joint pain

By shelly74 Friday, February 12, 2010

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i have been having joint pain for 4 months now, hands and feet with swollen fingers , but the pain seems to visit other joints aswell wrists, knees, elbows, shoulders but settled more in my hands and feet. had xrays which were fine and awaiting an ultrasound scan , blood tests came back normal doctor has started me on hydroxychloroquine sulphate to see if this helps . find this frustrating as something is not right with being in such pain that every day is a battle especially with having a special needs daughter. anybody had the same or similar experience.

Flare-ups and hormones!!

Comments (9) | Add comment

hattan

2/12/10 5:13am

i have been suffering with the same swollen feet and ankles my joints also tend to ach and crack quite alot it tends to put a bit of a stop to some of my daily activities.

Anonymous

2/14/10 3:22pm

hiya, yes i understand what you mean this joint problem stops me doing alot of daily activities like you which is very hard to cope with especially before this started in november i used to go to the gym 3-4 times a week and all of a sudden im only taken several steps and thats it . take care.

pat

2/14/10 2:58pm

That's how it started for me. My obgyn thought it was menopause, my FP did not believe me until I sat and cried in his office. He drew blood, found inflammation and sent me to a Rheumatologist who started me on the same medicine you are on, but it did not work for me. I hope it works for you. I am on Methotrexate, Avara and have started taking the prednisone again since I can't get relief from the two drugs yet...on the 22nd I go back to see the doctor, and I don't have the slightest idea what he will say or do. I was ready to just give it up, but I ended up going to my Church and asking my Priest for a blessing, which he did. I got more comfort from that than any of the drugs so far...but that is what helps me at this time. I hope things work out for you...but you know, this site is good for me, too, as I see others share the same problem I have and have the same problems I have and I know that I AM NOT CRAZY anymore... :)

Anonymous

2/14/10 3:18pm

hiya pat no you are not going crazy at all, i feel so low these days as i thought whats going on with my body and nobody realises what pain im going through . some days its such a battle to get about even just getting myself ready in the mornings i really struggle so i have help to put my socks on and do my hair etc . i had recent blood tests for rhematoid arthirtis and lupus which came back normal so im going mental thinking no way that cannot be right im in so much pain so why normal results, anyhow still waiting for my ultrasound scan so i just hope something shows up. i have just started these tablets so its early days to see if they work or not, sorry they never worked for you. im so glad im not on my own and notice by looking at different sites there are a lot of people suffering just like us pat. take care.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

2/17/10 8:30pm

By the time RA shows up on x-rays, there'll already be a significant amount of damage. As well, approximately 20% of people living with RA are seronegative, which means their blood tests do not show the disease.and quite common for autoimmune diseases like our age to play hide and seek in the beginning, being very hard to pin down. Given that you're poking about on this site, you're obviously suspecting RA and I would recommend you ask your doctor for a referral to a rheumatologist as soon as possible.

V, Health Guide

4/22/10 10:40pm

Hi everyone......I have an appt w/a Rheumy May 21st. My primary care doctor did some sort of blood test that showed inflamation, but the other blood test for RA factor was negative. I have been having joint "issues" for almost 20 years. My knees need replaced, several fingers are sore and swollen, and now my left wrist is swollen. The right wrist is sore, but not swollen.. What should I expect from the appt w/the Rheumatologist? The worst part, besides my feet hurting, is the fatigue. Ai Yi Yi..............

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

4/23/10 2:52pm

As I mentioned above, approximately 20% of people living with RA are seronegative, so it's possible to have the disease even though your RA factor doesn't show it. I would recommend that you do some research about the disease in e.g., our area about the basics of RA, as well as poke around on this site reading other people's stories and some of the questions in the Q&A section. The more you know, the better your questions will be. Just remember to not get freaked out about some of it harder story - you've already had a hard time, but there's a very good chance that you will be able to find a treatment that works for you.

I would also recommend that you write a brief 1-2 page medical history in point form - the rheumatologist will take your medical history and when you're dealing with a lengthy one, it can be very helpful to hand them a piece of paper that they can read and ask questions based on that. It also means that you can spend most of the appointment talking about what's concerning your now rather than the past. Also expect to have a physical examination, as well as the rheumatologist ordering a number of tests (e.g., x-rays).

If you are diagnosed with RA, there are many treatment options. The field of medication for this disease has exploded in the last 10 years with the introduction of Biologics, so there is now a very good chance that you'll be able to get ahead of the disease, the fatigue, etc. and get back to living your life.

Let us know how things go?

shelly74

2/26/10 11:19am

WELL RECIEVED A LETTER OFF MY RHEUMATOLOGIST CONFIRMING I DO HAVE RA AFTER ANOTHER BLOOD TEST. WELL I HAVE LOADS OF QUESTIONS FOR HIM ON MY NEXT APPOINTMENT IM STILL ON THE SAME MEDICATION ONLY BEEN ON THEM FOR 3WEEKS AND STILL NO DIFFERENCE AS YET. TODAY I SEEM TO BE HAVING A GOOD DAY BUT TOMORROW I COULD BE REALLY BAD JUST WONDERING HOW I CAN BE QUITE WELL ONE DAY AND THE NEXT DAY SO CRIPPLED I CAN HARDLY WALK WOULD LOVE TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH ARTHIRTIS SUFFERERS SO WE CAN SHARE TIPS AND GENERALLY CHAT ABOUT HOW WE COPE WITH THIS NASTY DISEASE.XX

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