Around 2 months back, my wife (38 years old) started having pain in one
of her knees. Mainly the pain happens when she squats - sometimes so bad
that
she couldn't squat - other times it used to be Ok.There was a small
swelling
also,
& very little redness. We had visited the doctor - he said we aren't going
to make a diagnosis now - we will wait for a couple of weeks, before we
send her for tests etc. He said this could be an injury or osteoarthritis
or
rheumatoid arthritis.
He gave her a COX-2 inhibitor & asked her to return after 2 weeks.
He didn't ask her to stop activity, but said that she should avoid it
whenever she could - i.e. if she could sit & cook, she should do that
rather than standing & doing it. Likewise, avoid unneccessary walking
- combine trips etc. Excersies to be done while sitting or sleeping &
that too only after a week or two.
After 3-4 days she started getting chest pains & I did a little googling
about COX-2 inbitors & we called the doctor. He asked her to stop
the medicine & visit him. However we are currently travelling & hence
will be visiting him only after a couple of weeks more.
However, the chest pain stopped immediatelly after stopping the Cox-2
inhibitor.
In the mean time, on the advice of an aunt, my wife started a few things.
- Glucosamine 500 - thrice a day
- Chondroitin 400 - thrice a day
- Garlic - 2 pieces in the morning
- Calcium supplements.
10 days of this & her pain has reduced by 70%. There is only trace
pain left now.
Since she took multiple stuff, we don't know if any of them caused
the improvement or did it happen automatically.
Since there is a couple of weeks more till she visits the doc, I wanted
to know the opinion of people here - does this sound like arthritis -
what type?
How long can one take Glucosamine/Chondroitin - i.e.is it to be
taken lifelong or only for a few months? Any other supplements
which may help? Will applying ice/heat help?
Also my wife has stopped all kinds of excercise since this
started. She used to do an hour of walking everyday & 1/2
hour of dancing few times a week, earlier. She has almost
stopped this. She is marginally overweight - 5 to 10 pounds.
What kind of exercise is safe for her to do?
The doctor she visited for this is not our regular doc.
Our regular doc is on a 6 month vacation or something.
He will be back only in Aug/Sept. We will visit the
other doc once we are back from our travel, however.
|
