Life With Arthritis

No, it’s not an just old person’s disease. Arthritis can affect anyone – and it can be agonising. Here’s advice on how to cope with the condition

- Thulani Gqirana

SHE’D love to be able to kick a ball around with her two sons or go for a run again. But physical activity no longer comes easy for 34-year-old Andiswa*.

Six years ago she was diagnosed with arthritis, which she’d always thought of as a disease that affects only old people. Yet she’s had to face the reality of living with it since the age of 28.

“My problems started a few years before I was diagnosed,” says Andiswa, who’s a systems analyst at a financial institution.

“I often had pain in my hips, but I always chalked the cause up to exercise or something. It got worse and there were days I couldn’t even put pressure on my right leg.

“So I went to the doctor, had tests done and was told I have hip osteo arthritis, which I didn’t even know was a thing,” she says.

She refused to accept the diagnosis at first and simply went on with her life and pretended the condition didn’t exist. But it became too painful to ignore and she ended up having a partial hip replacement last year, something she’d never have imagined she would need at the age of 33.

“It took a lot of convincing for me to go ahead with it,” Andiswa says. “I was told I didn’t really have much choice. And the pain was excruciating.”

The damage to her right hip joint was so bad there was no cushioning in the socket and replacing it with a titanium joint was the only option. The procedure was a success but it took a toll emotionally. “I was depressed and it took months before I could start walking without a cane. Even now there are days when I have to use it.”

She hasn’t had serious pain for a few months now and when she does have discomfort it’s more of a twinge than the severe pain she experienced before the operation.