Need help
Posted , 5 users are following.
2 uears ago I noticed a tiny lump under the joint connwcting my middle toe to my foot ,that felt like cartilage when I walked on it, it came and went.
After giving up smoking I had a sudden onset of restless legs and lowvthyroid type symptoms and then a year of fatigue , headaches , moments of poor memory , tingly feet even tremor in my thumb when it was bent 90 degrees.
Then , occasionally I would wake up with dry eyes , a prickly stomach and a mild headache .
My foot got worse at the same time , and then all of a sudden I got joint pains in my thumbs and fingers, within a week it affected my wrists and my legs got a lot more tingly. It seemed like carpal and tarsel tunnel at the same time. I also had massive fatigue.
Then I found another nodule in the palm of my hand right next to the base joint of my finger.
Then my knees hurt, then within 10 days it stopped.
Went to doctors, crp .8 (very low) ra factor less than 20. Diagnosis.....nothing.
A week later my wrists are still sore ( like I'd sprained them a month ago) I can feel all the tendons moving, they feel dry.
Today I ate a tomato, within 5 minutes my finger joint went red and several other joints started to hurt.
But I've never had any visible swelling, ever.
Need advice.
Could this be ra ?
How do I get someone to take notice because my bloods seem fine.
0 likes, 6 replies
lyn1951 jjnz
Posted
Both of these have to be raised to diagnose RA.
Because the medications are so serious and potentianlly damaging, they are very reluctant to use them unless they are sure thats what you have.
If costs don't worry you, you can have a test for RA, but even mine comes back sero-negative, not all comes back positive, so maybe wasting your time there.
My Rheumotogolist put me on odourless Fish Oil, 6 x 1000mg daily, 2 at breakfast, 2 at lunch, & 2 at dinner. They have a really good effect on inflammation, but it takes a while to start working, you doo need to presevere with fish oil.
Only thing with Fish Oil, if you have Blood Pressure, issues you do need to work with your GP, as a side effect is it can drop your blood pressure. Also makes your blood thinner and slippery, apparently, so I had to come off it for a week before surgery.
bonus effects of Fish Oil, if you have dry hair, that vanishes, with vengeance, I keep my hair very short now, as I have to wash it every day, I just do it under the shower now like my husband does, otherwise I look like a wet otter/seal, due to the amount of oils, all of those micro lines around your eyes go, and your skin gets nice and healthy, no more dry and itchy skin.
jjnz lyn1951
Posted
It's got me thinking because of the nodule in my palm and the fatigue. Although the pain is not just in the joints , its in all the little bones.
Can flares appear in the space of 5 to 10 minutes ?
lyn1951 jjnz
Posted
I know I can have a reaction the wheat, even described what happens to my rheumo, her first question, was had I tested the theory, Oh damned right I tested it, coudn;t believe I was getting the relief I was, but then when I re-introduced wheat, I got a flare again.
I have cut out wheat when I'm feeling at my worse, and eat rice, corn products, but I doooo like my bread. No I'm not coeliac, worth a try, what can it hurt, might even hurt less. Sounds like you have develped a sensitivity to tomatoes, but pototoes are in the same family. thinking aloud here, have you visited australia in the last couple of years, could you have Ross River Fever, I beleive it may have been my trigger that sent me into a arthiritis spiral, again tested negative, but have since found out false negatives are common.
jjnz lyn1951
Posted
It's a lottery what joint its going to be in each hour .
Light jjnz
Posted
You inform your GP – very politely! – that it is well known that approx 20% RA sufferers are sero-negative and therefore their disease cannot be identified through blood tests.
She or he must refer you to a rheumatologist because it does indeed sound like RA and anyway needs immediate attention.
I can't account for the tomato.... it sounds like an allergy.
I do hope you get a handle on things soon. You sounds like you've suffered long enough.
All the best
sally83545 jjnz
Posted
Your symptoms are very familiar to me. I started having the same symptoms around 7 years ago. I know the crushing fatigue, daily headaches, joint pain, dry eyes etc. To make a long story short..I went to the my GP and asked for a blood test checking my ANA and Thyroid.
my ANA came back showing that there was some sort of Auto immune issue going on. This made sense because alot of my symptoms were that of Sjogrens Syndrome and Lupus. You can get info on both online.
I was referred to a Rhuematolgist (excellent) he did more tests and diagnosed my Sjogrens, Lupus and Lupus Arthritis which is similar to RA. He started me on Plaquenil which has improved my dryness, fatigue and has stopped my hair from falling out. This November my hands flared up and I was having alot of neck, shoulder pain and migrains. After examination he concluded it was from Lupus Arthritis and started me on Methotrexate (5 weeks now). It has been a long road and I am feeling better everyday. The correct diagnosis is key if I had not insisted on the ANA test I might still be looking for answers. I bet if you research Lupus you will find some of the symptoms to be the same as what you are feeling. Good luck and feel better,
Sally