Arthritis Information -new and no official diagnosis

i dont even know if i am in the right place, and as it turns out, as much as i would like to fill you in on my entire story, my hands are ice cold and aching so i cant right now

i saw a doc for very bad pain in my joints (extremities the worst) with stiffness and sometimes numbness

if the room temp goes below 65 degrees, my hands and feet and lower legs get ice cold and EXTREMELY painful

this all seems to have started about a month ago

doc sent me for blood work for things like: a lyme disease titer, ANA, c-reactive protein, Rheumatoid something or other, CBC and metabolic something or other, and other tests i dont recall the names of

seems he thinks i may have some form of arthritis, lupus, lyme disease or something?

he gave me some piroxicam (feldene) i guess i am supposed to take it every day

(i prefer to take meds only if REALLY needed)

he also sent me to an orthopedic doc, where i was diagnosed with carpal tunnel AND ulner tunnel syndrome

but he said that is unrelated to the other joint pain and problems

THE WEIRD THING IS- for the past three years i have been having periods - i call them episodes- of general all over aches and pains with EXREME unbearable fatigue and weakness

i have seen a doc for that several times, she ordered bloodwork (not the same tests being done now though) and they came back ok so she basically said it was all in my head, or depression or something.

the pain i am now having in my joints makes it nearly impossible to walk for more than a short while.

i sure would like to know what is wrong with me! i am only 50 yrs old

i know no one here can diagnose me or anything like that, but if you could tell me what sorts of things should i be asking the doctor and what sorts of things might help, i sure would appreciate it

also if anyone has a similar experience, what did you do to get a diagnosis, and how were you treated?

i am already totally and permanently disabled from a completely unrelated problem so i am not looking to get disability or anything.

i just want to know what is wrong and what to do about it.

i have always prayed that i never got a chronic painful condition because i am such a wimp about pain, it puts me in an awful mood and i dont want to be grouchy all the time!

thanks for any input

Welcome Catnapt!

Well - you need to make a list of exactly what hurts & where & when. Is there swelling? Which joints? Are they on both sides of your body, or only one? Does the pain stay all day? Part of the day? Just in the morning? Have they tried anything like prednisone, and does it help?

It seems that whenever a doctor doesn't know what's wrong, he/she likes to say it's in your head, but as often as not, it's in your body, and the doctor doesn't have a clue.

Pain, swelling, and fatigue are all symptoms of RA, but other diseases as well. There are a lot of diseases out there, and a lot of similar ones, and you need to know what to do about them.

What clinched it for my doctors was that I responded immediately to prednisone. You might ask to try a short course & see if it helps. If it does, you most likely have some sort of arthritic disease and need to see a rheumatologist. If not, you probably need to keep looking (but make sure the dose is high enough to make a difference. 10 mg. did nothing for me initially. It took 20, and the results were almost immediate).

Good luck!
I would agree with all of the above. I am 54 and had very sudden onset of bad joint pain in extremeties, originally no swelling, that came later. My family doc referred me immediately to a rheumatologist and that is really where you get the answers. If it is something like RA or one of the autoimmune disorders, you will have to take medicine or be very miserable. I am on Prednisone, which definitely helps, plus Plaquenil now. What you have is not in your head, maybe you better think of another doc! Good luck, for most it gets better after the diagnosis is made and treatment is instituted.

You need to see the RA. It sounds like Raynaurd's, another form of arthritis that is related to RA. That's what the cold feeling sounds like. Any doctor who tells someone it is all in their head without a full examination and lots of tests is a dufus. Get someone else who at least can have a little compassion and doesn't give up on you just because they don't have a clue.

Look up Raynaurds on the web and see if that sounds similar to what you are experiencing. The other option is to consult with a neurologist.

Doesn't sound like a head problem to me.

Dear Captnapt:

You really need to write down all the tests the doctor does--don't just really on their knowledge--write down the exact names of the blood work done, then research on your own--sometimes doctors aren't really listening. You know your own body! Write down your symptoms and give them to your doctor so he/she can look at them. Once you've researched, demand tests, blood work--don't let a doctor rule something out without you being tested for it.

Gracie