Talking to Your Doctor About Arthritis Pain

To manage the pain you are suffering from, you need to speak with your doctor. Arthritis pain can destroy your life and keep you from your day to day activities. You will need to consult with your doctor about your arthritis pain to find some ways to manage the pain you have been suffering from. Typically your primary care physician will refer you to a rheumatologist that specializes in treating arthritis and they will be able to prescribe medications and get you on a treatment program that allows you to live your life again.

Speak with your doctor about arthritis pain.

Arthritis pain is difficult to treat as you can only manage the symptoms; there is not an actual cure for it. You will need to consider using daily aids that can make your life a little bit easier like those devices found here: http://www.caregiverpartnership.com/search/open/. They can be attached to pill bottles and jars, making it much easier for you to open things that often cause a lot of strain and tension on the wrists and hands.

Since x-rays do not help to diagnose the origin of the pain you have been suffering from, a lot of people feel like their doctor doesn’t truly understand just how bad the pain is. The doctor can only offer you help if you tell them exactly what type of pain you are feeling, whether it is aching in the wrists or joints or stiffness, you must be completely honest with them. Many times elderly patients do not disclose all of the pain and information they are suffering from so you may need to go to the doctor visits with your parents or elderly patients that you are caring for in order to make sure they can get the best possible treatment.

If you are helping elderly individuals with their medical needs, always keep a notebook with you to write down all of their medications along with the pain and symptoms they have been experiencing. This can often help you talk to the doctor as it is common for elderly individuals to have some memory loss and they may forget to mention critical things. Being prepared for the doctor visit is one of the best ways to make sure you can help the doctor find the best possible treatment available. Here are a few things you need to write down before you visit the doctor to make sure you are fully prepared:

• Where is the pain? 
• How often do you feel this pain?
• Is the pain in one central area or is it in multiple areas?
• Does the pain flare up on its own or after doing certain activities?
• Do you feel the pain every morning, evening, or during the night?
• How strong is the pain?
• Does it send sharp jolts in that area or is it a constant pain?
• Are you taking medications for the pain?
• What medications are you using?
• What other treatments are you using for the pain?
• Have you tried a hot or cold pack? 
• What about wrapping the area or using magnetic therapy?

Each patient the doctor sees will respond differently to the pain and to the treatments that are available. One treatment method that many arthritis suffers find soothing is to use hot and cold therapy like the treatment found here: http://www.caregiverpartnership.com/landing/arthritis/. These wraps can be placed directly on the joints and they will provide you with relief from the pain you suffer from in the joints and other areas of the body. Heat helps to reduce the stiffness in the joints where the cold helps to stop the swelling.

About The CareGiver Partnership. The CareGiver Partnership helps caregivers and their loved ones with answers to their caregiving questions, including information about home health care products and supplies, from our Wisconsin-based team of Product Specialists who are all current or former caregivers. The company’s Web site provides the largest online library of resources on subjects most important to caregivers — from arthritis to assisted living, and Parkinson’s to prostate cancer — as well as access to more than 3,000 home care products for incontinence, skin care, mobility, home safety and daily living aids. The CareGiver Partnership was founded in 2004 by Lynn Wilson of Neenah, Wisc. Visit http://www.caregiverpartnership.com to learn more or call 1-800-985-1353.

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