I have severe joint pain. The pain is most common in my neck, shoulders, knees, and hips. I was diagnosed with crepitus. This is when the cartilage around joints has eroded away and the joint ends grind against one another.
Further evaluation including a blood test that was negative for rheumatoid arthritis, led them to diagnose me on a whim, with Osteoarthritis (degenerative).
I was put on a steroid pack for 2 rounds with no effect. They put me on diclodenac. I was on diclodenac (50 mg. 3 times a day) with minimal improvement. I have been taking it for almost 6 months, and it's effectiveness has significantly wore off little by little. It no longer helps me at all.
I was sent to an orthopedic surgeon because I had a bad "flare up" in my shoulder. My shoulder has always been the worst pain. At least this is what I kept telling the doctors. I say this because, I now know that the grinding or crepetis in my shoulder ( louder and more painful than in any of my other joints) was not the cause of my pain. What I did not realize that the problem was on my cervical spine. It feels to be most painful at my C7 vertebrae.
Right on this spot, if I push I feel a pop, i feel a pop when I push in and another when I let go. The doctors told me this was a tendon popping in my neck. But I do not understand how that can be so coincidental, because this is the cause of a lot of my pain, this area in my neck is the worst and they have spend a lot of time trying to fix this, I think they lost sight of the big picture and all my other symptoms.
X-rays were negative, cat-scans were negative. ( both tests on my skull cervical spine and left shoulder) I was sent to physical therapy. 4 weeks for my shoulder, no positive effect. Then a cortisone shot, again, did not help. Next I was ordered 6-8 weeks of physical therapy for my neck. I currently was ordered an MRI because the therapy was too intense for me.
In therapy I underwent traction. Their theory was that I had a slipped disk. The exercises that usually relieve a slipped disks symptoms, did not relieve mine. They did not know what to do with me. They send me back to my orthopedic doctor after seeing me 3 times a week for 7 weeks.
I was previously ( by my physician) diagnosed with kyphosis. I have what is referred to as a dowagers hump.
I have an appointment for an MRI in a few days. I am hoping something that I never thought I would hope, I hope they find something. I want them to find something that is easily fixed. The problem is, I have a hard time believing they know what is wrong with me. I understand it is practicing medicine, but I have medical insurance and I want more tests to take place.
My pain started when I was 13 or 14. I am now 19 and some days I can barely get out of bed. Doctors have told me things like "Its poor posture". The first doctor I saw had my mom CONVINCED that the pain was stress manifesting itself as pain. He had me referred to a child psychiatrist who put me on medication where I attempted suicide twice. Anyways...
I want to know if anyone knows what this could be. I also would really like some advice on questions I should be asking my doctor. If this MRI (God forbid) come back negative, should I ask him to test for an auto immune disease? or a ask for a bone density test? I do not know what it could be but I am learning step by step what it is not.
My other unrelated but possible related diagnoses, include
-Cutis Marmatora
-ADHD
Bipolar Disorder
Other medications include
-Adderall - ( 20 mg. a day, recently increased to 30)
-Depakote which I took for one month, then stopped. (750mg)
The adderall and depakote were prescribed in feb. of this year. these medications did not effect my symptoms.
List of symptoms.
Hips-
-Started at age 13.
-hurts to sit indian style
- hurts to sit on hard floor or chair
- flares to constant pain that lasts days sometimes a week but never more than a week.
Knee pain
-Swelling.
- Stiffness after standing for a long time
-If you put your hand on my knee as I move it, you can feel a squeaky grind.
-My knees use to dislocate often as a kid. My mom would just bend my leg straight out and a loud pop could be heard, and the pain would be gone. The last time I can remember my knee dislocation was when I was 17.
Hands/ wrist
- doing anything repetitively hurts. such as dishes, folding clothes.
- my hands are always cold, ice cold.
- my left toes go numb from time to time which leads me and the doctors to believe I have a pinched nerve.
Extreme fatigue.
Pain that was intensified with physical therapy.
-pins and needles feeling in left arm
-shooting pains in left arm
- numbness in my left fingers
- the feeling that I lost circulation in my left arm.
- my neck ( on the sore spot which is right on the c7 vertebrae) got very sore.
- cutis marmorata was more visible ( lines over legs, stomach arms, that was explained to be my capillaries swelling and contracting) I asked another doctor and he said this condition was an infant condition and it was VERY rare in adults, and is a common misdiagnoses for auto immune disease.
So again, I want to know if anyone knows what this could be. I also would really like some advice on questions I should be asking my doctor. If this MRI (God forbid) come back negative, should I ask him to test for an auto immune disease? or a ask for a bone density test? I do not know what it could be but I am learning step by step what it is not.
This is effecting my everyday life. It is hard to get out of bed. I cannot wear a seat-belt in the car because I cannot sit up straight without slouching, sitting up straight makes my lower back very weak and sore. I am tired of being stiff and in pain. Please give me your advice.
Hi moon of harvest wish i could help with diagnosis but cant but after reading your post just felt i had to say something. You poor poor thing this must be terrible for you. Cant understand though why ra has been totally ruled out as i think it can sometimes be present with no obvious blood results try going on the ra forum and see if anyone ther is the same as you