I was diagnosed with an autoimmune d/o in nov 2004. I went to cleveland clinic and they first thought it was Lupus, my symptoms were joint stiffness and pain in my feet, hands,, no swelling, I have never had swelling of my joints. I was started on Plaquenil and advil. After I had a baby in march 2006, I was telling my MD that I had almost no pain while I was pregnant but after I stopped breast feeding my pain was really bad, he put me back on Plaquenil. I now have very bad stiffness and pain in my hips most days. I am slightly ,overweight, 150 5'3. I have always exercised 2 days per week and walking some inbetween. I am deperatly trying to get some weight off to see if it would help my hip and feet pain, I started jogging and today I am having horrible hip pain to where I am almost unable to walk. I have no other s/s with exception of hip and hand/wrist/hip pain and stiffness. Does this sound Like RA to you even though I have no swelling and my labs are normal other than ANA was positive.Well, all I can tell is my experience of RA...yes, terrible hip pain and my hips 'go out' at times too. A friend of mine is a massage therapist pulls on them and helps them back into alignment but this goes in patches as does everything RA related. My hips have locked up so I can barely walk at times. At the moment I have no hip problems more than the normal pain level I have all over my body from the nose down.
As for you feet...my feet always hurt...sometimes they feel like I am literally standing in fire, sometimes also they are painful to walk on. Whether or not your weight will make any difference to the pain, I don't know. I have put weight on since the RA has been bad because it is so difficult to move let alone exercise sometimes. Often my plan is just to make it to the kettle for a cup of tea and actually exercising is way beyond what I am capable of that day. If I can manage basic housework and my normal routine, I am doing really, really well.
It was my understanding that a positive ANA test was often related to fibro...I have a friend with fibro, her symptoms are similar in many ways.
As for your normal labs, well some of us have normal labs and still have RA. It is all so unpredicable and individualised. And again with swelling it is a very individualised thing. You should be going to see your RD and getting all this checked out thoroughly.
It is very common to have more than one autoimmune disease. You could have developed RA in addition to the Lupus. I don't have a lot of swelling except in my knees which also have bad OA but definitely I have RA. Also, my bloodwork over the last year has been negative for RA, yet I have been under treatment for about 6 years. They can that seronegative. You really do need to get your Rheumy to pay attention to your symptoms. If this one doesn't, please get a second opinion. Also go over it with your GP. As a minimum they should do xrays and it would be better if they did MRIs of your hips as soft tissue damage does not show on xrays. Definitely don't keep living with your hips hurting like this. They need find out why you are having so much pain on exercising. It might be that Physical Therapy would help some. But I have not read where a person has hip pain solely from Lupus. It does sound like RA to me. I'm sorry you are in such pain but know how it feels. Get some help. You don't have to keep living like this.
I agree with everything above. I would also say give up the jogging, its way too hard on joints. Swimming or bike riding are much gentler on the joints and still give you a good workout. That should help with the weight, feet and hip pain. But do see a specialist and get to the bottom of things.i have severe pain with PA but have never had swelling.Thanks everyone for responding, it is nice to have people with the same issues to talk with.
Hi and welcome to AI
If it is RA, it's not uncommon at all to go into remission during pregnancy. Most people do and then it comes back with a vengance after giving birth. Pammy's advice on water exercise was excellent as it's really one of the best excercises and much easier on the joints. I agree with the others that you need to get to the bottom of what's going on even if it means changing doctors. Damage happens so quickly that we don't have time to hee haw around with incompetence. Good luck and remember....Always take care of YOU.
Peace & Love...Neasy
Hi and welcome to the board. I definitely agree with what everyone else has said. Get into the doc and get checked out. Also, ask about a low impact exercise program and nutrition. Biking and swimming a great low impact ways to go for exercise.Welcome to the board.
Please don't jog - makes me hurt to think about it. Unless your feet, ankles, knees and hips are all perfectly aligned (being female the odds are against you) you will cause permanent damage to your joints.
Walk at a good clip in atheltic shoes that fit and feel good. Don't push it hard - stop when it hurts or when you get tired.