Tests indicate kidneys not functioning, many questions

[hddana]

I have had two blood tests for kidney function and a 24-hr. urine test. Although I was not given numbers, I was told that my kidneys are functioning at less than 50% and to set up an appointment with a nephrologist; that is set up for next week. The neph. office called and had me go for a kidney ultra-sound scan and do another 24-hr. urine collection/blood test. That will be tomorrow.

I have high blood pressure (10yr), RA (25yr) and have taken indomethacin max dose for 25yr minus a couple of months when I tried Motrin and Celebrex. I used to have lots of UTIs but I was put on Bactrim for prevention of those three years ago. I was told to stop the Bactrim this week.

What is the normal progression of kidney disease? Is it ever reversible or can people maintain 40% or so of function for the rest of their lives? I know (although I don't dwell on it) that RA statistically shortens one's lifespan. What can be said of those with chronic kidney disease? I don't want to start a big pity party for myself, but the knowledge that my lifespan might be shorter still would help me make some decisions both financially and personally, help me plan for the longterm. And I know that every case is individual, but in general, what is the typical course of events?

Since I have RA and take the indomethacin, and that is not good for kidneys, what do people do instead? Are there other ways to reduce inflammation and pain? I always have a very high SED rate. The few times I have ever missed a dose of my indomet. I have felt REALLY AWFUL, not just in a joint but all over. So what do people with RA do in the case of kidney disease?

When should one begin a very restrictive diet? The diet restrictions I have read about would revolutionize our lives to say the least; I cook for two families to ensure that everyone has good home-cooked, healthy meals.

Those are the most pressing questions I have, and any advice/answers people can provide will give me some things to ponder before my appointment. My husband is going on the appointment and it might be easier to wrap my mind around some information beforehand and help him prepare as well.

TIA,
hddana
:?:

[DoriSchatell]

Dear Hhdana,

It is certainly a big shock to learn that your kidneys are not working as they should, but please don't panic. With 50% kidney function, you have time to plan and to learn, and even to keep your kidneys from getting worse.

Some of your questions we can address, and some you'll have to ask your doctor. (We are not doctors). Let's take one at a time:

What is the normal progression of kidney disease? Is it ever reversible or can people maintain 40% or so of function for the rest of their lives?

Chronic kidney disease often--but not always--progresses. It is possible to live with as little as 15% of kidney function without needing renal replacement therapy (dialysis or transplant). At 15% or less, treatment is needed to maintain life. There are things you can do to preserve your current function and prevent further damage, and your nephrologist should be able to tell you some of these, e.g., to adjust your meds or switch them to less nephrotoxic (kidney damaging) options. You can read about chronic kidney disease on the Life Options site, at http://www.lifeoptions.org/kidneyinfo/ckdinfo.php. I don't personally think it's time to worry about a shortened lifespan. Even if your kidneys do fail completely, if you are actively involved in your care and get good treatment, you could live for decades (depending on how old you are now).

Since I have RA and take the indomethacin, and that is not good for kidneys, what do people do instead? Are there other ways to reduce inflammation and pain?
Questions about drug interactions and the overlap of two chronic diseases are best asked to your doctor--or even better, to your kidney doctor and your rheumatologist, who will, hopefully, work as a team on your behalf. You may need to do some follow up and be sure that they are talking to each other and keeping you in the loop.

When should one begin a very restrictive diet? The diet restrictions I have read about would revolutionize our lives to say the least.

Diet is largely unchanged until the kidneys fail completely. (Some doctors recommend a moderate protein restriction and limit salt). The diet you may have read about is called the "renal" diet, but this is not really the case. It is an in-center hemo diet. Patients who chose any treatment option other than in-center hemo (there are 5 ways to do home dialysis, for example) have less limited diet and fluids because other forms of treatment are either continuous (like PD) or often offer longer or more frequent treatments, which do more of the work that the failing kidneys can't do--and which means that you don't have to do as much with diet and medications. In the U.S., 91% of patients who need dialysis get in-center hemo, and most never know that other options exist. Please see another Medical Education Institute site called Home Dialysis Central http://www.homedialysis.org to learn about types of home treatment, where you can get it, what to expect, and much more.

Please feel free to ask more questions after you see your nephrologist.

[hddana]

Doris,
Thanks for the thoughtful and honest answers. I will pop back in after my visit to the nephrologist. But your answers will help me prepare for that visit.

I am beginning to realize that it would be worth any amount of effort or dietary change to keep kidney function; the thought of dialysis whether at home or in a clinical setting must be pretty motivational for most people. I admire the will and courage of those who deal with this every day. My mother had serious health problems she dealt with for over 20 years even though she died at age 43. I always think back about her and how she kept a good attitude even during some bad times. It has helped me keep perspective on my problems.

It will be interesting to see what they do about my arthritis meds. I just hope it doesn't involve going cold turkey.

Thanks again for your time in answering me.

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

Hi Tia,

I worked for 16 years as a social worker in dialysis and transplant programs before working with Medical Education Institute. I still help to educate people who have kidney damage for the Missouri Kidney Program.

I'd suggest that you read those modules that interest you on Kidney School (www.kidneyschool.org). You might want to start with the Introduction and Module 1. If you do the interactive version, you'll get an action plan at the end based on your answers through the module.

Sometimes it's had to think of the right questions to ask. To help you think of questions, check out the patient interest checklist for people that have kidney failure (Checklist #1 - www.lifeoptions.org/catalog/pdfs/checklists/patintes.pdf). Although you don't have kidney failure, it may give you ideas of some questions you can ask your kidney doctor in future visits. Don't feel like you need ask them all in one visit. Pick a few of the most urgent ones first. I hope you'll have plenty of time to them answered while you're doing all you can to protect your kidneys.

[hddana]

Beth,
Thanks for the reply. I went thru the modules and found them somewhat helpful. It sort of puts you on the spot about setting goals, huh?

hddana

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

I know it's hard for anyone to set goals but patients have told us that when you have a chronic disease, you need to set goals and constantly monitor your progress toward meeting your goals. If you don't, they tell us, it's easy to backslide without realizing it for some time.

Our goal is to help people with kidney disease realize that they can set goals and reach them. The trick is helping people to be optimistic and realistic at the same time. From what I've seen people with kidney disease achieve, the two do not have to be mutually exclusive.

[hddana]

Had a nice long visit with nephrologist. Second tests show still a higher than normal creatinin level and a clearance of 60...so yes, she agrees something is damaging or has damaged my kidneys to reduce function. Scan was good, no protein in blood problem, potassium good,etc.

My kids frequently tell me, don't spaz out, and I guess this visit was sort of similar--don't spaz out, let's approach this calmly and see if we can find out what is at play here. She is pretty sure it's the arthritis meds--isn't ironic that I never pursued any of the newer drugs because they seemed more risky to liver and kidnyes--and wants me to visit a rheumatologist. She also wants me to take my blood pressure frequently and write it down for the next visit. I don't think my cuff is very accurate, but she said to bring it in and we'll compare it. And cut down on salt. Didn't advise cutting way back on protein since I am apparently a little anemic.

I will see her again in December.

Thanks again for your replies.

[DoriSchatell]

Hi Tia,

60% function gives you an even greater "cushion" than 50%, so that's good. Your nephrologist's approach seems very prudent, and involving the rheumatologist, too, makes a lot of sense. Between the three of you, I hope you can figure out some steps to protect your kidney function while still controlling your arthritis.

[hddana]

Yesterday I met with the rheumatologist and I guess I came away more or less in shock. He agrees that the indomethacin is a likely factor in what has happened to my kidneys. He seemed to question (as others have before) the exact nature of my inflammatory disease. I guess the most disturbing thing from the visit was that he not only asked me to stop the indomethacin, he wants me to replace it with Vicodin.

I told him I had reservations about that, primarily based on my mother's experiences in the years before her death at age 43. She had a really severe case of RA and eventually was on so much pain medication that she basically just ceased to have a life other than anticipating her next pill or shot. I was blown away by the cavalier nature of the rheumatologist's just handing me a large bottle of the stuff with lots of refills--it felt to me like giving me a loaded gun almost. I can imagine having pain strong enough to use them, but I can't imagine that this medication would be a daily, on-going solution for me. Looking up information about it (sorry, a retired librarian is an information junky), I was struck by how many sites there were with information about getting OFF this medication.

I tried to get through to the dr. to discuss it further, but they were closed for the weekend. I knew that my local FP had not been kept much up-to-date on this whole kidney issue, so I booked an appt. with him and went in this am. He usually has a calming effect on me, and it worked again. He said to try to stay off the nsaid while more testing is done; actually if you review my labs from the past 2 years (since moving here) you can see that my levels have dipped into normal and then gone a bit above normal. He is feels this is probably the result of some type of autoimmune problem, whether we call it RA or not. My SED rate has been above normal even on the medication. But he said he could understand my dismay at the Vicodin especially in light of my mom's history, and that since it contains some acetominophine, maybe just taking a Tylenol or two when I need it would be better than immediately resorting to the narcotic. He did not seem to think there is an urgent need to rule nsaid use completely out of the picture.

Actually today without the nsaid, I have had some pain, but not as much as I had feared. I did take one Tylenol. I have a bad cold which isn't helping. I am supposed to call the rheumatologist Wednesday and let him know how things are going, then I see the nephrologist early in December. The rheumatologist had them draw blood for a test to verify or disprove the RA label, and he also had some x-rays done. I guess I don't care that much what has been causing the joint pain, stiffness, and fatigue I have lived with for 25 years. The dr. who first diagnosed my case was the most respected rheumy in my area at the time, head of a big research project and author of countless articles, on the faculty at a large medical school,etc. So I don't think he was the type to make a casual diagnosis. But really, who cares what it is? I just want a life relatively free of pain/stiffness/fatigue but without dependence on narcotics. Is this going to be too much to ask with CKD?

Sorry for the length of this, is helped me just writing down my thoughts.
hddana

[DoriSchatell]

Dear Hhdana,

I'm sorry that your visit with the rheumatologist was so frustrating and frightening for you. It sounds as if you have a terrific internist who really listens to you, and it's good that you'll get the results of the tests that were done--even if you don't care about the cause of your joint pain after 25 years, if the cause IS different, it could lead to a different course of treatment that might be more sparing of your kidneys.

I do think that you might want to get a second opinion from a different rheumatologist. All doctors are not the same, and even all specialists are not the same. It didn't sound as if you were getting from this doctor what you need, which is a possible alternative for treating your pain (short of heavy duty pain meds) that won't harm the rest of you. Pain pills address the symptoms but not the underlying causes, and, as you know because of your mom, tolerances can develop over time (although the general thinking is that "addiction" does NOT occur when there is pain, only when there isn't).

Anyway, maybe you can use your librarian background to good purpose by finding another specialist to confer with?

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

Could you have lupus instead of RA? One of the symptoms of lupus is joint pain and swelling. Lupus can cause kidney problems because lupus causes inflammation of the kidneys. Women are much more likely to have lupus than men. Most people develop lupus between the ages of 15 and 44. You can read all kinds of things about lupus on the Lupus Foundation of America's website at http://www.lupus.org. Lupus is difficult to diagnose. Here are some lab tests that can be used to diagnose it:
http://www.lupus.org/education/brochures/labtests.html

A recently published clinical trial found that CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil). CellCept is commonly used to suppress the immune system in organ transplant patients. In a clinical trial that compared the results of CellCept with Cytoxan, the usual treatment for lupus, CellCept has been found to be more effective than Cytoxan in treating kidney inflammation caused by lupus.
http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=529296

[hddana]

Just thought I would check back in and let you know how things are now. I spoke with my nephrologist's nurse shortly after seeing my FP, she suggested taking more Tylenol (staying under max dose). So for about two weeks I have been taking 5-6 Tylenols and my blood pressure meds only. I had more labs done. The RA testing the rheumatologist did came back negative, so he is sure I don't have RA. I noted on the arthritis.about.com site, conincidentally, that at least one rheumatolgist treats people with all neg. tests but all the symptoms as people with RA that isn't doing all the damage...hmmm, sounds like me, but who am I to say?

Things are not going well. My quality of life is significantly less. I am very stiff all day. I have trouble being on my feet, walking, sitting, lying down, getting in the car, riding in the car, you name it. The only time I have any comfort and flexibility is in my jet bath each night. I can't even get situated in bed. So of course I not very satisfied with how this is going. The nephrologist's nurse said I could forget getting permission to go back on any kind of nsaid, but I hope she is not right. I would like to try going back on and just watching all my numbers and see if things could stabilize.

I have a book by a Dr. Walser from Johns Hopkins. He mentions some nsaid salicyl salicylate, but says he has little experience with it, but it might be safe. Does anyone out there know about it?

Back to nephrologist tomorrow, keep me in your thoughts.

[DoriSchatell]

Hi y'all,

Hddana wrote: Things are not going well. My quality of life is significantly less. I am very stiff all day. I have trouble being on my feet, walking, sitting, lying down, getting in the car, riding in the car, you name it. The only time I have any comfort and flexibility is in my jet bath each night. I can't even get situated in bed.

Have you ever been advised to try gentle stretching exercises to help loosen your joints? I seem to recall that this is supposed to be helpful for arthritis-related pain. For example, Tai Chi, or something called ROM (range of motion) dance, possibly swimming... If you haven't tried these non-medication methods of pain reduction, you might want to ask if they would suit your situation.

[hddana]

It has been many years ago, but when we lived overseas and taught on an Army base, I had a German physician. She prescribed physical therapy for me two days a week. We did range of motion exercises, low-impact stuff. All I can recall about it was that although I felt good as I left the center each time, I would be really sore and have more pain afterward. With that and the fact that my insurance wouldn't pay, and that it was hard as a working mom to schedule it, I stopped going after a year. I can't say I noticed anything different when I stopped, but of course then I was on the nsaids.

I have never liked to exercise, even when I was young and more lithe, just a personality thing. But obviously I am going to have to consider every option.

[DoriSchatell]

I've never liked to exercise either (though I don't have arthritis), but as I've gotten older, there've been various indications that stretching is really necessary just to maintain normal joint health. Gentle yoga might also be a good option for you...

Physical therapy isn't the same as exercise--especially if they're trying to help you regain range of motion, it can be quite painful. What I'm talking about would not be. The ideal form of exercise would help you feel better right away and not cause soreness afterward.

[hddana]

The nephrologist found my creatinine level down to 1.0 (off the nsaid, off my cholesterol meds, off Bactrim) so she is willing to restart a new nsaid with monthly monitoring. I got the feeling she felt we might be back at square one in a while, but I am too miserable with the stiffness and swollen sore joints to care. I am doing a final 24 hr. urine and then we will start arthrotec. My FP thinks it will go ok, I hope he's right. I will add back the cholesterol meds and I suppose the Bactrim at a later time. I am also starting glucosamine/chondroitin.

I got so down yesterday knowing we were to babysit the 2yr old and had to shop for him a coat--I broke down and took an aspirin. It was wonderful for the next few hours, almost like being human. I hope this arthrotec works.

I booked a session with acupuncture, not sure if I will keep it, sort of expensive right now for us and insurance won't pay. I was a little turned off by the gentleman's claim to heal kidney damage as well as deal with the joints...hmmm. Any opinions about acupuncture? The rheumatologist suggested it, that and the mega-drugs of course.

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

In re-reading your emails, it appears that testing indicates you do NOT have RA. Did your doctor test you for lupus or any other conditions that can cause joint pain. Here's a government website that discusses joint pain and includes possible causes that you can ask your doctor about:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003261.htm

That's terrific about your labs. I'm glad to hear that changes in medicines improved your kidney labs. Now it's important to review them regularly, especially if your doctor is going to be adding back in an NSAID. I would want to have my doctor try to test me to keep tryin got find the problem (which apparently isn't RA) rather than just treating the pain...especially if the pain treatment runs the risk of damaging my kidneys.

By the way, here's information on Arthrotec which indicates that someone with kidney problems should inform his/her doctor before taking this medicine:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/203377.html#SXX24
http://www.drugs.com/cons/Arthrotec_50.html (this says if you have lupus, it could increase the side effects)

I'd talk with your doctor, but unless you have a bleeding problem, aspirin should be OK to take for pain as should Tylenol. I noticed that you took Tylenol before. How did that work? The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines are known to be a problem for people who have underlying kidney problems. I've heard that they have a worse effect with caffeine so be sure you don't take any NSAIDs with caffeine. I heard a nephrologist advise against taking Excedrin because it has caffeine in it.

You might want to look at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine that is part of the government's National Institutes of Health and can be found at http://www.nccam.nih.gov.
-- Acupuncture can be found at http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/
-- Information and traditional medicine as well as complementary and alternative treatments for RA can be found at http://nccam.nih.gov/health/RA/

Personally, if an acupuncturist told me that he/she could cure my kidney disease with acupuncture, I'd look for another acupuncturist. In addition to considering acupuncture, what about acupressure or massage? You might want to look at this site that certifies acupuncturists to be sure the acupuncturist you use meets a recognized standard http://dol.jkmcomm.com/acupuncture/default.asp

[hddana]

Beth,
Thanks for the thoughtful answers.

On the RA/not RA front, frankly my "case" has been puzzling since I first began experiencing problems around 1980 with symmetrical joint pain, stiffness in the mornings and after only a few minutes of sitting, fatigue,etc. My family dr. figured that since my mother had had a severe case of RA, that was likely, and he had me try Motrin and then Indocin. I went to a very prominent rheumatologist who had some difficulty with the diagnosis, but after my SED rate was high, decided it was likely correct. He kept me on the indocin and suggested trying gold salts. Family dr. (this was in Germany, the rheumy was in Texas)who was an internal med. specialist, said she didn't think my case warranted gold salts. I just went along with the indocin and physical therapy for a time. I could function but always had some degree of joint pain, stiffness, fatigue, high SED rate. Years passed. I also saw a German rheumatologist as new RA drugs began to appear (although they all sounded pretty dangerous to kidneys and liver to me). The German rheumy also wondered about the diagnosis, but couldn't ignore my symptoms and that darned old SED rate. He suggested just continuing what I was doing. All along it was noted that I did not have nodules or joint damage that might be expected.

We moved home to Texas, and moved a couple of times since 1999, so I have seen 3 family drs. All agreed my case was NOT straightforward, but just kept me on the indocin. I finished my career.

Then this year the bloodwork showed the kidney problem. The nephrologist is now calling it decreased renal function. About the same time period I stopped taking Bactrim (taking to prevent UTIs), switched cholesterol meds from Lipitor to Tricor (which I have dropped off for a while to see what happens with all this). On the same day the rheumatolgist here told me NOT RA, degenerative arthritis, there was a post on arthritis.about.com from a rheumatolgist in Dallas (coincidentally working with the same artrithtis center I consulted back in 1980) who said he had a number of patients with negative blood tests but RA symptoms whom he treated for RA, that you have to see what the patient presents as well as use the bloodwork, that these patients usually don't have much joint damage...hmmm. That is sort of what my FP feels, that I have some kind of inflammatory disease, that I am lucky it isn't damaging my joints that much. And off the nsaid, my SED rate is up considerably, I am too stiff to get up from a chair, my joints all hurt even with Tylenol, and I can't function. So...back on the nsaid today but everyone poised to shut it down if the kidney thing goes too far south.

I think I have a very clear understanding that it would be wise to get off the nsaid, but at this point, with test results that fluctuate from 1.6 to now 1.0, the drs. are willing to try this and as I said, I am too miserable at seeing my function level tank not to try as well. It's more the stiffness than the pain, so just upping the level of pain killer (to say, vicodin), isn't really addressing the problem.

Lupus has never been suggested as the problem; I think my FP has really put some thought into what type of inflammatory disease I might have, but he just finally concludes that mine is not typical but needs treatment.

I think I will cancel the accupuncture for now and see what happens with this new med. Yes, the claim about the kidneys turned me off too.

Could be in a couple of months they will tell me to stop the nsaid, but I get the feeling they aren't sure if it was the meds alone which caused the problem. I have a friend who says all the easy problems are already solved, now we're stuck with the ones we have now, the hard ones. I think my case qualifies.

Thanks again for the thought you put into this,
Dana

[DoriSchatell]

A sed rate is a non-specific test of inflammation somewhere in the body--the fact that it is elevated doesn't point to any particular disease, including RA. So, essentially, you still have no diagnosis. In fact, I wonder if your mom actually had RA, or if she, too, had a difficult-to-diagnose inflammatory problem that affected the joints... A few hospitals around the country have diagnostic specialists (maybe you've seen that "House" show on TV?) who are experts in puzzling out the clues and figuring out the source of an illness. Most doctors really are not experts at this, which is why many people end up having to go from doctor to doctor--sometimes for years--to find out what is wrong.

I'm glad that you're taking steps to protect your kidneys, and hope you'll be able to find a solution that will ease your pain and keep you as healthy as possible.

[hddana]

I realize the SED rate is non-specific, but it has provided at least some explanation, inflammation, for the joint pain, fatigue, swelling, etc. over the years. It never seems to vary, being higher than normal even on the max dose of nsaid.

My mother's case was much more straight-forward. Her RA factor was positive, she had awful nodules and terrible joint damage in just about every joint they could x-ray. Her disease attacked in such an acute fashion that (this was 1949) they thought she had polio and kept her isolated for a time. I was a newborn at the time, so my grandparents kept me. They treated her with ACTH, cortisone, gold salts, you name it. She had operations on feet and hands. Her x-rays were comparable to people in their 90s it was said, bones very brittle and damaged. As far as I know, there was never any doubt about her diagnosis. She received a disability retirement; a man at her hearing for that told her he hated to see her get that, he had never seen anyone survive 5 yr after, that was true for her.

After 20 years of strong treatment and a final reliance on painkillers that never seemed enough, and many many hospitalizations and various specialists,etc. , she died at age 43 from problems involving fluid build-up around her heart, heart failure? We always assumed it had as much to do with severe treatments of steroids,etc. as the disease itself, although many people tend to forget that arthritis attacks organs as well as joints.

It was a terrible thing to witness. It was depressing to ever be diagnosed with RA (right or wrong), but certainly her experiences helped me keep my own problems, whatever they were, in perspective. My sister has a similar case to my own, negative blood tests but symptoms that seem to indicate some kind of inflammatory connective tissue disease.

I guess I am not so interested in the diagnosis as I am in treating the symptoms. The nsaid kept me functioning well if not pain/stiffness-free for about 25 years. I don't want to burnout my kidneys (my nephrologist sees patients at a dialysis center, now that is sobering), but I don't want to give up any kind of normal life to all this stiffness at my age either. Let us hope and pray that there will be a way to balance these two concerns.

Degenerative arthritis? a weird case of RA? something else altogether? It doesn't matter that much to me. Getting up from a chair, walking at a normal pace, being able to handle the blanket on my bed, being able to clean myself at the toilet, these are the things that matter right now. And staying out of that dialysis center....

Dana

[hddana]

Latest bloodwork, before resuming nsaid, was creatinine of .9 and clearance of 92. Seems very strange to me if it IS the nsaid that it would clear up so well?? If it were damaging kidneys, wouldn't they just stay somewhat damaged and the bloodwork show that?

Anyway, I have started taking 50mg arthrotec and life has improved VASTLY. I can't say I am pain/stiffness free, but I am functioning very nearly where I was on the high dose of indocin.

I will have further bloodwork in January. Cross fingers that my numbers stay good and I can stay on my meds that allow me some degree of movement and normalcy.

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

Kidney damage is often slow, progressive, and silent. Few people realize that they have it until over 50% of their kidney function is lost...when the routine kidney lab tests show that creatinine is elevated above the lab's normal range.

It sounds like some drug that you were taking...and they stopped several at the same time so it's hard to know which one...was causing the creatinine and creatinine clearance to be elevated or it was a lab error. How are your labs for calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase?

I can only imagine how hard it is on quality of life to be in constant pain and I know it is important to treat the symptoms and manage pain. In addition to drugs to manage pain there are other pain management strategies that people have learned that have helped them. You might ask your doctor if he/she could recommend a pain clinic.

Even though right now you're focused on controlling the pain, I suspect you also want to know what is causing the pain if knowing could make a difference. Putting a name on a condition means that you can search the Internet to find out more to be able to ask those key questions that sometimes health professionals don't think to answer before you ask them. There are so many different conditions that cause bone and joint pain and some have a simple test to rule them out. When the doctor determines what the diagnosis is, some conditions do have treatments that help repair bones or prevent further problems in addition to pain management.

In the meantime, until the doctors figure out what is causing your bone pain, I hope that the NSAID gives you pain relief without causing problems for your kidneys.

[quilter]

The Arthritis Association advises gentle stretching, walking or cycling for arthritis sufferers. One of the exercises that really sounds like it might be good for you is water walking...this is generally done in a heated pool with water to waist height at first then chest height. I too have arthritis (mine is osteoarthritis) but my pain is very similar to what you have described. I feel your pain and frustration. I wish I had access to a heat pool to try water walking...but no such luck.

Hope all goes better for you very soon. God bless.

[DoriSchatell]

Most YMCA's have pools that are heated, although therapy pools can be a LOT warmer than that.

If it makes you feel any better, I used one of these (therapy) pools as part of physical therapy for a shoulder injury. While you're IN the water, it feels good, and you feel lighter. But then when you get OUT, it's as if there are an extra 10 atmospheres of pressure--you feel like you are twice your normal weight (or a dinosaur lumbering around), and it's hard to even walk.