Malaya, I am Shelly, and I have Psoriatic Arthritis. I have a couple of questions for you, and then I think you should consult with your GP, and get a referral to a Rhuemy.
You have some very classic signs of PA(psoriatic arthritis) and this is why I think that. If you have ridging of the nails, and the stomach is tight and you have a lot of colitis type symptoms...it plays hand in hand with Psoriatic arthritis.
1. Have you ever had psoriasis
2. Does your joint pain make the tendons around it feel tight and stiff?
3. Do your fingers hurt from the tops to the bottoms?
Also here is a link:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psoriatic-arthritis/DS00476 /DSECTION=2
Welcome to the boards Malaya.
Can you find another Rheumy in adifferent area.? I seems like there is something going on with you. I hope you can find some relief soon.
hello i am new to the message boards i was looking through for an answer and when i didn't find one thought i would ask. after the birth of my childreni started suffering pains in my joints although there was no inflammation evident. i have had joint pains for 3 years now in my middle hand joints and knees rarely my ankles. they feel extremely weak at times and they are always bad in the winter when the weather changes and this usually ends up with me taking nsaids prescribed by the doctor. the problem i have is i have been under the registrar at the hospital and he 'explored' the cause of these pains i have no rf in blood and i have hyperjoint mobility in some of my joints(although not all and definately not in the ones that hurt and ache) my age was also a factor i was 25 when i had these consultations this led him to conclude that the pain could not be ra and it was probably due to hyperjoint mobility and hormones of birth. He was unable to explain why the nsaids helped with the pain and he has stopped the consultations advising i continue the nsaids when im in pain. the nsaids are now no longer helping with the pain like they did my knees are now hot when im in a lot of pain. i will go back to my dr's soon but on reading other messages posted i have other things like ridges on my nails developed over the last year and i suffer headache and abdominal pain that are particulary bad. the pain is getting worse does this sound similar to any of your experiences or should i just keep taking the pain killers and hope for the best i am quite worried if it is RA that my joints are going to get in a worse state the longer i leave it. thanks for the help thanks for the reply. sorry for the bad spelling i meant registrar (hospital specialist in England) he was a rheumatologist.I think RA commonly strikes when you are a little older, but with RA, nothing is a hard fast rule. Almost nothing anyway. I don't know what you mean by being "under the registar" but if I were you, I'd make an appointment with a Rheumatologist.
Linda
Malaya, I understand how that feels. I was there a very short time ago. You will have to be patient, and have the doctors look at this too. You can have this arthritis without having psoriasis.
The first time I went to the RD in town four years ago, he said to come back when I was sick. Well, I got sick, and I did not go back to him, I went to another doctor in another town, and that was the best thing I have done. He would not stop until he found an answer and could treat. It did help that I was covered in psoriasis.
Hang in there and Private Message me any time. Let me know what happens.
you do not have to have alot of swelling to hurt. I would say it could be RA or at least some auto immune disease because of the fact that it bothers you after you have given birth. Ask for an anti-ccp test also because RA does not always show up on the bloodwork. And as far as age you can get an auto ammune disease at anytime, even toddlers can get JRA. You can have an auto immune disease that effects the stomache but also i have RA and my stomache really bothers me when i am flaring. It took me a long time to get a diagnoses and it was frustrating. You need to get a proper diagnoses and get treated. So please do not give up looking for an answer till you get one.thank you so much for the replys i really do appreciate it, i feel like something is going on but no one will listen, i really feel like i am crazy and fighting a losing battle with the drs. i went back yesterday and the gp just prescribed me different nsaids that have now made me feel sick. in response to your questions yes my stomach gets really tight and they did investigate whether i actually had something like colitis. i have never had psoriasis though. yes the tendons do feel stiff around the affected joint and the pain in my fingers mostly focus around the central joint. however when i suffer with the pain i can almost never get my hands warm and they feel very weak and numb. the feet for my feet with the knee pain. thank you once again i feel so low with the pain at the moment i find myself talking to just about anyone who will listen. it's nice to know that i am not the only one who thinks that this is not normal or ok. i will click on the link you sent thank you I don't think there's anything worse than KNOWING something is wrong and no one can find anything. I've hurt off and on for years and finally my GP sent me to a rheumatologist. I am seronegative but he diagnosed RA via an MRI of my hand and wrist. Other symptoms have also pointed to ankylosing spondylitis, which I understand is unusual for women to have but like my GP says, if anything unusual can happen, it's gonna happen to me! I hope you feel better soon and they get a correct diagnosis for you :)hi thanks every one for the support. i am feeling a little bit happier and have gone back to work. I went back to my g.p (in england this is always the starting place for us we can not really get refered to people like rheumatologists with out the g.p) any way i have been back several times and seen 3 different drs the first said it was all down to my joint hypermobility and prescribed a small amount of meloxicam ( i was previously on naproxen), the second dr was worried (even asking questions that i think where relating to m.s)and arranged blood tests looking at r.f and crp level amongst other things and she prescribed me some dihydracodiene to get me through the weekend and hopefully on top of the pain. the third dr he increased the meloxicam and told me some of my blood tests have come back and they are not really showing anything! he stated that this does not really mean anything and he thinks that it probably is arthritis of some form and that he might be refering me on to a rheumatologist when he reviews me in two weeks time. at least i feel i am getting somewhere now and being taken seriously. thanks again to every one for thier posts you really don't know how much you helped me.