Help for a possible newbie | Arthritis Information

After realizing this isn't "the weather" or "time of month" - as my symptoms are not new, I just kept blaming things. HOWEVER, what is new is, the never-ending pain, swelling, the flu feeling comes & goes - but I can't do stairs or even stand for extended periods of time. So whatever this is has flared up to a daily thing.
My (both of everything) wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, toes, fingers, shoulders - ALL joints are tender in some way or another - and I have swollen areas in soft tissues in most of those places. For months now, I
thought my knees were just fat - here they have been swollen.Both wrists are swollen with lumpy things in them. Hubster was rubbing my knees last night and squeezed a tender part that hurt so bad it brought tears and I grabbed his arm and yelled! (Poor guy).

I had to quit a part time night cleaning job as I felt like I had gotten hit by truck when I was done, my knees feel like I"ve got sand bags tied to them most of the time, this am the flu feeling was back, not to mention
the stiffness after even just a few minutes. At the end of the cleaning stint - I was in tears - and then prior to some anti inflams - my knees ached so bad like a toothache - I was in tears. Or.. I'll just be sitting and
get a pain or ache or stiff.

I went to my reg doctor on March 24, he took blood, and RA factor was neg and Lupus & thyroid have been ruled out. He didn't want to put me on anti
inflam, 1) because of history of ulcers, 2) not sure what was wrong. I saw a Rheumy last Tues and does suspect RA, however took more blood and x-rays, to be sure. She said blood work isn't conclusive. She said I
have the early stages of something and again - didn't want to commit to the RA thing until further testing.

She gave me Napercyn and that has taken the edge off, however, not enough for my liking! smile

Does any of this stuff sound like what any of you have been thru? I do appreciate
your help - I'm rather frustrated AND.. as my daughter put it - scared I'll be "narled up in a ball" someday!

Thank you!

Sounds exactly like what I went through. I'm sero-negative - a lot of us are. That means it doesn't show up in blood tests, but it does show up in joints. I'm surprised your doctor didn't try prednisone, since that's a test. If prednisone makes you feel better, it's an inflammatory disease. I don't think any regular NSAID is going to touch an all-out flare.

I couldn't go up stairs, walk, turn on a light switch a few months ago. But I'm functional now. With treatment, you will be, too.

The pain & frustration are common to just about all of us. Good luck & welcome!

THANKS for your reply! SInce Dr. hasn't "put a name on it" yet - I go back on the 25th for blood / xray results - I am sure she will further the treatment.

So.. how much side effect to prednisone? My mom suggested a cane - but I said NO!! I'm using the elevator at work (it's 3 steep flights to my desk) and will crawl up the ones at home if I have to...HOWEVER, do you ever get to that point? OR... once proper meds are given, does one just have RA and flares are minimal? That is the part I don't understand - as I can't imagine this pain every day the rest of my life....

Any thoughts???

Milobean, I was properly diagnosed about a month ago, but I was flaring for over a month before that time. I have a mom that has it, so I was able to recognize it. It does SOUND like you have it, but you obviously need a proper diagnosis.

Prednisone does have side effects, a steroid, but is often use as a first course of treatment while they work on finding a drug that works for you and can get things under control.

It is a treatable disease, however, everyone responds differently to treatments and will have different outcomes and needs.

I was in a MISERABLE flare and the prednisone took it away within a few hours and then it just got better and better. I am fully functional and normal right now after being near cripple four weeks ago. It is unbelievable.

I have been on methotrexate for three weeks now as well. I see my rheumy on the 25th as well to follow-up and see what we will do from here.

I hope if it isn't RA, it is something less than. No disease is fun, but treatable ones are better. My mom has had it for ten years and is fully functional and normal -- but you will be on meds and blood tests for the rest of your life most likely if you do have RA.

It is hardest when you are flaring because it emotionally is so painful and hard to take the AGING factor of it. I tell everyone, I went to bed 33 and woke up 95. It does feel that way. You can feel good again, and it doesn't have to control your life. You can learn with your doctor and lifestyle to control RA and not let it control you.

Best wishes.
I DID crawl up and down stairs. And I cried from pain - something I didn't even do in labor. It's hard to remember how bad it was.

The good thing about prednisone is, it takes away the swelling. Your hands and feet, your wrists & ankles will go back to "normal." For me, it doesn't take away all of the pain, though. I hurt - but it's tolerable. Side effects? Osteoporosis, weight gain, puffy face, glaucoma, diabetes, heart disease. You trade one problem for others - but with the right meds, you can at the very least get to a lower dose of prednisone - maybe get off it altogether.

If you really have RA, they can probably get you to a point where you won't need a cane - at least, not for a lot of years. There is a lot of research going into RA right now. There are new drugs in the pipeline. Diagnosis isn't always easy, and just because a doctor says you don't have RA doesn't mean you don't. A lot of people struggle with that for a long time. If you'll read through a lot of these posts, you'll see we all react differently to treatment.
Milobean, yes some of the things you described are similar to what we've experienced one time or another. Seems as though there is always pain and we're always trying to figure out what may be causing it; foods, weather, cycle, too much activity and etc. Then there is the times when we can't stand or can't sit for very long and we sometimes don't realize that the fatness we see is really swelling. Then there is the frustration of trying to get up out of a chair (your on your way up only to realize your backside hasn't quite made it up yet). And the pain can bring you to tears.

Things will get better though. It may take some time to get the meds adjusted. Everybody's different when it comes to adjusting meds. There was a time when I was on arthrotec and it caused so much stomach trouble that I had to go to the emergency room and I ended up not being able to talk for a week because of acid laryngitis. I had to be taken off of that and start all over again with the meds to see what would work for me.

Right now I'm on Methotrexate, folic acid, diclofenac, prevacid and I just started prednisone(day 2). The methotrexate has helped me the most. I still have bad days every now and then yet overall I am still able to do more now than I had been even a few months ago.

Hope that helps and I hope you have lots of good days ahead.

I was officially dx'ed a little over 12 years ago now. I now take 25mg of methotrexate (we refer to it as MTX here) and Humira weekly. It goes a long, long way toward helping me; but RA is a disease I do not forget I have for one single day. Rarely an hour passes that I'm not reminded of my situation but I've learned to accept a great deal of what's happening as normal for me.

A friend and I at another site I'm a member at were just discussing the topic yesterday. It's amazing what you'll eventually come to accept as normal and what you'll consider a good day. After a while you stop chasing a totally cure and learn to accept that you can treat RA but you can't cure it.

You can manage a "normal" life and be very happy despite the limitations that RA brings to our lives. It is possible....I'm a perfect example and so are many, many of our friends here. Don't let anyone tell you different.

Milobean~if you go back to the RD and they say it's not RA and they don't know what it is or what to do, ask the doctor to try you on a short course of predisone. Like Fiona mentioned; this is an excellent indicator that it's an inflammatory disease and you'll at least get a good idea of what you're dealing with if it does indeed work.

Welcome to AI. I hope we'll see more of you here. This is a great group and we'd love for you to become a regular member here.

Best of luck to you as you begin this journey.