A devastating diagnosis of early onset osteoarthritis became the inspiration for Stuart Jackson’s book of poetry

stuart jackson, painfully poetic, arthritis digest, arthritis magazine, early onset osteoarthritisMy journey with osteoarthritis began when I started noticing that I was having great difficulty with climbing the stairs – in terms of pain and stiffness – and getting in and out of the bath. The pain in my legs began to get much worse and my partner suggested I go to see my GP.

The GP referred me to a rheumatologist, and over the course of a year I was X-rayed, scanned and had many blood tests. It was a very frustrating time for me, as I just wanted to know what was wrong. Finally, after almost 12 months, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

My diagnosis brought relief and shock. I was only 46 years old at the time, and was told that I was quite young to get this type of arthritis, and that it was more common in older people. I had damage to both my hips and my knees, and was given steroid injections to try to relieve the pain. Unfortunately the relief only ever lasted for a couple of weeks before the pain was back again.

As the injections didn’t seem to do much for me, it was decided not to continue with this form of treatment. I had tried quite a few pain relief medications, but I usually found they made me feel very drowsy, without really doing much for the pain.

Support and inspiration

I struggled to come to terms with my diagnosis, and it was having a devastating effect on me. I felt as though nobody really understood how I was feeling, and the amount of pain that I was experiencing.

painfully poetic, stuart jackson, arthritis pain, true storyI realised that I needed some support, and to connect with other sufferers, and so I joined a Facebook group, for people with osteoarthritis. I found it helpful just to chat to other people who were in the same boat as me, and decided to share some poems I had written about my experiences of dealing with chronic pain.

I had written poetry for a long time, and I soon found that I was able to express my newfound feelings and frustrations through my writing. I got a very positive response from the support group, which encouraged me to write more. Many people said that I was able to put into words the way that they were feeling too.

I had wanted to publish a book of poetry for many years, and I thought it would be a good idea to put together a collection of poems about living with chronic pain. It was a bigger challenge than I had first thought, but after much hard work and perseverance, I managed to get the book finished.

The book is called Painfully Poetic and is a collection of just under 50 poems.

Finding other people living in a similar situation as my own and expressing my feelings through poetry has helped me to come to terms with my diagnosis, and I hope that Painfully Poetic will help others to realise that they are not alone either.

Painfully Poetic is available from www.amazon.co.uk.

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