And this is why you should wait and talk to your Dr!!!

amysgottadothisthang

I need help!!!! Are there any physicians, nurses or just super smart people on here that can calm my nerves?

Ok, I will try to keep this short! I am scared to death and have no idea what all this means!!! I wish I would have waited for my Dr. to call me than to get my own results!

My BACKGROUND: Started my journey Sept. 2013 I have lost a total of 29lbs, over 30 in. by doing MFP and workouts w/ my trainer 3 days a week. 1600 calories a day......I never eat back my calories...blah..blah...blah. I have been experiencing increasingly painful joint pain in my knees and left elbow. So I went to the Dr. Thursday and here are my results:

X RAY Left knee: lateral compartment osteophytosis
X RAY Right knee: medial joint space narrowing and patellofemoral osteophytosis
(impression:degenerative changes in the knees)

***I AM ONLY 39 YEARS OLD!! I have a history of vonWillebrands disease***

Lab work:
CBC,Electrolytes,HDL,CK and RA normal.
ESR=32 (normal is 0-20)
glucose fasting=111 (normal is below 100)
BUN=21 (normal is below 20
triglycerides=160 (normal 0-150)
CRP greater than 15.000=acute inflammation
Total cholesterol=253 (normal 0-200)
LDL=179 (normal 0-100)

MY RA was 8.6 (normal 0-12) so can a 39 year old female get osteoarthritis???? Now what? I am totally freaking out!!! This is the healthiest that I have EVER been! By no means not the thinnest but by far the healthiest!!!! I dont eat red meat. I have not had anything greasy,fried or tasty since SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!

Lesa_Sass

I am so sorry. Please do yourself a favor and do NOT google yourself into organ failure or cancer, it happens every time.

You are going to go through all the stages of grief that accompany finding out you have a disease and then one day you will come to terms with it and learn how to live with it. There will be a great deal of relief when you do come to terms with it, but you will not get there over night.

I was the healthiest I had ever been when I had my auto immune flare. I was training for a half marathon and was basically eating mainly vegetarian. I feel that the God of my understanding put me on my healthy path to be able to handle my disease better, had I still been drinking when I was diagnosed, I have no idea how I would have handled things. So you can see this as a positive and things could have been worse.

I am here if you need to talk to someone that has lived through the most horrible time of her life going to bed every night thinking she was going to die of organ failure or that her husband is going to have to be taking care of her in a few years. Right now I am out and about living life, taking it one day at a time, doing the best that I can do to take care of me, that is all I can do.

betweenthesedays

Yes, you can get osteoarthritis in your 30s. You can get it in your 20s. You can get it from being overweight, from an injury, or from genetic factors outside of your control. People live with arthritis and thrive, so can you. Worst case scenario, you have to make some adjustments in what you do, but there's no reason you can't continue living an active, health life.

snowflake954

I started with OA at just about your age. You learn to live with it. Do you wake up stiff in the morning and it takes awhile to limber up? Do going up or down stairs bother you? These are all signs and there are more. Your doctor will advise you, but here are a few things you can do to keep moving. As often as you can, do stretching exercises-30 min-45 min, as soon as you get up in the morning. These excercises should gentlely pull joints that ache a bit and if it works you will feel less ache as you keep it up. Whirlpools or hot tubs help. I started taking cod liver oil capsules years ago and this really helped. Talk to others with OA and get ideas. Try out the ones that sound good to you and you'll find what works for you. This is not a death sentence. Alot depends on how you approach the problem.

fultimers

Your cholesterol is elevated as well. I imagine your doctor will have something to say about that. Mine was barely elevated and he wanted to put me on a statin drug. After researching statins, I said no--there are too many awful side effects and I would try to get my chol. levels down by more exercise and better diet. I know--I'm a bad patient--but it's my body and he will have to respect that or I'll have to change doctors.

I've heard of people your age having osteoporosis. You will be able to deal with it with a bit more attention to things like getting more calcium, more weight-bearing exercise, etc.

rebeccaisafish

I'm 23 with osteoathritis in my knees... so don't go complaining about feeling to young at 39 hahaha. I have a one year old and can't get on the floor to play with her and I'm still practically a child myself!!!

It's not the end of the world. Losing weight will help (if you're overweight). Every 1 kilo of weight you lose is 4kg of force gone from your knees... apparently. Taking some fish oil every day seems to help. I've been told the best thing you can do is keep active so don't sit around because you're in pain. Get up go for a walk/swim/run/cycle and go see a physiotherapist. They may be able to give you some exercises that can help, depending on your exact condition. Talk to your doctor about pain management if that aspect is bothering you.

It sucks but 39 certainly isn't unusually young.

walleyclan1

I was diagnosed with OA at 8 so I guess it can happen at anytime.

NRSPAM

I'm 34yo. Osteoarthritis here!!! :drinker: Lol. Really, it's not such a big deal. Yes, there is chronic pain, but you learn to deal. It doesn't hurt all the time. Kind of comes n goes. Comes more with exercise, but I do it anyways. Haven't really been to a doctor, except for my back. Went through 3 spinal blocks that didn't do crap. With weight loss, and lots of moving and stretching, and hot showers, the pain is tolerable, and has improved. I really didn't think the weight loss had helped, until the last 6 months or so. Now that I'm getting closer to goal, and building lots of muscle, my back is doing better. Some days are better than others though. As for your lab work, I really don't know. Lots of things can cause fluctuations in those, and you said you have a medical history. Maybe that's what's causing your labs to be off.

Edit: PS- I also have knee and hip pain too.

SugarLou57

Suggest you look into dietary changes to reduce inflammation - less dairy, sugar, flour products. Plenty of reading available on this. Good luck.

AllonsYtotheTardis

so can a 39 year old female get osteoarthritis????

Yes. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my neck (:grumble: ) at 33

SbetaK

I was told I had osteoarthritis when I was 34. "But I'm only 34!" I am now in my late 50's, and as active as ever. I am often stiff in the mornings, after sitting for long periods, etc but once I get up and get moving it diminishes. Staying active has been the key. I work in a very physical occupation for a few months each year, and the rest of the year is a mostly sedentary job so I make sure to exercise. Water aerobics and swimming are wonderful (no gravity!) but cardio and strength training are invaluable. I'm about 20 years older than you, diagnosed earlier than you and still going strong. Yes there are some days of aches and pains but your only choice is to learn to live with it. It does not stop me from doing anything. Losing weight and eating a healthier diet is helping tremendously, and keeping a positive attitude! You can do it!

1two3four

It's not the end of the world. Losing weight will help (if you're overweight). Every 1 kilo of weight you lose is 4kg of force gone from your knees... apparently. Taking some fish oil every day seems to help. I've been told the best thing you can do is keep active so don't sit around because you're in pain. Get up go for a walk/swim/run/cycle and go see a physiotherapist. They may be able to give you some exercises that can help, depending on your exact condition. Talk to your doctor about pain management if that aspect is bothering you.

^^ This!! (And I'm only thirty and arthritis is old news to me!)

But seriously, what I quoted is awesome, awesome advice and I can attest to the weight loss helping. And the moving. The more I sit the worse it is.

spoiledpuppies

This actually happened to me last week! Based on some medical results and additional medical info that I hadn't shared with my new doctor yet, I got REALLY nervous about my health and what I might have done to impact it. Just like you, I kept reminding myself that I'd lost my weight in a really healthy way, but I couldn't help googling and finding horror stories and then beating myself up that maybe I caused problems for myself.

I emailed my doctor, and he's awesome--responds right away. He told me not to worry, and we set up an appointment for the following week--but a weekend is a lot of googling time!!! So what I did was cut myself off from internet (other than my work) because it was too tempting to look up medical stuff. I told my MFPals that I wouldn't be active, other than logging, because I was freaking myself out.

I had an additional test and a follow up appointment last week, and all turned out well--actually better than well. I'm actually thrilled with the outcome of everything.

So I recommend doing like I did. Cut yourself off from the internet. Try to stay busy/distracted, keep reminding yourself of how healthy you are., and wait to the talk to the doc.

Good luck!

LanceKarcher

Yes, you probably should have waited to get an interpretation from a physian rather than try to evaluate a radiologist report by yourself. Probably no 39 year old individual exists that has perfect knees radio graphically. I had chips in both knees diagnosed years ago. The orthopedist ' s opinion was that it was no big deal for a person my age.

VBnotbitter

Disclaimer: senior RN but not expert on osteo arthritis. Wait until you talk to your doctor but you may have two things occurring. Degenerative changes to your knee joints expected at your age and having a history of carrying extra weight as per your X-rays. Plus an additional inflammatory process occurring hence to raised ESR and CRP which can be treated with medication. If tests for rheumatoid arthritis are negative you may be panicking yourself into thinking you have a chronic disease which isn't there.

Short answer stop trying to self diagnose off the Internet, it only creates unnecessary anxiety

DopeItUp

As far as the blood panel goes, being 80lbs overweight isn't helping any of those numbers. Losing the weight will significantly help. Not eating tasty things or red meat doesn't really mean anything when you're very obese (or ever, really). Trust me, I know from experience. After losing 100lbs all of my blood panel results are very, very good and I eat tons of red meat, fried stuff, sugar, whatever. Being at a healthy weight and exercising regularly is 95% of the battle (outside of genetics).

Otterluv

I have OA in one knee, from an injury that happened around 12 years ago. I've been able to get it to a point that I feel completely stable and never feel it, even after running for hours, through a progressive strength training program. Depending on where your OA is, there may be something that you can do to strengthen and stabilize the area.

amysgottadothisthang

Thank you for all the input! The resounding response is basically...ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD and quit freaking out until I speak with my Dr.!!!!! LOL

I just cant imagine what my labs would have looked like before I started MFP and started going to a trainer back in Sept of 2013! I am trying to look at the bright side! I was just really shocked that there is actually stuff wrong with me and that I alone probably caused all of it because I have been overweight for the majority of my life. It is a decision and I MADE IT.

starrylioness

I have OA as well. When I was 16, my doctor told me I had the knee of a 65 year old. I imagine at 32 years old now and with more injuries that followed over the years as well as weight gain, it's way worse. Don't stress yourself over it. Keep seeing your doctor. I just watch the knee and try not to over do it and always check in with my doctor.

Lesa_Sass

Thank you for all the input! The resounding response is basically...ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD and quit freaking out until I speak with my Dr.!!!!! LOL

I just cant imagine what my labs would have looked like before I started MFP and started going to a trainer back in Sept of 2013! I am trying to look at the bright side! I was just really shocked that there is actually stuff wrong with me and that I alone probably caused all of it because I have been overweight for the majority of my life. It is a decision and I MADE IT.

No, its not the end of the world, you are just going to have to adapt and take even better care of yourself. I allowed myself to freak so bad that I lost a dangerous amount of weight and handfulls of hair to stress. I was all consumed with it day and night. It was ruling my life and I was suffering, big time.

Then one day my sister said "listen, you have chronic pain and there is nothing you can do about it, the sooner you accept it and move on the sooner you get your life back" All of a sudden it clicked. But, I must admit this was after 18 months of being a total mess. I stopped doing internet research, I started eating by Dr Weils anti inflammation diet and started taking my meds and being gentle with myself. Am I ever going to run a marathon? Nope, who knows, maybe one day I will be able to run a half, but right now I am just grateful that I can run, walk even.

There are so many people in this world that are worse off than us. We are very lucky. There are people gathering around today to hold the hand of someone that is taking their last breath. I spent 18 months of my life dying instead of living. I shall live the rest of my days living life to the fullest, and even on my high pain flare days, I will try to be grateful that I have access to health care and medicine to get relief.

snowflake954

Thank you for all the input! The resounding response is basically...ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD and quit freaking out until I speak with my Dr.!!!!! LOL

I just cant imagine what my labs would have looked like before I started MFP and started going to a trainer back in Sept of 2013! I am trying to look at the bright side! I was just really shocked that there is actually stuff wrong with me and that I alone probably caused all of it because I have been overweight for the majority of my life. It is a decision and I MADE IT.

Don't beat yourself up over this--a great deal is hereditary, and you can't do a thing about that. What you can do is better your health and do your best to better your situation. As you get older, you'll feel this more, so you need a plan. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get moving--literally.