for about a year now my hands have been hurting, the tingle and burn and they swell and turn red and the bottom joint and hurt very much. Now they are stiff in the morning and I can not walk very well as my hips and my feet and ankles and knees are stiff and hurt so bad!! It is bad in the morning and after I have sat for awhile and really bad at night. The pain walks me up most of the time. It is on both sides but my right allways hurts more!! My hands turn very red and get these things that look like blood blisters on them and hot water hurts them. My ankles and my feet are starting to swell now also, with pain that runs up my shin now. At my job I have to type alot adn file and write and my hands and wrist just hurt so bad, not sure how much more I can take!! I am taking 3-5 800mg ibuprofin a day and I still hurt so bad. My doctor thinks it is RA and has ordered some test. My question is are there other type of arthritis that can do this also. I have read about one type called Psoratic Arthritis?? (sp) Any information would be helpful as I do not know anything about arthritis. thanks
Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, just someone who's lived with RA for a long time. I would say that your symptoms sound as if they could be RA. I recommend you check out our section about the basics of RA for more information. In terms of psoriatic arthritis... I don't know too much about it, except that it does involve psoriasis, as well, so if you have psoriasis, it's possible. Hopefully, you will get a diagnosis soon. If you do get a diagnosis of RA, keep coming back here - one of the important aspects of learning to live well with this disease is to find a community of people who know exactly what you're going through and we have a very supportive group of users here. Hang in there - it's entirely possible to live well with RA and the advances in medications has meant that there is a very good chance that your RA can get suppressed or you can get back to living your life.
don't wait, insist on a referral to a rheumatologist. Approximately 20% of people living with RA are seronegative - that means their RA factor is negative. Not a lot of primary care physicians know about this and many people go undiagnosed for a long time with signs of RA, but because the blood test don't show it, doctors think you don't have it. Blood tests should be used as one more piece in the puzzle, but the primary diagnosis should be done through physical examination, history symptoms, etc. - we have a terrific post about lab results where you can find more information and you may want to print it out and bring it to your doctor. if you do have RA, it is very important that you get treated early and aggressively to prevent more damage to the joints. Although it's possible you have fibromyalgia - some people do have both RA and fibro (I'm one of them) - your symptoms of stiffness, redness and swelling in the joints is rather classic RA. I know I said I'm not a doctor and please do not see this as me making a diagnosis, but I'm hoping what I said can help you go back to your doctor and insist on seeing of rheumatologists as quickly as possible.
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Thanks I saw my doctor today and he said that the RA test was neg, but I had a very high CRP. So now we start over, more x-rays in the morning and he said maybe a test for my heart also. I was given 3 corto shots today...one in my foot and the other two in my wrists...that was so much fun!! He hit 3 nerves!! He said he may do another later this week after the x-rays of my neck. He thinks maybe I have something out of place there, I don't, but we will see. Never hurts to rule out things!! No, I did not want it to be RA but at least I would have had an answer. He said I may have to see an Rheumatoid doctor anyway cause he said there is a small chance it could still be that or Fibromyaliga?? I guess I still have to wait.