Since 2004 I have suffered with severe burning feet and lower back pain. I have been to many doctors and finally 3 weeks after my spine surgery in November 2007 I finally found the doctor who was able to tell me the news that I have severe chronic aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis. Unfortunately, for me this should have been found 4 years ago, but harshly to say the doctors have all kinds of excuses when they can't diagnosis a condition. I was told that I developed the peripheral neuropathy from taking to much vitamin B, then another doctor told me that I had burning feet because I was depressed, then I had a doctor who told me that my spine was in horrible shape the L4-L5 and I needed to have pain management to control the spinal stenosis. Well it goes on and on.
Finally when I had enough of the cop outs from these doctors who don't know there you know what from you know what, I asked my neurosurgeon who did my double fusion to recommend me to a Rheumatologist from the UM school of Medicine in Miami, FL. So I am now seeing a wonderful honest RA specialist and she was the one who told me that I have this horrible illness. My back is healing well except it was not fusing and the bones were thinning out because of the prednisone I am taking, so the doctors decided that I must go off the prednisone and take the methrotraxiate once a week. In about one month I will be going on the Humira or the Embral to try and get this illness in remission.
I am constant pain daily. I still must wear the proform brace and the orthofix brace 4 hours per day until I see the surgeon again in April. I was told at my last visit that if the back does not fuse then I will need to have another operation to remove the screws.
The outcome from my surgery is that I don't have any more spinal stenosis, but now the RA. I have a positive attitude and I am looking for work presently.
Dear Rebz, I am new to the group, and hope to gain support and insight regarding chronic pain I suffer primarily due to an auto accident 14 months ago. I am interested in your symptoms, as my pain was at first situated in my middle to lower back region. ( no disk damage, nerve, fascial tissue tears and ligament damage) I have spurring, but nothing in my back is operable, just "pain management" issues. I developed weakness, stiffness and severe pain in all major joints on equal sides overnight on Dec. 20, 2006. My accident was Nov. 21, 2006. It was as if I developed Arthritis overnight. I could barely move my fingers, thumbs, wrists. I kept dropping things. It hurt to sit and stand. It scared me to death, as I am was 47 at the time. I was tested for Lupus, RA factor. No RA showed, but ANA was positive twice. Rheumatologist did not think I had enough criteria for Lupus, although I had malar rash, flu like symptoms, but no urine proteins or other elevated bloodwork. He dxd it as mixed connective tissue disease. Now I do have a point. I have the whole time since all this happened had very tender tops of my feet, especially the right, and my large toe is partially numb on that foot. I have had numbness in the left side before the accident , as I have a pinched nerve in the cervical spine area, but this is now the right side. The tops of my feet, the only way to discribe it, is it feels like a 300 pound man stepped on it with work boots. If anyone were to squeeze my feet together, or touch them, I would cry. I am on alert, all the time moving my feet,so no one accidently steps on them or even touches them. I have to make a tent in bed for them. I have, also 3 doctors with 3 opinions and my Rheumatologist is a smart aleck that intimidates me and is very condescending. If he wasn't the only one in a 200 mile radius, I would drop him like a hot potato. Rheumo told me I had Degen. arthr. in my feet and that was the pain source..sent me to podiatrist..also have raynauds, rheumo said my circulation was so bad my toes could be in jeopardy of coming off at some point....podiatrist said my circulation is 100% fine......it is nerve damage from my back injury and it is peripheral neuropathy, probably, but have not seen a neurogist yet, simply because I am so sick of doctors with all their conflicting advise and all want me to take 4 different medications. My right foot also iches, burns and aches and goes up my leg, sometimes to my hip, especially after walking or being on it for a long period of time. It takes me an hour a morning to get the stiffness out. this morning I fell into the nightstand I was so stiff and that was not the first time. My feet on the bottom feel like I am walking on swollen padding. My question, after all this, to you is. why did the doctors not screen you for the Rheumatoid factor in the first place, before doing all that invasive surgery? I feel most of my symptoms feel like what RA is like, but you can't have RA without having the Rheumatoid factor. Thanks for listening to such a long story, but when you hear of someone with a similar case and have specialists that don't seem to know exactly what to do with your case, it is interesting. I have learned to take an active part in my own healthcare and not just take every medication prescribed, or I would be on 50 meds. I hope you are doing better now. Take care. Jean