I need your help! | Arthritis Information

I have been having chronic joint pain for months now. It has gotten a lot worse over the past couple of months. I have moderate IBD, but my doctor felt like my joint pains might be something else. She had labs done and they came back normal. My joint pains go from joint to joint daily and are on both sides of my body. Mainly in my hips, knees, wrist, ankles, elbows, and hands. I have warmth and swelling in my joints as well. Lately I have been having pain in more than one joint at a time. The pain is the worst in the evening, throughout the night and in the morning. The pains are so bad that I usually can't move at all. They do get better through the day but it all starts over again that evening. I have read about RA and felt like I had the symptoms. I was just wondering if this sounds like what you are going through and if so, did any one have normal labs in the beginning but still suffer from RA? Thank you for your time!

My pains are not in the same joints every day.... some joints are more affected on some days than others... I have my "usual suspects" that affect me daily.. but there are others that flare up on a whim.

The doctor that did the labs.. was that your primary care? I would ask for a referral to a rheumatologist because most likely whatever is causing this discomfort is rheumatic or autoimmune in nature.

Some of us who are Sero-negative (no positive blood results) have to fight harder for a DX.... keep on trying.

Good luck.

Hi Leslie, welcome to the forum. RA is a complicated disease. When I first began having symptoms, it seemed to be more reactive - meaning if I engaged in a particular activity, those joints were hot, red, swollen and very painful the next day. I am on good RA meds now, so this does not happen so much, only if I push myself too far or am off my meds.

I agree with Babs, get a referral and don't give up until you get good answers! It can be frustrating and you may have to see several doctors but don't give up. RA can effect more than joints and is a serious disease - the sooner you start treatment, the better!

All good things to you on your journey and post to keep us updated!

Waddie Welcome, Leslie,

I have never had an abnormal Sed Rate or other test result that would relate in some way to any kind of arthritis. And I have had at least one blood test every quarter for the past 16 years. I am seronegative. The ONLY evidence I presented with in the very beginning was a hugely swollen knee which locked. An orth surgeon aspirated fluid and they found birefringent cystals, and thus the diagnosis of CPPD. He sent me to a rheumatologist.

A few months later I had problems in other joints so the rheumadoc ran test all of which came back negative. A few months later he ran them again. Again they were negative. He noticed my toenail was slightly ridged [a sign of psoriatic arthritis] and gave me a PsA diagnosis. In short order more joints flared, which may or may not have been PsA or RA. To this day, I've got a definitel diagnosis of PsA, CPPD, OA, and probable seronegative RA and Ankylosing Spondylitis.

So get yourself to a rheumatologist. Their training in diseases of the joints is superior to a general doctor.

Good luck!

I can only echo the others, you need to see a specialist. IBD and Chrons can have joint pain. But your dr. is right, there may be something else.

Many of us had normal labs at first. And some still do. So press the issue with your dr. I don't wish the RA diagnosis on you, but I do hope you find some answers. Then you can begin to feel better!

I was diagnosed without positive labs. I hope you find answers soon. Keep us updated!Thank you everyone! I know that I need to talk to a specialist. Unfortunately, no rheumatologist in my city takes my insurance. But this helps me to know that I shouldn't give up and I should look for an answer to what is going on with my body. call your insurance company for the name of a rheumatologist who does take the insurance. They should be able to give you a name..if they can't then appeal up the ladder for a out of network coverage exemption.I had normal labs in the beginning. I had have IBD also. I would get flare ups for years but they would go away. Then it seemed like they were getting to be hitting me more often than not.

Something changed. I got really ill. Sleepy all of the time as well as joint pain. I got a nodual on my finger and I knew for sure. I asked my gp to run my bloodwork and it was positive. I was 44 and I had been seeing rheumatologist scince i was 23. So this had to be the 15th time at least that I had an RF test done and it came back positive. My ortho surgeon had said I had RA seven years prior to that but the rheumatologist would not agree. Also they now had a new test called anti-ccp which i got a score of 100 on. It mayed me wonder if someone had done that test on me years earlier if i would have had a different outcome?

Well anything is possible. Maybe you could get some xrays and or MRI as well as bloodwork. I think bylateral is a key symtom that a specialist needs to consider. Also usually IBD does not effect that many joints. Also make sure you get an anti-ccp test.