"Suffering from osteoarthritis and sciatica"

Sore limbs for months, knees hips and feet and in constant pain,, not getting much sleep constantly tired and lethargic. Going through menapause has made the pain progressively worse where just opening a jar was too painful 

Then my hands started to feel tired and swollen, preventing me from doing simple tasks so was sent for an xray and referred to an OT. I thought I'd just be sent home with some excersize leaflets as I've been done in the past but on meeting Ross after a telephone consultation I was instantly made to feel at ease and spoke about my health issues, he listened to everything I had to say probably the 1st person to actually listen to me in a long time and he understood.

I got great advice from him and he sent me lots of info online and he discussed ways to improve my every day tasks that I struggled with, because I'm very independent I had to retrain my brain in other ways to think; prepare, and approach certain tasks whether it was housework chores, work tasks, preparing meals or personal care Ross was good at describing and showing me other ways to deal with these in another way which made more sense and when at home put these to the test, he also ordered me a thumb splint for my left hand and had to be strict with myself not to overdo even the simplest of tasks I felt more positive about my future on which lies ahead managing my pain barrier than what I did before I walked through the door.

Ross was a great help and sent me lots of good info to read up and take notes on and would highly recommend anyone going thru the same to seek help. Don't leave it too late as the consequences could be worse, never ignore your pain we all know our own  bodies better than anyone.