I have a couple of questions. I would look them up myself, but I am a little lazy and do not feel like sifting thru pages and pages to find the answers. Besides I keep getting distracted aka forgetting to look it up.
So... might as well ask here while it hit me to think about.
Can you have inflammation in your mucsles?
Does Humira help with OA or just RA?
I think that is all my questions... not sure kinda blanked on getting these 2 questions out
Hope you feel better soon
I'm curious as to that OA/RA question as well. An MRI showed OA in my right knee. I haven't had an MRI on my right knee but it sure feels simular to my right one. I'm wondering if it's due to OA or RA and how exactly do we know the difference.
You can have muscle inflammation from other diseases as well. Where it seems to affect RA is the tendonitis and bursitis that develops as the joints change. I feel like the FM feels like muscle inflammation but I'm not sure that is an accurate statement. My muscles do seem to swell though.
As far as knowing what the difference between RA and OA on the knees, I "think" that can only be done with a MRI. RA shows up as swollen synovial tissue and thus is soft tissue. That can only be seen on a MRI. Also their is a rice like damage that also shows up with RA. OA is more the bone on bone where the bones are losing the space between them. That will show up on a xray. There is a tending to just us xrays for diagnosis. But I've had xrays show as fine and MRI show quite a bit of damage. The other things that can happen with the knee are a torn menicus. This is a tear in the cartledge in the knee. It gets trapped between the bone and really hurts. This usually needs a repair. Torn ligaments also can happen.
Also, when you have one knee problem, you try to compensate for it with the other knee. Ever so often they should be comparing the length of your legs to make sure that they are still equal. But very few doctors or physical therapists actually do this.
Lovie, I'm sure you are aware enough about what is going on to know whether you should have a MRI done. You are awfully smart about this stuff. If you suspect their might be damage then check it out. Why deal with pain unnecessariliy?
Also, some Rheumatologists are very good at examining your knees and some not so good. If your Rheumy isn't really addressing it enough and you still feel like you have a problem, then see an Ortho. It is sometimes simply a matter of seeing it through different eyes.
Oh and Humira is not going to help with OA. OA is a detoriation problem. Where it does help is keeping that inflammation in your joints down so that it doesn't break the bone down. In that respect it helps. For instance, I have OA in both knees, the shoulder and two places in my spine. OA usually only affects one or two joints as you age. But RA damages the surface of the bone, setting you up for OA.Well we've contributed my knee pain to RA until this past summer OA showed up on this MRI I had done. I wasn't surprised and neither was my RD; but I've been having more frequent problems the last few weeks now without my Humira. (Although not nearly as bad as I'd feared!) Obviously Humira was keeping it at bay.
I'm not surprised by an increase in problems and at this time won't push for further test that drain my purse!! Never fails I always end up paying close to 00 for an MRI and I'm in no rush to put a name on something that isn't urgent. Joonie's question just brought my questions about telling the difference to the surface. Now when I start having increased difficulty getting around I'll pursue it. As of now I'm only limping occationally; not constantly.
Although I've dealt with RA for many years I'm new to this OA stuff and am curious about some questions.
As always your answers are always helpful. Thank you.
Lovie, I can understand not wanting to pay for another MRI. You might consider one of those knee braces if your knee starts to feel unstable. They are awkward but really help. Also, if you can do exercises to slowly strengthen your knee, you might not ever have to do anything more. Walking and swimming are both great for the knees. And, in most cases unless you have some pretty severe damage, one of those stationary bikes can help. A 00 is a pretty stiff copay for a MRI. Mine usually cost closer to 0. I'm sure if you are paying those kinds of fees for a MRI that PT would be too expensive too. But your doctor and you might work out a plan that will keep that knee moving much longer.Joonie
Yes we can and do have inflammation in our muscles from RA.It loves to attack the muscles, ligaments, and tendons where they attach to the bone - an awful lot of ra deformity is is due to that.Those swan neck fingers are a good example and so are the fingers that lie crosswise to the palm - you know the big drift towards the little finger. When the deformity gets to the point that everyone can see it, the bone has eroded too.
When you have had RA long enough you end up with OA (one of those lovely ad jingles 'can't have one without the other' plays here)
Just like Deanna said RA sets you up for early OA.
I read someplace that every mammal that lives long enough gets OA. Some how this consoles me a bit.
Well, I ask if Humira would help with OA, as when I take my Humira my neck/spine/shoulders do not hurt, like it does when I am just on prednisone. So, I was wondering if it was RA in my spine or OA. I guess it is RA in my spine.
As for the inflammation in my muscles question... well, I have been having a lot of burning in my calves, shoulder blades, buttocks, and rib area. But it went away when I got put on the pred dose pak and I remember everyone saying that Fibro does not respond to prednisone.
Today was a pretty good day for me. I actually kept up with hubby when walking in Freak-Mart. I even left him at the car and went into Freak-Mart and waited on him
Thanks for the answers. Still did not help me figure it out
Really glad to see you had a good day and left hubby in the dust for a change.
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