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No swelling but have other symptoms?

Posted , 5 users are following.

ToriKate
ToriKate

Hi all. About 3 years ago I started having pain my shoulder. I was told by a orthopedic doctor that it was bursitis. Did physical therapy with no improvement, still hurts to this day. I have now developed a large lipoma on that shoulder. About a year ago started having severe pain in my fore foot. Had surgery to remove what podiatrist called a benign growth on toe joint. Symptoms started in same foot but different toe a couple of months ago and now told I have Morton's neuroma in that foot. At about the same time I started having hip pain and just feel achy all over and exhausted all the time. My primary care doctor is planning to do blood tests for RA next week. I don't have swelling or redness in any joints however. Do you think this is RA?

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • ToriKate
    ToriKate

    Posted

    Forgot to add that I've been on Meloxicam since back when the shoulder pain started and it used to do a good job but the last few months even that plus Tylenol doesn't help. I'm also very stiff in the mornings and after sitting very long at my desk at work.

  • Buckeyes
    Buckeyes ToriKate

    Posted

    I have swelling in feet and hand but never had the redness.  The fatigue sounds like it.  I had that before I knew what was causing it.

    Good luck!  Hope everything comes out okay.

  • Light
    Light ToriKate

    Posted

    My RA, and that of many others, started with one shoulder. It then usually affects the joints bilaterally and is tougher in the morning, becoming increasingly easier during the day.

    Those are the markers of RA. Swelling and redness may or may not occur. Feeling achy and fatigued are RA symptoms although where you ache is significant. RA does not generally create aches in the muscles, only in the joints (more pain than aches, actually).

    It is possible you could come out sero negative and it still have RA. 20% RA sufferers have negative RA factor (I am one). Your GP may not know this, tho your rheumy will.

    Good luck!

  • ToriKate
    ToriKate

    Posted

    I'm not sure if she really thinks I have RA or if she is just trying to eliminate it as a possibility to figure out what really is the problem. How long does it usually take to get the results of the blood tests back?

    • Light
      Light ToriKate

      Posted

      Just a few days, I think.

      If you're in the UK and under the NHS, it won't be the length of time for the blood test that's the bother, but the time for the apppointment – that tends of be a long wait.

  • ToriKate
    ToriKate

    Posted

    I'm in the US. Right now I don't have an appointment with a rheumatologist. I think she wants to examine me herself and get the blood work done and then refer me if she feels it's needed at that point.

  • Debkimly
    Debkimly ToriKate

    Posted

    I don't know if it is RA but your exam and blood tests will determine what it is.  My shoulder was my first complaint and I was told it was tendinitis.  Then my wrists and hands started so the focus was on them.  Again I was told the shoulder was just inflamed.  18 months later they finally sent me for an MRI.  By then I needed a complete shoulder replacement.  An X-ray was taken at the start and now I wonder if I had the MRI had been done earlier would the damage had been as bad. 

     

  • ToriKate
    ToriKate

    Posted

    Well I saw my primary care doctor today. She ordered a lot of lab tests- vitamin d, blood count, the test for diabetes, test for anemia, a full rheumatoid panel. I have hypothyroidism but she did labs for that about a month ago and said those looked good so she was keeping me at my current med level. She said she is looking for possible RA or lupus.

    She also ordered x-rays of my hands even though I don't have any swelling or pain in my hands, just a little stiffness. She said all the tests would be back by the end of the week.

    I have mixed feelings about all this. On one hand I don't want to have RA but I also don't want to keep feeling so horribly with no answers.

    • Buckeyes
      Buckeyes ToriKate

      Posted

      One thing my ortho doctor asked me when I went to him with pain in my hands and wrists was if I had RA.  He looked at the palms of my hands and they were splotchy pink/red.  He said that was an indication.  I told him no.  Funny thing was I had gone to my family doctor and told one of the nurses what he had said and she also told me the same thing.  She had the same thing and had RA!  This was while I was waiting to find out if 

      my tests were positive!

  • ToriKate
    ToriKate

    Posted

    Well, my labs are back. CRP, ESR, and RF are all in normal range.

    Only thing my labs are showing is dehydration and very low vitamin D.

    Doctor says that dehydration and low Vitamin D can could fatigue and aches and pains in joints.

    Hopefully she is right and it's that simple and easy to fix.

    • Buckeyes
      Buckeyes ToriKate

      Posted

      Hopefully that's all it is!  Good luck to you!

    • ToriKate
      ToriKate

      Posted

      well, I was in a lot of pain with my legs Sunday night and got no sleep. I emailed my doctor that my tests may be negative but something has to be causing the pain in my legs.

      She tried to make a referral to rheumatology, but they would not see me unless she could tell them why she is sending me. She said she really couldn't be more specfic based on the test results being negative.

      So for now, she is starting me on pramipexole, which is for restless leg to see if that stops the leg pain.

      So I guess I will wonder over to the restless leg forum and read up on pramipexole. Anybody here take it?

  • Justgettinby
    Justgettinby ToriKate

    Posted

    It sounds like a strong possibility of RA to me but our bodies are so strang, so who knows. I'm in the US also. Mine started with neck pain 2 years before being diagnosed. I guess its unusual to start there, but maybe it was my feet since I've had trouble with them for longer than 2 years. I was first told I had tendonitis because I WAS a runner. I knew it wasn't that. I was also told I had a mortons neuroma in the pad of my left foot. Finally I saw a podiatrist who xrayed my right foot because it was worse and I already have bone deterioration in my ankle. Still didn't get diagnosed with RA at that point, and by then my hands were affected. Saw primary dr who finally ordered RF and it was almost 300, so she sent me to rheum dr. He ordered 12 tubes worth of blood tests and my CCP antibody was greater than 250. It only measures up to 250. Over 60 is a strong positive. I also have 2 brothers with RA. Now into my 4th month since diagnosis and starting methotrexate injections along with Plaquenil and short round of prednisone because I can't get it under control. Looking forward to the day when I can get back to a normal life. Praying for remission to happen and trying to understand this disease. Seems like a lot of people have occasional flares, but mostly controlled. It feels like I've been in one long flare, so hopefully this will not be how my life is, I'm only 51! Good luck to you, I hope it isn't RA and they can find what the problem is. You don't want to be a member of this club :-(

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