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To those that suffer from Osteoarthritis


beachbum53
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My poor DW has osteoarthritis in one of her hips, so walking can sometimes be painful. On our upcoming Eastern Caribbean cruise, one of our ports is San Juan. Although it's been awhile, we've been there before and are looking forward to a return visit. I know that there are a lot of things to see and do within walking distance of the port. What do those of you that also suffer from osteoarthritis do to make your visit at San Juan (or any place where a lot of walking is involved) do to make your visit as enjoyable as possible. I can tell you for a fact that she would much rather suffer in silence than ever agree to being pushed around in a wheelchair. By the way, we'll be there from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., so I know all of the shops and tourist attractions will be open. I guess she'll just have to take her meds., and that we pace ourselves accordingly. Any helpful tips would be appreciated.

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DH has a lot of pain with walking or standing for long periods of time. We have found that taking trolley HOHO tours is sometimes a good way to see a lot without having to walk very far. Make sure you have plenty of her medications with you. DH ran out and it was miserable.

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  • 2 weeks later...
And...Old San Juan is not flat! My hip (replaced in 2005) made life difficult. I did find that going down hill was easier that going up. Take a taxi to the top and walk back to the ship. Go slow and enjoy the town.

 

Jim

 

We may utilize the trolley, especially when going uphill. Between my bad knees and my DW's osteoarthritis, walking uphill is becoming more of a challenge. It sucks getting older.:rolleyes::D

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  • 3 weeks later...

We rode the free trolly in San Juan and really enjoyed it. Could she use a rolling walker with a seat so she could sit and rest? My husband just had hip replacement surgery and he is so much better. Before he was in so much pain and was limping really bad. It really improved his quality of life. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.:)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have arthritis. Not as bad as some of you do. But going up and down stairs is hard. I can still do it. But I take my time. My questions are while you are on the ship. First you have the muster drill. They force you to use the stairs. I insisted I needed to use the elevator. What do you do? Then all over the ship there is stairs to climb. When you go to a show in the theater. We go on Princess. They have a wonderful adult sanctuary area we book. But to get there is hard. Go to the Lotus Spa. Out the door around the pool then up a flight of stairs. Then to get food and drink at the Lido deck you go around the sun deck and down a steep flight of stairs. So what do you do while onboard the ship? If go in a port and have to do a tender ship then you have short stairs to get into the ship. On and on problems for us with arthritis. As mine gets worse as I age what do you older ones do? I am 55 now.

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I have arthritis. Not as bad as some of you do. But going up and down stairs is hard. I can still do it. But I take my time. My questions are while you are on the ship. First you have the muster drill. They force you to use the stairs. I insisted I needed to use the elevator. What do you do? Then all over the ship there is stairs to climb. When you go to a show in the theater. We go on Princess. They have a wonderful adult sanctuary area we book. But to get there is hard. Go to the Lotus Spa. Out the door around the pool then up a flight of stairs. Then to get food and drink at the Lido deck you go around the sun deck and down a steep flight of stairs. So what do you do while onboard the ship? If go in a port and have to do a tender ship then you have short stairs to get into the ship. On and on problems for us with arthritis. As mine gets worse as I age what do you older ones do? I am 55 now.

 

 

To avoid the stairs leading up to the muster drill when they shut down the elevators - just find out where your muster station is and about 15 or 20 minutes before the muster drill is scheduled just take an elevator up to that deck...find a place to sit, relax, and people watch until it starts.

 

When it is over, wait about 5 minutes for the crowd to disperse, then grab a drink and head outside to enjoy your sail away.

 

It is the only way my DH and I can do muster. If they had to wait for us to climb the stairs, muster would be over by the time we got to the station! :p

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I have psoriatic arthritis-similar to osteoarthritis but not susceptible to the meds for the former. I arrange private tours when the cruise tours require walking a lot. We reserve our cabin early enough to get a midships location.

 

Glenn:cool:

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I have arthritis. Not as bad as some of you do. But going up and down stairs is hard. I can still do it. But I take my time. My questions are while you are on the ship. First you have the muster drill. They force you to use the stairs. I insisted I needed to use the elevator. What do you do? Then all over the ship there is stairs to climb. When you go to a show in the theater. We go on Princess. They have a wonderful adult sanctuary area we book. But to get there is hard. Go to the Lotus Spa. Out the door around the pool then up a flight of stairs. Then to get food and drink at the Lido deck you go around the sun deck and down a steep flight of stairs. So what do you do while onboard the ship? If go in a port and have to do a tender ship then you have short stairs to get into the ship. On and on problems for us with arthritis. As mine gets worse as I age what do you older ones do? I am 55 now.

 

I agree with something my DW said. It's frustrating, as you get older, that the body can't always do what the mind wants to do. I , too, find it difficult at times to go up long flights of stairs. I can do it, it just takes a little longer than it used to. But I refuse to succumb to joint pain. I just pace myself and keep going. Of course, taking the elevator now and then isn't such a bad thing. I may push myself, but I'm not a sadist.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Suffering from OA & chronic back pain while in San Juan we took a carriage ride around town...it was great, got to see things we otherwise would miss. Also I use a rollator...the walker with wheels...then i can sit when standing or walking is too much for me.

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DH suffers from a degerative bone in his foot. When the pain became intense he decided a scooter would be the only way he could continue to enjoy cruising. He bouht a Luggie but scotters can also be rented. Scooter companies will deliver them right to your cabin and pick them up when the cruise is over.

 

However shore excursions can be difficult to impossible in the scooter. It all depends on the terain.

 

~Doris~

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DH uses a walker in every port as he has osteo and his back is inoperable. It is a wheely one and when he needs to sit down, the walker has a seat so he can stop for a while.

 

I know San Juan streets are not that easy to navigate and we usually just go to the casino (Sheraton) across the street from the port, or take a taxi to where we want to go. We haven't tried using the trolley, but it might be an option.

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Take a look at the Slacker stool. It folds up to about the size of a rolled up newspaper, weighs about 2 pounds, folds or unfolds in about a minute. Great for taking short breaks, such as on long walks or standing in line. Probably not comfortable for watching a whole show or something, but for everything else, it makes my life a lot easier and only cost $12.00

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have osteoarthritis in my knees and long walks can be very painful. My answer to the problem is a pair of walking poles. You can find them at most sporting goods stores and even Target. They look like ski poles but have rubber tips on the bottom. Because you can adjust the length of them, you can walk upright using a normal stride far more than you can with a cane or walker. They also telescope up and down to be ready to use or out of the way as needed. The first port where I used them was Old San Juan and they were wonderful!

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  • 3 years later...
To avoid the stairs leading up to the muster drill when they shut down the elevators - just find out where your muster station is and about 15 or 20 minutes before the muster drill is scheduled just take an elevator up to that deck...find a place to sit, relax, and people watch until it starts.

 

When it is over, wait about 5 minutes for the crowd to disperse, then grab a drink and head outside to enjoy your sail away.

 

It is the only way my DH and I can do muster. If they had to wait for us to climb the stairs, muster would be over by the time we got to the station! :p

 

Thank you... I needed know something like that :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have osteoarthritis too. Stairs are very hard, but not impossible but I take elevators as much as possible. I will be 70 in 3 months. The problem I encountered on our last cruise out of New Orleans was using the trolley, I guess I hurt my knee on that high step, and got bursitis in my knee as well. I managed pretty well until the last day and was forced to take a wheelchair to disembark. People were so nice and helpful. My experience at Costa Maya was to sit at the beach in a shady table area with an ice bag. I learned not to try for those high steps into vans and trolleys though! (What doesn't kill me makes me stronger ;). Thanks all.

Edited by Sunnysafari
typo
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I have used a cane chair on a Baltic cruise, available online for about $30. It has a small seat which folds out to rest on three legs. Use as a cane while walking and a stool when you need to sit. Very handy!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...
To avoid the stairs leading up to the muster drill when they shut down the elevators - just find out where your muster station is and about 15 or 20 minutes before the muster drill is scheduled just take an elevator up to that deck...find a place to sit, relax, and people watch until it starts.

 

When it is over, wait about 5 minutes for the crowd to disperse, then grab a drink and head outside to enjoy your sail away.

 

It is the only way my DH and I can do muster. If they had to wait for us to climb the stairs, muster would be over by the time we got to the station! :p

 

Thank you! I have OA in my hip and back. I had a hip replacement over 2.5 years ago and it still isn't right due to having 2 nerves damaged. Anyway....stupid question.....how do you find out what level it is going to be on ahead of time? Same one as the life boats? I can see this tip being a trip saver for me.

 

 

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