I've had arthritis since age 32 (diagnosed then as osteoarthritis).  I'm now 60.  There's too much to tell to get you to where I've been/come.  However, the issue is this... I've very sick and have been for a year.  Daily low grade fevers, severely exhausted, terrible pain in every joint, swollen joints, swollen tissue all over (ankles look disfugured from swelling and hands look like boxing gloves many days).  My hands have been suddenly become disfigured.. the joints have nodules.  They've never had that before and it started within the past few months.. both  hands and lots of changing.  The joints on my right hand and that side of my body always are worse.  Knees are severly degenerated and  have been for many years.. just can't  have surgery.  Have huge spurs on both knees.. looks like a pocupine.. and the catch whenever I stand still and then feel like I'm being ripped apart when I try to move them.  It's gotten so much worse the past few months!!  I also have been getting a lot of rashes.. more and more often.  They're fine red rash.. looks a lot like a heat rash... usually on my hands, wrists, arms, thighs, torso... etc.  Itches!

So, the local doc thought it was Lyme's and treated me for that... Didn't work.  Finally, after 8 months, he referred me to an Infectious Disease Specialist, over an hour away from this tine Arkansas town.  Sort of "House", without the attitude. :)  After a discussion and several vials of blood, etc.  He diagnosed a fairly rare disease... Disseminated Histoplasmosis (actually on one of House's episodes!).  Not a great disease though..  Hard to treat effectively and it can take a very long time.  Untreated, 90% of folks die... 23% with treatment.  And those not in that sort often have continueing problems.  Can be chronic and/or flare up, can appear to be gone and then show up years later, etc.

A more common form of histoplasmosis is the encapsulated type.  It stays in the lungs where it was caught.  It comes from breathing in histoplasmosis spores (yes, it's a fungus) from bird droppings.  Hey.. this is AR!  The chicken capital.. we have friends whose chicken houses I used to help clean. :((( 

In the case of Disemminated Histoplasmosis, it passes through the lungs and attacks the entire body..  Commonly causes arthritis (since I already had it, it seems to have made mine lots worse), attacks eyes, pericardium, kidney, liver, brain.  He's been treating me with Itraconozole, and it's helping with the fevers and I'm a little less exhausted.  Not a dramatic improvement.  In fact, he says he may have missed something... and he recently took a bunch more samples to be tested for ???

Finally, to the question.  For years I've suffered with Fibromyalgia and osteo??.  Had never had changes in my hands, just aching with cold weather and use, etc.  Lots of pain in my knees, including swelling at the back of the knee that was pretty painful.  Bone spurs everywhere... spine is full of them,etc.  They always say it's not RA; but I wonder...  Whatever it is, it's bad.  And here's the deal... Normally, the people who get DISSIMMENATED histoplasmosis are severely depressed immune system folks.  Read this as HIV positive or organ transplants!  Or... someone with RA or Lupus.  Frankly, my family has believed I've got RA, undiagnosed for years.  I've seen a few Rhuematologists over the years and none agreed.  However, with the recent changes, I'm wondering if the DH pushed me over the edge into RA.  How do I find someone who will really pay attention and work to find a complete diagnosis regarding my arhtritis?  The swelling in my whole body is miserable.. I have to take pain meds and wait an hour before even being able to get up in the morning.  And I'm not a person who likes to lay around!

Thanks for reading, if you'rse still there. :)

MK