New here...have a question | Arthritis Information

Hi. I have been reading all of the posts on this site for the last 2 weeks and have found them very informative. First my story: I woke up two weeks ago with horrible knee pain. Could hardly walk. By the evening my fingers were hurting and swelling up. The next day my wrists were swelling as well- I felt weak. I thought I had the flu. Anyway, went to the doc. he ran a bunch of blood tests and gave me a script for Naprosyn. Went back a week later results showed weakly positive RA Factor and CRP (??). CBC came back pretty much ok. Dr. gve me a script for prednisone and a referral to a rheumy. Still waiting for that appointment.

Heres the question. After taking the prednisone for 3 days I felt great! Most of the swelling went away, the pain was way better. I felt pretty much normal. Until today. My fingers and wrists are swollen and painful again. I am still taking the prednisone and the Naprosyn so I am wondering why everything is swelling up again. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Hayley

i am sorry but welcome to arthritis there no easy answers you are at the right place welcome Hi Haley...I really don't know, sorry. You're probably wondering why I bothered to answer, huh? I just wanted to welcome you aboard our board!! :) Someone will come along that knows. They always do.When the doctors first thought I had tendonitis, they put me on pred, and it took down the swelling immediately. However, on day 3 or 4, I had a huge rebound and the swelling got worse than it had ever been by the end of the pack. My only theory is that I overdid things while I was on the steroids...

Hope you feel better!!!

Hi Hayley, and welcome. Was the prednisone script for a regular daily dose, or was it the "Medrol" blister pack where you take 6 pills the first day, 5 the second day, 4 the third day, and so on? If it is the blister pack, then the reason you are swelling up again is probably because the dosage is going down and is no longer enough to help you. If it's a regular daily dose, then maybe your body just adjusted to it? I'm not sure about that.

How soon is your rheumatologist appointment? I know that getting referrals can sometimes take time, and many rheumatologists don't have appointments available right away. Do what you can to get in sooner...if you have to call the office a couple of times to get your referral, or call to get on the rheumy's "in case of cancellation" list, or whatever. If your symptoms were so bad you could hardly walk, you want to get that evaluated right away.

In the meantime, you can try ice or heat on the swelling to see if that helps.hi Hayley and welcome!

Sorry you have to go through this but you're not alone. I agree with Innerglow's answer. Sometimes the pred works and then 'bam' you are right back to swelling and hurting again. It's a short term fix. Can you call back your dr that dx you and see if they can help you until you get into the rheumy. How often and what dose is your naprosyn? Maybe it can be uppped? A heating pad works good and I also use alot of icy/hot creme. Also, try taking a hot shower or better yet a bath. Some people here use epsom salts and it helps some.

take care and keep us posted

Hi - and welcome!

Sorry you had to find us.

Pip

Thanks for all of the responses! I'm on 375 mg naprosyn 3x daily and 5mg prednisone. Just the regular script as I am to take 1 a day. I get into the rheumatoligist in 2 weeks. I thought that was pretty quick.

This is a really wierd thing! My swelling seems to be going up and down. This is going to hard to get used to!!!!!! I can feel good 1 day, and bad the next.

Unfortunately, that is one of the most frustrating aspects...never knowing how you're going to feel each day. It is hard to get used to, but it does happen eventually. I hope you find the right treatment quickly and never have to get used to it!

The prednisone you're taking isn't a very high dose so it could be that your body got used to it. And two weeks isn't that long to wait, unless you're in agonizing pain.... If it gets worse and you're having trouble, don't hesitate to call your original dr and tell him you need something more to hold you over to your rheumy appt.

Otherwise, two weeks is a great amount of time for you to read up on the posts here, so you know what questions to ask the rheumy when you see them. Welcome to AI Hayley. Glad you're here. Welcome to the board. I'm glad the prednisone is helping. You were pretty lucky to get into a RD office so quick. I'm sure they will help you.

RA is quite a roller coaster. I have good days and really crappy ones. I'm new to this, so I'm still learning to listen to my body and to slow down on the good days. Today is a good one for me, so I better slow down or I'll be in trouble tomorrow.