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Both my ankles have started giving me trouble, Pain in both is extremely bad even to the point where I can't walk. Now I have started feeling sharp pains in my knees - sleeping and I wake up w/pain in my knees like someone is stabbing me with a needle. This has been going on for about a year - I am uninsured so if anyone can give me ideas of what my problem is I can begin looking for some sort of home remedies. Thx
Your problem is, that you haven't gone to a doctor to get a diagnosis. Almost everyone here in this forum is a layman - that is to say, something OTHER than a physician. None of us are qualified to diagnose anyone over the internet, let alone up close and personal.
You might just be obese, and your weight is straining your bones. You might have broken both your shins, or have shin splints. You might have rickets. You might have cancer. You might have pneumonia. You might have MS. You might have arthritis. You might be smacking yourself too hard with a baseball bat when you're bored. Some home remedies:
Tie yourself to the bedposts and don't cut the ties again until you've lost 500 pounds.
Split your baseball bat into two seperate lengths, and use them as splints to support your broken shins until they've healed.
Put your head in the microwave oven and hit the 2 minute button, and give yourself a quick dose of radiation to cure the cancer.
Drink 2 gallons of milk every day to get enough vitamin D to cure the rickets.
Or, you could take the easy way out (and probably a lot less expensive) and make an appointment with the doctor. He'll take cash, I'm sure.
I would look at the kind of shoes that you're wearing, and how much you're on your feet. The height of your desk chair can hurt your knees...try a balance ball as a desk chair instead.
Have you looked for any free or sliding-scale clinics in your area? It's hard to think about going to the doctor when you don't have insurance. Probably, if you had a lot of disposable income, you'd have insurance. A doctor may need to do bloodwork and that's going to increase the cost also. And then if they decide you need a prescription, that's a monthly expense that you've got to come up with. It's intimidating...but sometimes a problem is serious enough that a home remedy won't help. If it's going to affect your ability to work and to exercise, it's better to get it fixed, whatever it takes.
I worked with a woman who had leg pains at night...she said if she drank a glass of tonic water (with the quinine) every night before bed, she could sleep through the night without leg pains. That would be a cheap thing to try.
Another thing...do you drink a lot of diet soda or use a lot of sugarfree products?
sounds like insurance or not, you need to see a doctor...From what you are discribing you could have Arthritis (spelling) or who knows what else. A lot might also depend on your age and your normal physical activities. As AnonChick said, we are just lay people and certainly don't have answers, just possible ideas. No one should be in so much pain they can't hardly move and not find out what is causing it..
Both my ankles have started giving me trouble, Pain in both is extremely bad even to the point where I can't walk. Now I have started feeling sharp pains in my knees - sleeping and I wake up w/pain in my knees like someone is stabbing me with a needle. This has been going on for about a year - I am uninsured so if anyone can give me ideas of what my problem is I can begin looking for some sort of home remedies. Thx
Well, it could be arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is usually much worse upon awakening. If they find RA, docs would start you on a course of anti inflamatory drugs. Fortunately, such are available over-the-counter now, albeit in smaller doses than perscription strength.
Try:
Aleve = naprosyn It comes in 220 mg and the bottle says take 2/day, but I was taking 500 mg 2x day on prescription. you might want to start with 2/day of the 220 mg, and you can increase to 3 or 4/day if it seems to help
OR:
Motrin that comes in 200mg tablets, and I believe the bottle says 4/day, but there again the RX strength is more. You can take up to 400mg 4 x day.
Do realize the above drugs are NOT the same drug, just under a different name. Both are anti-inflammatory, both are first-line treatments for rheumatoid, and both are sold in perscription and OTC. Pick one and stick with it for at least TWO weeks, you need to get your blood levels to a therapeutic level for maximum benefits. This is all a doctor would do, at least in the beginning.
Also, both drugs could cause stomach upset, make sure to take with meals and/or plenty of water.
Also, realize Tylenol is NOT an anti-inflammatory drug. Its often touted for arthritis, but for osteoarthritis---Grandma's arthritis---NOT rheumatoid.
You could also try testing your blood sugar, pain and tingling are often a symptom of high blood sugar. You do NOT need a doctor's perscription for blood testing supplies. Just go to the drug store and buy a meter, strips, and lancet. Realize the strips can be very expensive and are coded to the meter. The cheapest---and reliable---is Relion, found at Walmart. the meter is about $15, and the strips are $9/50. Other strips can run $50/50 or more, and are no better. If you don't see them on the shelf, ask the pharamacist, they go out quickly!
If your blood sugar is high, come back here and we can discuss things you can do without seeing a doctor. Good luck!
Your problem is, that you haven't gone to a doctor to get a diagnosis. Almost everyone here in this forum is a layman - that is to say, something OTHER than a physician. None of us are qualified to diagnose anyone over the internet, let alone up close and personal.
You might just be obese, and your weight is straining your bones. You might have broken both your shins, or have shin splints. You might have rickets. You might have cancer. You might have pneumonia. You might have MS. You might have arthritis. You might be smacking yourself too hard with a baseball bat when you're bored. Some home remedies:
Tie yourself to the bedposts and don't cut the ties again until you've lost 500 pounds.
Split your baseball bat into two seperate lengths, and use them as splints to support your broken shins until they've healed.
Put your head in the microwave oven and hit the 2 minute button, and give yourself a quick dose of radiation to cure the cancer.
Drink 2 gallons of milk every day to get enough vitamin D to cure the rickets.
Or, you could take the easy way out (and probably a lot less expensive) and make an appointment with the doctor. He'll take cash, I'm sure.
Ummmm....look, I'm sure she knows there's such a thing as a doctor. she doesn't have insurance. Try making an appt without insurance. That's the first thing they ask, what type of insurance do you have? If you don't have insurance, they won't even schedule you. Oh, pleez, don't say, oh, tell them its really necessary to see a doctor, and then the nice people will work out something. You can't get past the appt screening without insurance! Of course, she could find one of those nice, free or sliding-scale-based-on-ability-to-pay places, lets see, there's so many where to begin? Look, such either are non-existant or have waiting lists months long. At best they provide only basic care, and they still don't pay for meds.
I guess her only other choice is to go to the ER, right? Well, they will take you without insurance, but insurance or not they don't do much, either. They stabalize you and send you on your way. In her case, she might get an x-ray, 1-2 pain pills, perhaps some crutches, but essentially no better off.
This type of problem would require a major workup. without insurance, it would come to $20,000--$50,000 at least for a thorough workup. First, an internal medicine doc, who would run a bunch of blood tests, etc, then, probably an orthopedic doctor, who would do x-rays, MRI, etc, then, perhaps a rheumatologist, then, perhaps go to physical therapy (which charges about $1000/session---no bull), and, perhaps, she would end up just taking a glorified form of Naprosyn.
Yes, in a perfect world she would go to "the doctor" but hey, that's not always an option, if you aren't insured and don't have a ton of money! You folks need to wake up and smell the coffee!
Hey, I have had RA for about 30 years. When I was first diagnosed, that's about all they did. I was sent from one doctor to another, tests, tests, tests, then, Motrin and some basic exercises from overpriced physical therapy. Yes, I had insurance, excellent insurence, with no deductible or copay----hey, that was a long time ago. My point----even with the best of medical care, sometimes you end up with just basic treatment. Assuming she has arthritis. But, she can go through financial Hell and still not get an accurate diagnosis, so, she's looking to try some OTC, home-based remedies first---good luck to her!
Oh, and one more point---painful joints aren't always due to obesity. At my worse, when I was essentially crippled with RA, I weighed ~ 110/pounds, and never weighed more than that before diagnosis. People with arthritis aren't always fat, old slobs----I was 21 when diagnosed. Don't go making value judgments about what you don't understand!
Ummmm....look, I'm sure she knows there's such a thing as a doctor. she doesn't have insurance. Try making an appt without insurance. That's the first thing they ask, what type of insurance do you have? If you don't have insurance, they won't even schedule you. Oh, pleez, don't say, oh, tell them its really necessary to see a doctor, and then the nice people will work out something. You can't get past the appt screening without insurance! Of course, she could find one of those nice, free or sliding-scale-based-on-ability-to-pay places, lets see, there's so many where to begin? Look, such either are non-existant or have waiting lists months long. At best they provide only basic care, and they still don't pay for meds.
I guess her only other choice is to go to the ER, right? Well, they will take you without insurance, but insurance or not they don't do much, either. They stabalize you and send you on your way. In her case, she might get an x-ray, 1-2 pain pills, perhaps some crutches, but essentially no better off.
This type of problem would require a major workup. without insurance, it would come to $20,000--$50,000 at least for a thorough workup. First, an internal medicine doc, who would run a bunch of blood tests, etc, then, probably an orthopedic doctor, who would do x-rays, MRI, etc, then, perhaps a rheumatologist, then, perhaps go to physical therapy (which charges about $1000/session---no bull), and, perhaps, she would end up just taking a glorified form of Naprosyn.
Yes, in a perfect world she would go to "the doctor" but hey, that's not always an option, if you aren't insured and don't have a ton of money! You folks need to wake up and smell the coffee!
Hey, I have had RA for about 30 years. When I was first diagnosed, that's about all they did. I was sent from one doctor to another, tests, tests, tests, then, Motrin and some basic exercises from overpriced physical therapy. Yes, I had insurance, excellent insurence, with no deductible or copay----hey, that was a long time ago. My point----even with the best of medical care, sometimes you end up with just basic treatment. Assuming she has arthritis. But, she can go through financial Hell and still not get an accurate diagnosis, so, she's looking to try some OTC, home-based remedies first---good luck to her!
Oh, and one more point---painful joints aren't always due to obesity. At my worse, when I was essentially crippled with RA, I weighed ~ 110/pounds, and never weighed more than that before diagnosis. People with arthritis aren't always fat, old slobs----I was 21 when diagnosed. Don't go making value judgments about what you don't understand!
you are right about artritis and weight; I know a lot of people who have severe arthristis that are anything but fat; our two daughters for starters, especially the younger one. She has had it since childhood, now at almost 50 it is really bad and she is tiny, tiny, tiny..
As for what the OP should do, what do you suggest? She/he has to do something and you are wrong about ER. most of them are caring and do as much as they can for the patient. No, they are not the same as seeing a primary care doctor, but they can sure be helpful. The other obtion is what often is referred to and they are in most cities or counties of any size are walk in clinics. They are not ER nor Urgent care facitlities, but are the basic clinic and they do take patients without insurance.
"The most common sign of gout is a nighttime attack of swelling, tenderness, redness, and sharp pain in your big toe . You can also get gout attacks in your foot, ankle, or knees. The attacks can last a few days or many weeks before the pain goes away. Another attack may not happen for months or years."
She/he has to do something and you are wrong about ER. most of them are caring and do as much as they can for the patient. No, they are not the same as seeing a primary care doctor, but they can sure be helpful. The other obtion is what often is referred to and they are in most cities or counties of any size are walk in clinics. They are not ER nor Urgent care facitlities, but are the basic clinic and they do take patients without insurance.
I've been to the ER without insurance...they charged me $400 before they would even look at me, did three xrays, said I needed surgery but they couldn't do it, wrapped my broken leg in an ace bandage, and sent me on my way with the bone ends grating together every time I moved, telling me not to come back no matter what (no kidding, no exaggeration, I couldn't believe they would treat people like that).
And then I tried to find a doctor to see and none would see me without insurance. I had money, I offered them cash or to pay with my debit card, but none of them would see me. I had to get on the county health plan which took a while and then I could get an actual cast put on my leg.
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