing at a young age and at first the doctors said “its growing pains” then “its aggravated because of your mothers death” then "you are too young (37) for replacement hips, because they would need to be replaced after 10 years! I never witnessed my sister cry with the pain, until she completely seized up, at the age of 40! Her ortho was happy to replace her hip privately and she agreed, but only if he would replace the other one (nhs) the following year. Such a joy to see her dispose of walking sticks and zimmer frame. She had the first one replaced 20+ yrs later!
I cannot imagine the pain Mary has, but I am going to suggest what my aunts takes for her arthritis. She swears by apple cider vinegar. After trying so many ‘this will work’ products. she was dubious that such a simple product would help. After a month, she was easing back into yoga and now does a session every morning, she is 86. I started to drink it daily, also a little dubious, but it really works for my work related injuries. While we have different degrees of pain Geoffrey ACV might help to ease Marys? I wish I could have tested it with sister.
Appalling. General practitioners may or may not be up to specialised diagnoses (there’s a clue in their title after all) and should refer patients to specialists anyway. Pfffffff
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UK health policies, not France’s! She might find that here she will be whipped off for a replacement in weeks.
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Maybe green clay can help a bit?
Mrs W has some pretty serious arthritis and has had since her early 40s, finally she’s found green clay to help and she swears by it, says pain diminishes within the hour. I’ve used it on horses and it works on them too.
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When I had a very painful sciatica problem my physiotherapist suggested I buy a copy of this Treat Your Own Back: Amazon.co.uk: McKenzie, Robin: 9780959804928: Books
Mr McKenzie - a top New Zealand physio joined forces with orthopaedic surgeons and other professionals in looking at strategies to counter back problems. My physio aside from other treatment taught me some basic pilates techniques. I went on to enrol in a class. I was also advised by the physio to use a small lumbar support cushion in the car and to try to always pull the belly in using something like a star shaped sticker placed around the house as a constant reminder. I still do some of the pilates exercises most days. Sciatica can be horrible and I never want to have that pain in my ankle bone again. I believe a major contributing factor to my sciatica was sleeping in a bed with a mattress too old and worn to give adequate support.
At the moment we’re looking for a quick fix just to enable us to travel okay. We have a very reliable and very comfortabe old car, Citroen of course. But even this she finds uncomfortable after a short time. So we will look into this idea of a lumbar support cushion. We need a reliable medical supplies company? Or maybe we should go back to the osteopath for advice
I know you need some solution now but longer term have a look at the Wahls Protocol. Dr Wahls was in a wheel chair with MS and reversed it. The same protocol works for other inflamatory and auto immune diseases like the arthritis’s.
Love my 3 week cure every year bobbing about in mud - sometimes green-clay, sometimes kaolin, sometimes a very smelly organic mush depending on the location of the Therme. Doesn’t cure of course, but very pleasant! Another joy of the French Health Service for your wife to discover Geoffrey.
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Yeah, right.
Wikipedia notes:
Diet interacts with our health in all sorts of ways - but no-one has every found a diet which fixes any health problem reliably (short of a few well characterised examples like coeliac disease, or phenylketonuria)
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Something like this should do the job. You may find one for half the price. Occupational Therapist Recommended Smallest D Roll Back Cushion
That isnt true.
Nowt the medical world could do so what she achieved is fantastic