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inflammatory arthritis??

Posted , 3 users are following.

sandie20974
sandie20974

Any advice would be very appreciated. Last November I went to the doctors feeling generally under the weather and with a painful shoulder when I lifted my arm up, she sent me for an xray and I heard nothing more til January when I received a letter from my surgery saying the hospital had compared my xrays with ones I had in the last 10 years and that I now have 2 areas of erosionn with a motheaten appearance. My blood tests showed a rise in my ESR and she requested repeat bloods and a referral to a rheumatologist. The repeat bloods showed a further rise in ESR and CRP and a low RF and my GP said it could be inflammatory arthritis. When I Googled this it came up with RA. My past history includes heel pain, slipped disk and fatigue. Currently I have hypertension, lymphocytosis, stiff middle finger on my right, heel and balls of my feet are uncomfortable. I am not in severe pain, mostly its an aching feeling going through me and I feel very tired most of the time. Does this sound like RA and what should I ask/expect from my rheumy appointment in March?

2 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • betty75074
    betty75074 sandie20974

    Posted

    Hi sandie have you been tested out for Polymyalga or Fibromyalga, 5 years ago I was diagnosed with Polymyalga which have similar symptoms which you describe, thankfully I felt better after 2 weeks on steroids and doctor kept me on them for a few months  (Presnidone) sorry if spelling is wrong, my arm and shoulder and leg joint pains symptoms have not came back but recently I have numb toes and stiff fingers on left side and keep thinking it could be another flare up  Polymyalgia. At present I have eliminated all citrus fruits from my diet as it can make joint pain worse.  I hope you get some advice that helps.

     

    • sandie20974
      sandie20974 betty75074

      Posted

      Thank you Betty for your reply. I have a friend that suffers with fibromyalgia and she has often said that I have similar symptoms. The problem is that I'm not sure if fibromyalgia causes erosions on the bone? I have since read though that you dont always have to have one rheumatology disease, you can suffer from 2 or more. I will ask the consultant when I see him about fibromyalgia. Thanks again x
  • mayday35
    mayday35 sandie20974

    Posted

    Sandle it sounds with the heel pain, this could emanate from your sacro iliac which causes sciatica and downwards you will have pain down to the feet. Does anybody on here agree?  Do you have pain underneath the heel? What is it known to be caused by and is it the hip area?
    • sandie20974
      sandie20974 mayday35

      Posted

      Hello Mayday, thank you for your reply. I had a lumbar disk prolapse about 3 years ago and had caudal epidurals to help with the pain. Previous to this I have had physio on and off since 2000 for a painful right SI joint. I've also had plantar fasciitis which I've had steroid injections and lastly I've had a right carpal tunnel release. I havehsuffered achy joints for years but even my GP was surprised when she received the Xray report of my shoulder showing erosions. I have aches in other joints (neck jaw elbows wrists fingers and thumbs) and can only get through the day by taking co-codomal which is not ideal. I still work full-time, I'm 47, but I crash in the evenings and weekends. I feel scared by whats going on, like the aches and pains are getting out of control. Thanks again for your reply x
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