It seems my latest flares are not from ra. It is fibromyalgia. My rd noticed although my fingers hurt, he didn't see swelling. Then he took more notice of my complaints. The worst thing is grasping anything. It hurts from my fingers all the way through the muscles and ligaments of my hands, wrists, forearms and elbows. So then several trigger points were noted (but not the required eleven; they may come along as times passes from last Remicade). He gave me Ultram ER to try.
I'm not happy about another condition but the good news is he said I may not need the mtx I started 5 weeks ago.
Do my symptoms match what others with fibromyalgia experience?
i.e. ligament pain?
Jodi
jodi, you could have PA(psoriatic arthritis) that involves the ligaments . the blood tests often turn out negative for inflamation as well. I have pa,little or no noticable sweeling,but have pain in jopints and ligaments,fatiugue. morning stiffness. I also have fibro, I am still having a hard time distinguishing the fibro from the pa.
kel
From what I understand there is no distinguishing between fibro and PA. Because of the tendon involvement, it is having the fibro in unison with the PA. That is what I understand from research....I also know that you can have the triggerpoints as well.
One question I am going to ask the RD to clarify. I think I probably do have fibro or just the PA, but there could not be much distinguishing between them.
So sorry Jodi, I know another thing wrong just sucks!!!!
I sorry Jodi, but look at it this way you might not need the MTX after all, that is a BIG +!Hi Jodi,
Glad you posted this because I am going through some confusion myself right now about what is from my RA and what is from my Fibro. I don't have all the Fibro tenderpoints (which neither DR I've seen seem to think important) but do have a lot of tendon and ligament involvement as well as you - especially around hands, wrists.
And then to make matters just a little more confusing, the doc I sought out for a 2nd opinion thinks I may have Lupus now in addition to the Fibro and also in addition to OR in place of the RA.
Also like you, I am on Remicade (3 infusions so far). I have been on a high dose of Mtx for 6 months now too and was under the impression that you have to take them in combination, but it sounds as if you have been on Remicade alone?
Getting additional Dx's just adds to the confusion doesn't it? We should keep up with each other as we go along here and compare notes. My next appts with BOTH docs will be at the end of Sept and first of October so I hope to know much more after that.
I was curious about something you said in your post about your Dr indicating that Remicade helps with the Fibro too... Did I get that right? Just wondering, because I didn't get that impression from my Drs, but then again, I do have a a lot of things I need to clear up at my next appts.
Regards,
Melly
Thanks for the input... I have been in bed all day from nausea, vomiting and headache probably from the 100mg ultram ER I took yesterday to see if it helps.(some help!) I think I'll start a topic on that to see if people have found ways to deal with that.
Anyway, My rd didn't mention PA. I don't know much about it but I thought it involved the skin.
Melly, what makes your Dr. think you have lupus? I don't think Remicade is used for fibro but maybe if you have ra and fibro it helps both. That is a good question because I was painfree for 4 weeks after My April and June infusions and only for 2 weeks since the last one but nevertheless it worked for a time for whatever is wrong with me.
I have been on remicade for about 2 years. First I took arava with it until my liver enzymes went up. My Rd took me off of it and I took Remicade alone for a year with great results. Then as I said before it stopped working after 4 weeks 3 infusions ago. MTX was added because I was too scared of arava but after 5 weeks it hasn't helped. That's when he said since there is no inflamation in my fingers, it is probably fibro. Let me know as you learn more and I'll do the same.
Jodi, I have RA/PA and fibro. I can honestly say the the PA pain is worse than the RA pain. PA and fibro affect the muscles and tendons and it's impossible to distinguish between the two.
I have PA and didn't have any skin lesions. I think 20 % of the people with PA don't have skin lesions. Once I started Remicade I developed one skin lesion. When I showed my RD he explained that Remicade will help with the PA but it will also bring on PA skin lesions. It's rather ironic that we take a drug to help and another form of the disease will manifest itself. I'm going to have the lesion lasered next month. Remicade has helped the RA/PA pain but not the fibro. The only drug that helped fibro pain has been Lyrica. I'm on 75 mg. 3 times a day and I've had a dramatic decrease in fibro pain and no side effects from the drug.
I've taken Ultram ER with no problems except for letheragy. I was always more tired when I took it.
Lindy
I should be the expert about Fibro, been over 20 yrs for me, but actually I have only been worse the past year or so. Or I guess I should say pain wise I have gotten much worse.
All my Fibro pain used to be in my neck, back, and shoulders, they always hurt but are not always unbearable, just terribly sore all the time . Lately I have had nerve pain in my legs, hips, and buttocks. I have a perscription for Lyrica but haven't used it yet. Yes Fibro hurts in the tendons, muscles, and obviously nerves. I have shooting pains in my hands and arms when I hold something heavy or just use my fingers. Ultam made me sick too and I had to discontinue. Flexeril helps me more than anything along with a narcotic if flaring. Physical therapy and cortisone shots have helped extreme spasms over the years.
The only visible swelling I have ever had was when I had gout or a flare of oa in my fingers. I have bursitis in my shoulder joints and have had several shots in them
Well thats my experience with Fibro, condensced version, but I could write a book
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