Dad’s minor wrist ache led to years of agony and devastating diagnosis

A father has spoken of his six-year battle with arthritis with which he was diagnosed following minor wrist pain.

John Burns’ joint inflammation quickly became so severe he struggled to sleep and get to work. Most of John’s body would become stiff and even climbing the stairs at home became difficult.

The dad-of-one was eventually diagnosed with common arthritis, which affects millions of people of all ages in the UK. 

There is no cure, so the six years since the diagnosis have been particularly gruelling for John. He has had to quit his job as a maths teacher due to the condition.

Recalling his darkest moments with the condition, John told Manchester Evening News: “It got to the point where I couldn’t really work. Those were really dark days where I can imagine some people would not be able to cope maybe even with life.

“It wasn’t so much the illness, it was the depression that it brought, too. There was so much misery. It affected all the family. I only managed to snap myself out of it because I’ve always been one of those people who are self-minded.

“My worst days were when I would have to get up for work. I’d have to be up at 6.40am, but I wouldn’t have woken up because I’d have been awake most of the night anyway.

“I knew at 3am I wasn’t going to make work. The following hours would just be horrendous because they would be so depressing.

“I couldn’t surface out of bed until my body warmed up, it would sometimes take up to three hours. It was excruciating; it was as if my body was all broken.”

John, from Didsbury, Manchester, regularly called in at work sick and then had to make the decision to quit his post.

When he was offered an expensive treatment – only given to those with severe symptoms – things finally started to look up. The medication meant John was able to reclaim part of his life and returned to work three times a week.

With the slight pain relief, John decided to look into other types of alternative treatments including acupuncture. The treatment, which derives from traditional Chinese medicine, involves fine, flexible needles being inserted at specific points on the body.

John said: “It really helped me and it gave me a different focus. The acupuncturist told me I didn’t need to take all my drugs and I was hesitant and frightened because I was on so many.

“I took a leap of faith and stopped all the drugs. Some people might say that’s silly and suicidal to some extreme. From seeing the holistic medicine approach, I went on a journey of cleansing my body.

“I literally started again and only put things in my body that I knew would hopefully have some benefit, like anti-inflammatory fruit and veg.”

Although arthritis cannot be cured by diet, certain foods have been shown to strengthen bones, maintain the immune system and fight inflammation, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

John claims he noticed a change within just months. “I couldn’t believe it,” he added.

“I had blood tests to measure my inflammation every five weeks. Mine was 140 at one stage, then it came down to 90, then 70 and 65.

“I knew I was improving and I got to a stage where I was able to start doing some kind of exercise. A year later, medics were baffled. I was on no medication and I just continued with this marvellous diet and my exercise increased.

“I went from strength to strength. Medics still can’t believe what’s happened to me. They can’t work me out because there’s no cure for arthritis. But I think if it gives one person a bit of hope, I’ve done justice to somebody.”