Hi I'm new here and I haven't been diagnosed because I don't have any health insurance. I have been trying to do my own research on the internet. My hips are so bad most of the time I have taken to sleeping in a recliner much of the night. My knees hurt most of the time but more so after 6 hours of working with little autistic kids. My knees often have a pain like someone is stabbing me with big needles when I walk. Also on my knee cap I think I have bone spurs (I have them on my heels and my plantar faschiitis has stopped hurting a couple of years ago(thank goodness!) If I decide I can lay down the pain in my hips wake me up and it takes forever for the aches to go away enough to allow me to fall back to sleep. I have always slept on my sides but that seems impossible now. Today my hands were so achey I could barely write, and I was extremely tired even though I went to bed at a reasonable hour. All this has been coming on very fast it seems, like within the past 6 months. I am hoping to hold out until I can buy insurance in May when my car is paid off. Right now I am popping otc pain relievers like candy. I have tried naproxen, acetominephen,apirin and ibuprofen. None seem any better than the others. And nothing takes the pain and ache away completely. I used to be an active person now I am feeling about 68 instead of 48. That's depressing. Does this sound like some kind of arthritic condition?
Paula~I don't know if you saw this or not...but this is a good place to start if you suspect RA which many of us here have.
http://arthritisinsight.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=517&am p;PN=1&TPN=1
If you have any questions don't hesitate to post them....if someone doesn't know the answer you can bet they can find it for you.
Welcome Paula. I sure know your situation. I was uninsured years ago when i first started having symptoms. I knew I had it before I was dx'ed...but like you put off going to the doctor due to fear of being termed "Pre-exsisting." If you go now and get dx'ed you stand a very good chance of your insurance company denying your treatment for a year if not forever. Depends on the company I suppose.
Sure sounds like some sort of arthritis to me...but I'm not a doctor; but your symptoms sound very simular to so many here. If you do have a progressive disease like RA the sooner you get treatment the better you'll fair in the long run.
For pain; until you get something else from your doctor, you can take up to 4 advil at a time. (ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS take these meds with something in your stomach. NEVER on an empty stomach) That would be about the strength of any antinflamatory a doctor is likely to give you at first. I found early on about 3 motrin gave me about as much relief as anything. Also; try taking a tylenol PM a few hours before you actually intend to go to bed. If you rest good at night you'll feel better the next day.
Good Luck to you. I hope you'll come back and join us...this is a really neat group. I'm sure you'll find it very helpful.
I hope that you can get into see a Dr soon. Sometimes at different hospitals there are programs for people who do not have insurance. It would be worth looking into. If you do have RA, the waiting will only make it worse. You need to get on something and soon. You might try your local Catholic Charities as they sometimes can help.
Good luck.
Lesle
What helps when you sleep is to sleep on your back with a rolled up towel under your knees and kneck. I used to sleep on a recliner as well. Well, let's just say I use to TRY and sleep on a recliner, but mostly it was just a lot of tears and pain. I hope things start looking better for you.