Hello everyone. I am gonna introduce myself. I am Cudda, and I am a 39 year old single female from Pennsylvania. I am living with my 24 year old Daughter & my 2 Grandchildren. I posted a message in a different section here and was told to come in here and introduce myself because this is most likely were I belong.
Well this is my story. 6 days ago I woke up very sore. I just thought it was because I was in the pool with 3 kids hanging from me for 3 1/2 hours the day before. Then the next day I realized the pain was in all my joints, not my mussels so maybe I was getting the flu. Well, on the 3rd day I was sooooo swollen and in soooo much pain I knew it was something else. I went to the emergency room and after a 2 second visit from the doctor, some blood work and a 3 hour wait a nurse came in to "release" me! I said "well whats wrong with me"? She didn't have a clue and had to go find out and just came back with "It looks like arthritis". She handed me a prescription for Motrin & Vicodine and said the doctor said go to my Doctor on Monday.
Today is Monday, 3 days since the emergency room visit. I have to call my Doctor and make a appointment. Lastnight the swelling started to go down some and the pain is letting up. I am still having difficulty typing this, but 2 days ago it would have been impossible. I couldn't move anything I was so swollen. My hands couldn't even close. I had to pry my rings off. My toes wouldn't touch the ground when I tried to stand. My elbows, knees, shoulders, neck, ankles, wrists, fingers, toes, were all swollen about 4 times there size and very painfull. Ironically, I have had arthritis in my back for years but my back wasn't bothering me as much as usual.
My question is, is this possibe? Can you just get arthritis all of a sudden and all over in every single joint?
I would love to hear from you all. Thanks......
Thanks Roxy! I really didn't think it was possible...LOL I was starting to think I was bitten by some bug or something. I havent called the Dr. yet but will right after this. No they didn't give me pretnisone, only motrin & vicodine. I dont like the way the vicodine makes me feel at all! Hopefully my Dr. will give me something different. Thanks again for showing some interest and replying so fast.
Have a great day!!!!!
Hi cudda,
Glad you made your way here
Let us know how it goes.
I saw the first post you did and responded there as well. To answer your question; yes. It could be arthritis. There are about 100 different forms of arthritis, so what form none of us here could say...but you sound like many of us here sounded in the beginning.
RA can strick very suddenly or come on over the coarse of weeks...or months, progressing to different degrees of serverity.
Definately make an appointment today. You're GP will more than likely refer you to a Rhumatologist...if he/she doesn't, insist on it. A GP does not understand all that's involved in the different types of arthritis and unfortunatly will spend months and months waisting valuable time trying different things.
Hang in there. We're glad you found us.
Lovie
Thanks Lovie. I did see your respond to my other post only a few minutes ago. I am on hold right now waiting to make a appointment. I am caller # 10 so it might take a while...LOL Do you have any home remidies or any suggestion to ease the pain & swelling? What is better, heat or ice? Should I soak in a tub? Elevate something...lol? I am open to anything.....lol
Also, is this the way I am always gonna feel from now on or does it come & go? I know I am full of qustion but I don't know anything about this.
I appreciate any & all advise & support. Thanks in advance to you all!
The ice or heat thing is something you'll have to work out for yourself unfortunately, it seems everyone is different. I personally can't bear cold and it creates major pain, so i use hot wheat cushion things. But having said that, i flare when i'm hot too, so its not simple. soaking in the tub is good providing you can get out ok! and i always sit with my feet up as much as possible when they're bad.
Sorry i can't be of more help, but if i could i'd be doing it all too!!
hope you get some results, def keep us posted
I finally got through to the Dr. after 45 minutes on hold! Well actually the nurse. I explained all my problems and the events from the past week and she asked a few questions and said "ok, I willsend the message back to the doctor and call you back" Well she did about 15 minutes later and said the Doctor said to keep taking my medicine and if it gets worst then call for a appointment. He didn't have my blood work from the ER yet. I asked her if she thought it was really arthritis being that it came on so suddenly and she said "Oh yea"
Again. Am I gonna feel this way from now on or does it get better or go away?
"I AM TO YOUNG FOR THIS"!!!!! LOL
Cubba;
If it was me I'd go ahead and try to get an appointment with a Rhumotologist. If your insurance does not require you to be referred that is.
You are obviously in a lot of pain....to answer your main question "Am I gonna feel this way from now on or goes it get better or go away?" I can only speak from experience and also from what I have learned through my own studies. If you do indeed have an autoimmune disease such as RA; No, it will not go away. But it will get much better with the proper treatment. Some days will be better than others; I don't want to paint it as if there's nothing to it. There are a lot of ups and downs.
Proper treatment can take years though. That's the worst thing right now is getting the right doctor to dignosis you and then to treat you. You will only waist your time with a GP. Many of the insurance companies require you to be referred by a GP before seeing any specialist; but some do not.
As for the home remidies you can always use a heating pad; but I've found that cold packs actually work best for me. I can't take ICE; but I use these packets that come with my Humira; their like you might use in a lunch box to keep things cool. I just keep them in the refridger and use them a few minutes at a time. Tori; this works especially well on those breast bones that you've been complaining about today. If you have swelling; ice/cold will help that.
Also before I was actually dignosised and on medication I used Motrin. I would take three at a time. You can take advil, up to 4 pills when you need to; but I think the hospital gave you something stronger than that. You might just want to relax and enjoy that for a little while. The advil or Motrin might be best though if you have to venture out and don't want to feel "drugged". Precription strength NSAIDS are pretty much equal to 4 OTC pills.
I still love a hot bath when I'm hurting like that. If you can safely get in and out or at least have someone there to help you I highly recommend that...especially right before bed. It always helps relax me.
I sure hope you're feeling better soon. I wish we could be more helpful.
Lovie
P.S. If you haven't already done so; check out the "Useful Links" section on the front page. Several of us have been trying to compile useful information for newbies like yourself. We all know what a confusing time this is.
AND FOR THE RECORD....WE'RE ALL TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!!
Age has nothing to do with it Sweetheart. I agree with Lovie. Try making your own rheumatologist appointment. And if you can't for one reason or the other, call your doctur's office and make the appontment immediately. No, you won't feel like this forever. If it's RA, it's not going to get better by itself. This is not a curable disease, but it's treatable. That treatment is different for each person, and it takes time to find the right blend of meds. Why wait? You know how rotton you feel right now. You're in charge of your own recovery. I say the sooner you get started, the better. Take care. Hi Cudda
How are you feeling today. Did your Dr ever get your blood results and get back to you? I hope so. Any luck getting in to see a Rheumatologist? Just saw you logged on and wondered how you were doing
Cudda. Sounds like RA to me. Mine came on gradually, but by the 4th month I had pain in every joint and muscle in my body. Extreme pain and everything was swollen. That was a year and a half ago and now, with medication, I am practically pain free and doing great.
So get to a rheumy and hopefully you'll get a diagnosis in a relatively short period of time. Lotsa tests to take. It takes time. Good luck to you!!
Susan Welcome to the board Cudda!!!!!
Yes I know it is hard to believe that ra can hit this hard this fast, but unfortunately it can!!!!
Hi Cudda,
Sorry to hear that you are having to deal with this and
that you are in such pain. I was just diagnosed a
few months ago and mine came on very sudden
also. I just woke up one day and my hands were
swollen like balloons. I tried to stick it out for a few
days with splints, but kept getting worse. I
actually thought it was a work related injury, and I
think it was in the beginning.
I think the work injury activated the RA. I was off work
2 weeks on workers comp; going to therapy, etc. with
no relief. My shoulders and knees flared up too. I
was desperate and felt hopeless...no relief in sight.
Then my workers comp dr. gave me prednisone and
did some blood work. The 2nd day on Prednisone
the swelling went down quite a bit and I started to
have hope again. Was referred to a great RA doctor
and am now being treated by him.
Still hard to believe how fast it came on!! I still have
lots to learn. This is a great place to learn though
Welcome!
Tara L
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