Hi all,
I have been having alot of problems with my joints since 1999. The first joint to ever bother my badly was my ankle. It hit me during the summer while the whole family was in Disney World. It felt like it was sprained, and I was unable to put pressure on it. We ended up having to rent a wheel chair for the day.
After that I have had episodes come and go in that same ankle and after a while it found its way into the other ankle too. Sometimes the pain would last for weeks, and sometimes only for a day, but I have never had any kind of swelling.
The pains kept progressing and my next complaint would be the knee. The attacks were simular to the ones in my ankles only my knee would hurt even when I was sitting. I would have a throbbing short lasted pain that would wax and wane through out the day. The second knee followed just as the ankle had.
Somewhere inbetween all this I started noticing my back feeling kinda week. It felt like my lower back wasn't strong enough to hold me up. I would get this pain after doing any kind of housework like washing floors or after bending or even after walking at the mall.
I kepe on having attacks of pain sometimes one knee and one ankle or even only one joint. My back would ache depending on what I had done.
About a coulple of years ago I noticed I had pain in my hip, shortly after I could feel some pain in my lower spine. Actually the pain started as low as where the gluteal cleft starts. I had pain on both sides and sometimes on just the one side of the cleft.
This year I had a few attacks of joint pain. I had the sprained ankle feeling leaving me almost unable to walk along with the bad knee pain. My hips started aching while sitting along with the pain in my lower spine. These pains really made it hard to sit for to long. I have also had shooting pains in my fingers and toes along with what I belive is tendonitis in my elbow.
My right hand is also stiff when I bend it, and the other day I noticed a bump on my thumb. It is painless, and hard. It feels like real thick skin only I know its not, since it came on over night and I haven't been doing any thing that would cause thickening of the skin on the side of my thumb joint.
Today my wrist started hurting and I am also getting pain in the other elbow. The pain in this elbow is sharp and not the tendoinits pain I have in the other elbow. This pain spreads down and up my arm. Along with this bundle of fun, I am having sharp pain in my thighs too. I think it might be from my hip, but not sure.
I did have a IGM-RF test about 2 yearsr ago that came back slightly positive, but my rheumy said that it was nothing, because it was just off the normal values. My last test was an IGA-RF that came back normal. I have aslo had elevated white blood cells for the past 2 years. The move up and down from about 12-15 where the upper limit is 10. I have a normal to slightly elevated SED rate (16 where 14 is the upper limit).
I am not asking you to diagnose, but I am wondering if this sounds anything like what any of you have been going thru...?
Thanks for reading this very long post!!
CathyM
Dear Cathy, I am sorry to hear of all the pain you have been experiencing. Do you have an appt scheduled with a rheumatologist? My symptoms were entirely different from yours, but that doesn't mean much as RA can be different in everyone. I started with pain in my fingers/hands on both sides, which progressed to elbows, knees, hips, feet, etc. Then came a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. I hope you get some answers to your pain issues. Let us know how things work out for you! Love and hugs, JuliahWelcome to the board Cathy. Did your doctor start you on medication 2Thank you all very much for the warm welcomes and the replies. I am seeing a new RD next friday. I had to call ans ask for an appointment after all my syptoms got so bad.
I was reading about Ankylosing Spondylitis and was thinking maybe that could be what I have, but then the nodule showed up on my thumb all of a sudden. Actually, I don't even know if that is what it is...
I haven't been on any type of medication at all. I was tested for Sjogren's a while back since I do have both dry eyes and mouth. I was 1 crieria away from a diagnose and needed to have a positive ANA or lip biopsy for a diagnose, but the ANA was negative and the lip biopsy came back inconclusive. I only had a few joint problems back then, but he did test my RF and HLA-B27. They both came back negative.
Does anyone know much about nodules? I would love to hear what they feel like to touch. Mine is hardly visable unless you look at my thumb from the right direction. It is however easy to feel.
CathyM
WELCOME CATHY!!!!!Cathy, I have had 2 nodules. The first was on my right elbow and that went
Welcome Cathy! Like other's have mentioned, a second opinion sounds in order.
Lot's of information and support here, so jump right in!
I have voltaren, but I can only take them when I really have to since I have stomach issues going on as well. The pain has only been real bad after it hit me in multiple joints just lately.
I am hoping and praying that it is something else, but at the same time I am so tired of these pains and not knowing what's causing them. I think a diagnose would just take some weight off my shoulders because at least then I would know what was goin on.
Cathy
Cathy, you can try an over-the-counter H2 antagonist (cimetidine, ranitidine, Tagamet, Pepcid, etc) or proton-pump inhibitor (Prilosec) to ease the heartburn from Voltaren, especially since you see the doctor again in a week. Check with your doctor, but most likely they will tell you to go get a box of Pepcid/Tagamet/Prilosec and take them until your appointment next week.Thanks I'll talk to the doc about it. I have nexium that I use almost every day for my stomach.
Cathy...welcome...and I am sorry you are in so much pain. You do need to get going to help yourself out. This usually is a long and semi-painful(patience wise) battle. The sooner you delve into it...the sooner they can start treatment.
Take care and get something to help your tummy and take the pain relief.
Hi Cathy!
www.Palindromic.org. You sound like one of us. Of course, you can still hang out here. I'm PRA. Migrating pain. Hit's the big joints first. Progresses. Get X-rays - but I'd bet no damage yet (we don't necessarily get that).
Get another opinion!
Pip
Hey Cathy - welcome to the forum. I think this disease manifests itself differently for everyone. Mine was really sudden initially and then came back with friends. From start to now, it's been about eight months, but I knew something was really wrong about four months ago. A hallmark I think for this disease is that it affects the joints on both sides of the body around the same time. Good luck to you.Yeah Cathy you have got it!
Every old injury you have will come back to haunt you so be ready for that. I am waiting to get into an R.A. specialist to get diagonised myself this upcoming Tuesday after a long 2 year battle with my doctor pcp trying to get a refferal. I had a sport injury in my high school days where I tore all the ligaments in my left ankle out! Well the other day I felt like an anvil had been dropped on it and though something might be broken. I got in to doctors they x-rayed it and said I had inflamed bones in my foot! I could put weight on it or bend it at the ball and joint under the big toe. Well from there all the other injuries I have gotten since my immune system was knocked out my over exposure to cleaning chemicals started to weaken all my joints, tendons. ligaments all over my body with a rapid vengence. So yes you need to have that looked at now don't wait. More pain will come! I am looking at this visit to the specialist as if he was Santa and Christmas has come early. I want to go and spend the 4-5 hours to find out what is the world is going on with my body and why is it attacking me from the inside out! Good Luck to you!