Fibro and RA | Arthritis Information

I'm sure you've all addressed this, but I just have to ask....
My Rheumy said a few months ago that the RA was being controlled, but my flares and pains are a result of the Fibromyalsia. However, new pains have come about, such as my feet are swollen, primarily my toes, and pain in the knees and hips. Are these just Fibro pains? If so, will all these meds I am on treat them also?
I get so frustrated lately, especially when my friends are telling me that the drugs I am taking are poison and that's why I feel as I do. I went to the accupunturist and he said the same... "The drugs give you more pain".
This high white blood count is confusing my regular doctor and the pain in my lower stomach, could it be from the drugs???
I've noticed a lot of you have fibro with the RA. Do you get confused as I do?

Golly Vickilee, we've never met, i'm new here but are you talking to me? I'v had fibro years, am now thinking i may have ra. Thats why i read all the post to see whats up with my frequent pain and fatigue.

I go to the dr. in aug. to have testing. i've been putting it off about a year, i'm scared. I got up this am with throbbing hip to knee pain. Still sore but manageable. Muscle relaxers help with fibro because its mostly in muscles but not for swelling. i have both

Have you been tested for H pylori bacteria for your stomach? Check it out it's dangerous stuff. well good luck and nice to meet ya, i'm mona

Hi Mona!
I think I was tested for H pylori some time ago and it was negative. Can it re-occur? I don't feel this pain is in the stomach.. it's unlike any stomach pain I have had and I have been thru the ringer with stomach probs.
So.. fibro and RA seem to give off the same symptoms. I'll be curious how your visit goes with the RD.. let me know!

My fibro and my RA bother me in different ways and different areas. Mostly the fibro makes me feel run down and it is a milder ache than the RA.

I still don't know what to say about the tummy issue. Moana has a good idea about being tested for that bacteria gunk. Maybe leaky gut syndrome? Pip where are you?? Could it be leaky gut???

Gramma.... Leaky gut?? Is that diahrea? sp?? If so... not with me now.
I am so confused between Fibro and RA... they seem to have the same symptoms when I feel so much in pain!

Vickylee, you can get H Pylori more than once, i have a friend who did. As far as the lower stomach I don't know... could it be female, like cysts on ovaries,uterine or bladder infections, colitis? wouldn't there have to be infection somewhere with your white count elevated? i'm not on your meds so i don't know how they affect the stomach. I just wonder if fibro is a forerunner to ra i already have oa in fingers.

Pip has me thinking i could have PRA. I checked out a website was me in a nut shell. Maybe i am a nut, sometimes i feel like a nut sometimes i don't

I just want to mention that Fibro does not cause swelling. I have both and a Fibro flare gets my muscles aching.Mona - think I have read pain in lower groin area can be as a result of RA in hips.

Moana- I have hip to knee pain, I had MRI scan for it and it was due to RA in my hip and degenerative problems.

Vickilee- The drugs we take are toxic but I cant see them causing more direct pain, they do cause lots of other side effects though.Lower stomach pain could be radiating from your hip joints but I'd get the bacteria thing tested just to be on the safe side.

Good luck

vickilee, I do sometimes get confused between the RA and fibro symptoms, but swelling is generally the RA, not the fibro.

As for the pain in your lower stomach and the high white blood cell count, have they checked your appendix? That is often missed and when my doctor's office mis-diagnosed mine last year, it was so badly infected that it burst. That's actually when my RA started.

Yes, I had an MRI done in June and my appendix is fine. Maybe it is related to the fibro? I'm sure my gastro doc will have the tests done that I need. The pressure points for fibro all hurt when he touches them, so, what do you do for fibro? He just said to walk more, but I think more can be done? right?? Hello! I have both ra and fibro, along with some extra goodies. Its all very painful and frustrating. I am afraid I don't really have any great advice for you but I can share what I feel.

Three years ago, after miscarriages and fertility treatments, I started to swell, mostly hands and feet, was really tired, felt I had the flu all the time, yadda, yadda, yadda. After convincing the doctors that it wasn't just depression, they first said fibro, put me on some muscle relaxers and sent me on my way. Over the next couple of years, after seeing many different doctors, they say I am seronegative ra but that it is under control because my blood work is relatively ok, just slightly elevated crp and a few others but nothing real wacky.

However, my hands are VERY swollen, almost twice their normal size as are my toes and ankles. You can even see the swelling in my neck and knees. I hurt all over. My x-rays show only minimal damage in hands, feel and hips. Now, supposedly, fibro isn't supposed to cause swelling and the doctors say my swelling and pain is not from the ra since its technically under control so I am just about as clueless as when this all began.

I have troubles with inflammation in my eyes, uveitis and in my chest, costo. I am tired all the time, although the provigil I just started is helping that a bit. I HURT all the time despite being on oxycodone. The doctors really can't answer my questions as to why and what. Very frustrating.

I do have an appt with the University of Mi next week and I am hoping for some answers. In the meantime, I do take humira weekly and prednisone for the ra, and a muscle relaxers and sleeping pills for the fibro. I also get acupuncture and massage.

Your tummy issues may be IBS, irritable bowel syndrome which I have tried to manage for many years. It could also be related to your bladder or girly parts. Have you ever been tested for Lymes?

Sometimes, our bodies are mysteries and there may not be any solid answers. Don't stop looking and asking and seeing new doctors but do try to do whatever you can to try and make things more comfortable. Love and hugs!!

moana, so glad it's not your appendix!

I forgot to mention the meds. For the fibro, I am on Relafen (NSAID), Skelaxin (muscle relaxant) and Lyrica (for nerve pain). I believe an NSAID and a muscle relaxant are pretty typical for treating fibro symptoms.

InnerGlow39279.4549189815

when i was diagnosed with fibro, years ago. before my arthritis diag. they put me on relafen it worked wonders for about a year, but than began having stomache problems. so i had to quit. it was 1-2 years later i was diagnosed with PA. so maybe i dont have fibro after all?

kel