Pain around joints...should I take NSAIDs?? | Arthritis Information

Hey guys, I've been having pains in and/or around my joints for a little over a year now. It started with my right wrist, then my right thumb, and then suddenly the pain spread throughout most of my other joints around my body in a matter of a few months.

Some symptoms:

-Unstability of left and right wrist (most affected)

-Ability to pop the ulnar side of my wrists frequently.

- Thumb friction on my left thumb gradually clearly obvious during the onset, gradually subsiding over a period of 6 months and is virtually gone now

- Thumb getting stuck when I try to bend it, and the need of extra force to force it to bend all of the way, with a little *pop* in the process (did it a few times during onset)

-Severe pain in my right thumb for a period of a couple weeks to a little more than a month or two, with about a week or so remission in between. The pain occured first in the bottom joint then the top of my right thumb. The same pain presented itself during my whole body flare.

- Sharp severe pain in my hip joints when swiming my leg to get out of the car and also when I do the butterfly kick. This happend for probably 2-3 months but is now gone and I can do these activities fine.

- Pains in all finger joints (rows at a time, e.g. all DIP, then all PIP joints).

-Extreme pain when using fists to climb into bed, felt like my fingers were going to rip off from the base of my hand at my knuckles. I pushed my fingers down (not too hard) at my knuckles and the same pain presented itself.

-Severe pain around my knee and it felt like the bottom of my leg disloacted itself from the top when I simply was walking and turned in a different direction. (Mabye weak ligament?)

THIS HURT SOOOOO MUCH and I had to limp when I walked. I had to turn directions very slowly.

- Severe ear pains and extreme sound sensibility (like hyperacusis) for about 6 months

- Severe scrotal pains for a while, on and off. (now pretty much gone)

-Ability to have my shoulder joint pop out when rotating my arm (twisting it). You can actually hear the sound of it coming out.

-One of my hip joints popped out too (only a couple times)

- Severe spine pain in exactly the middle and a little ways below the neck. (I was unable to sit and had to lay down because of the pressure)

Lab tests: Normal for everything ( I think). My rheumy told me it is just too early and that I have to wait for symptoms to present itself more. I'm positive for RH factor, and I have some protein in urine. I'm a bit high on liver substance (ALT or something)

Rheumy referred to orthopaedic surgeon. I visited him today and he took X-rays of both my right and left wrist. No visible bone erosion or gap differences. My surgeon said I have swelling inside my wrist, which is the reason why it hurts. He also explained to me that I had tendon swelling which caused my left thumb to get stuck when I tried to bend it and pop.

He told me that surgey will not treat my pain, and that he thinks casting will not help anymore because I have pain in my left wrist. He advises me to take NSAIDs (naproxen) for a couple of weeks to see if the pain gets better. I told him I could bear the pain and resist taking them. He just told me to take it even if I can bear it or if I don't have any pain for a couple of weeks. Is this something you guys think I should do?

Omega2008-06-18 20:42:26I have to say as a newly diagnosed RA person that I have come a loooooooong way in 2 months with 10 mg Prednisone! So, if I were you I sure would be giving the Naproxen a go and if it helps then that has got to be a good thing. Considering the heavy meds that may have to come your way one day ( but hopefully not), its a baby.

Go for it...and let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Lyn

Wow, Omega, that's a lot going on for a long time without any conclusive results. That's got to be really frustrating.

I agree with Lyn. Give it a try...why suffer with the pain? NSAID's do have their risks as all meds do, but naproxen is so mild relative to meds in general that I wouldn't balk at taking it. I take Relafen (nambumetone) twice a day every day and have for years. I wouldn't dream of going without.

Also, just because you can bear the pain doesn't mean you should. Chronic pain affects the brain in ways we're only beginning to understand. It can make you more sensitive to pain and it can "burn out" the part of the brain affected. Even if you're feeling no pain in a few weeks, taking the NSAID can prevent the inflammation so it doesn't get to the point of pain again.

BTW, has an orthopedist checked out your cervical spine? I know they looked at your wrists, but I'm wondering if something's going on in your neck. Many of us here have degenerated discs and such.

My neck symptoms seemed to have disappeared now, and sometimes pain gets back in the middle of my spine. The pressure was extremely bad for a couple weeks though.

Is it possible to have these pains and have it not be a rheumatic or autoimmune disease?

I know that chances are little that short term use of NSAIDS can cause any damage, but would topical NSAIDs be more safe for me. I don't think I need something as strong as oral NSAIDs. I think all of th NSAID hype is getting to be lol.

So yeah, has anyone tried topical pain-killers at all?? Are they effective? Any irritations? Thanks Hi Omega, I have been taking relafen for about 3 years now and I have really noticed a difference in the swelling, pain and inflammation. I don't have any side effects. I take it with food like the bottle says. I has really helped me with stiffness. I can tell in the evening when I forget to take it. My body starts getting stiff. It has cut out alot of my "snap, crackle, and popping". You won't know until you give it a try.

take care

Omega, I've never used topical NSAID's or painkillers, so I can't really help you with that. But I'm wondering with your symptoms being in a bunch of places if a topical would be enough?

It's certainly possible to have these pains and have it not be RA. There are a lot of things that have similar symptoms, but with the inflammation and joints, that does kinda sound like auto-immune...but I'm no doctor. Then again, sometimes there are just coincidental conditions, like one thing is wrong with your hands/wrists, and the other symptoms, like the knee, are unrelated and just happen to be at the same time.

The other thing that strikes me is that while your have strong consistent symtpoms in your hands, it sounds like some of the other things "come and go". There is something called palindromic arthritis or palindromic rheumatism...here's one site with more info if you want to check it out: http://www.palindromicrheumatism.org/. Pip!, one of our members here, knows more about it and might have other sites.

Anyway, I would check up about those lab results...get a copy from your doc or from the lab itself. If the orthopedic surgeon found swelling, and it sounds like there's been inflammation in other places, that would likely show up on lab work (sed rate and C-RP are some common ones). They may be normal, or maybe they weren't done, but I think most of us on this forum have found it's best not to make assumptions, and to take charge of your own health by knowing exactly what your labs say.

Yeah, I think I have had stiffness since January now. It is friction in the joints right? I could hear grinding in my right elbow and left thumb. My orthopaedic surgeon said it was because of inflammation/swelling of the thumb tendon, causing it to rub against the tendon sheath. I've also had trigger finger of the thumb initially. The friction is gradually disappearing though (I took 6 months).

Thank you InnerGlow for bringing the palindromic rheumatism up to me. It seems like a possibility but I'm not sure if doctors would be familiar with it. Should I just wait for the pains to go away or seek further treatment and diagnosis? I've been to the doctor quite a few times and I'm kind of sick of going back now. I really don't care if it doesn't hurt me physically in anyway or do permanent damage.

My blood results have all been normal except those I listed above (high liver ALT, protein in urine) and I'm positive for RF. If it is palindromic rheumatism then I guess it would be extremely hard to get a diagnosis considering that it usually takes more than a week to see a doctor upon appointment.

I seem to be healthly right now but I still suffer from annoying pains in the middle joints of both feet. My "flares" are usually all in rows of the same joint (like in my finger joints) and my hips also do bother me from time to time.

Thank you guys so much for your help! I guess I think of stiffness as more like I'm trying to move or bend and either I can't, or it's difficult to do, or takes longer than normal. When my hands get really stiff I have a difficult time closing them.

I completely understand being sick of doctors. I also understand not caring if it hurts because you can deal with it. But please consider that the pain might get significantly worse later and if the permanent damage disables you, it will be too late. Maybe that won't happen in your case, but do you want to take that chance? And what if you have something that is easily treated (once they figure out what it is)?

It is very frustrating and exhausting not to get straightforward answers from the docs, and many of us here have had that experience. Unfortunately for some it can take years to get a diagnosis. If I were you, I would at least get a second RD opinion.

As for the difficulty in getting a doctor to see you at the time you're hurting, all I can suggest is keeping a daily journal of your symptoms, any difficulty in functioning (i.e. I couldn't lie down because of pressure in my spine or I couldn't bend down because my knees were stiff and painful or the sound of someone speaking was too sensitive for my ears) and anything that might seem related. If you ever have visible swelling, redness, rash or anything visible, take a photo (my RD was astounded by my swollen ankle photos).

Last thing, have either of your docs suggested physical therapy? It sounds like there might be some benefit there. I've been doing aquatic PT for months because I can only exercise in the water. At least I get to move around a bit and I do think there's been a slight improvement.

Hopefully some more folks here will weigh in on your questions...it's always good to have a few opinions!