Just wanted to pop in and tell my story and see if anybody shares the same problem.
I don't know what kind of arthritis I've had. Everything tests negative. For years, I had mildly swollen fingers and as the years went on, it turned into sore finger and thumb joints. At one point I got trigger thumb which responded to a shot of cortisone.
Months went on with on and off pain, very stiff painful toes, swollen legs, knees that felt like they were swollen and painful in certain sitting positions, but nothing I couldn't put up with.
One morning I awoke with severe bilateral knee pain. I was completely unable to walk. With strong pain medication and crutches i was able to make it to the doctor's. I got cortisone injections, an MRI and synvisc injections. I was told I had mild osteoarthritis.....MILD???
The pain went on for a solid six months. The shots helped some, but I had to work with braces on my knees. I took loads of NSAIDS. I was supposed to go back to get more synvisc, but I resisted because the shots were painful and they didn't offer a whole lot of relief beyond getting me off my crutches. Life was still hard. Stairs in the normal way were still impossible. Now I was even getting swollen eyelids every morning which also made me miserable in addition to all the pain.
So I thought about trying dietary modifications. Tried the dairy thing first...no changes whatsoever. Then I tried gluten free. Three days of gluten free and almost all my pain was gone. A few more days and it was completely gone for the first time in months. Also my ridiculous amounts of gas I always had was gone, too.
I tested negative for celiac. My ortho just shrugs his stupid shoulders and I haven't been back to the rheumy, since every test she ever took on me was negative, anyway.
Is there anyone out there with the same story? I don't even know if its the wheat, the gluten, the yeast, etc. etc. I just know I quit glutens for now and if I cheat a bit, I feel the symptoms returning.
Well, thanks for reading the long post. If anyone has any comments, I'd appreciate it.
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