1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ra testing

Posted , 8 users are following.

louise1962c
louise1962c

hello everyone,i have been suffering for sometime now with painful joints and my back,my doctor has now refered me for RA testing,may i ask what symptoms everyone else has,as sometimes i think its just me,and my doc seems to think im exaggerating the pain and fatigue..thanks

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • andrew71851
    andrew71851 louise1962c

    Posted

    Louise

    Typical Joint pain for me, Swollen Joints (Red) and very tender.

    Not as bad now I am receiving treatment.

    For 2 years my doctor tested me for goute which always came back negative.

    I was diganosed after xrays whilst checking my knee for floating bone.

    Blood test was negative.4.5 years ago.

     

  • Gail363
    Gail363 louise1962c

    Posted

    The most notable symptom began with a very swollen fingers,a trigger finger,tingling in my hands,very painful elbow and stiffness in my feet and ankles when I woke up along with extreme fatigue.
    • louise1962c
      louise1962c Gail363

      Posted

      Thats me to a T Gail,so very tired all the time and my elbows are so painfull,as well as ankles and other joints,thanks for replying x
    • Gail363
      Gail363 louise1962c

      Posted

      what meds are you taking Louise? Are you in remission yet?
    • louise1962c
      louise1962c Gail363

      Posted

      Im just started on anti inflamatories and Tramadol and thats all he has given me until we get the results..
  • Rowbirdie
    Rowbirdie louise1962c

    Posted

    Tendonitis in shoulder - for which I was referred to physio, followed by swollen painful knees. Woke up one morning with throbbing pain at base of right thumb so went to gp again and had blood tests and referral to consultant. Blood tests showed positive rheumatoid factor so my diagnosis was straightforward. By the time I saw consultant fingers and toes, other shoulder hurting plus side of wrist.

     oh yes- and huge fatigue. 

    Yes it really hurts- it s not you making it up.

    Do hope  you get a diagnosis soon as it's the beginning of getting treatment.

     

    • louise1962c
      louise1962c Rowbirdie

      Posted

      I hope so too Rowbirdie,can believe how much i hurt right now...x
  • Debra1954
    Debra1954 louise1962c

    Posted

    Initially my main symptoms were occasionally extreme tiredness, some stiffness and pain in my feet. I was diagnosed with RA over 7 yrs ago. I was RA positive and had very high levels of inflammation for which I was given a steroid injection. I'm now on Plaquenil and the specialist says the RA is being managed well. Last year he said he thought I could be in remission. That's all good news but although I have no visible swelling, just some ankle puffiness, I have pain and stiffness in my ankles, toes, knees, elbows, shoulder and hands, which I mentioned when I recently saw the RA nurse. She more or less said I was doing well and those things are to be expected. Part of having RA. I kind of felt a bit dumb really as if I should know that. I'm going to check with the consultant when I see him in a few months and ask if I'm doing as well as they say should I be feeling the way I do. Maybe the answer to that is without the meds I'd be a whole lot worse. God luck in getting sorted.
    • Rowbirdie
      Rowbirdie Debra1954

      Posted

      Hi Debra

      just to encourage you to do that when you see the consultant as can't help feeling you could be better than what you are describing, especially if this is most of the time.

      Do they do a DAS score which involves asking you on a scale of 1 to 10 how much pain and how much disease progression? They should also check number of swollen and or tender joints( but this doesn't include feet) then they put this and crp level into some kind of equation to work out the level of disease activity. If they are doing that and coming out with' almost in remission' maybe you need to reevaluate your actual pain level/ joints which are tender. Hope you get some answers on your next visit. Don't be afraid to say something s not working as well as they think as they do have a lot more treatment options.

    • Debra1954
      Debra1954 Rowbirdie

      Posted

      Hi, thank you for reply...no as far as I can remember I've never been asked about DAS. They do give me what I call a once over...look at my hands, check knees, shoulders by feel. Being on Plaquenil you don't need regular blood tests so it's basically left to me to decide if and when I feel rough enough to go to my GP or contact the RA nurse. I see the RA specialist once a year and the nurse every 6 mths. I can certainly cope with the level of pain I have in my joints. Doesn't stop me moving or doing things so compared to some people I know I'm lucky. I guess it's just there, niggling, can be wearing and maybe I just expected too much being told I was doing so well/could be in remission I thought that meant no pain. Probably need a bit more pain relief than the occasional paracetamol that I take. I will ask.
  • Buckeyes
    Buckeyes louise1962c

    Posted

    At the beginning I noticed my right thumb at the base was sore when I used my curling iron and since I smoked at the time I had difficulty lighting my lighter.  I also got sore because I had the habit of sitting on my hands when we traveled by car.  Then  my right forearm got painful followed by both knees above the knee were quite painful.  I had to roll off the couch because I couldn't use my knees or my arm to help me up.  I also noticed my feet ached like m shoes were to small.  Went to doctor and asked if there was a test to find out why I was having all his pain and he said like RA and looked at my hands and said I had no nodules so he put me on arthritis Meds,  Meloxicam.  Eventually had blood work done after going to ortho doc said I had tendinitis and carpal tunnel.  My arm felt like it was broken, it hurt so bad!  I took it upon myself to get blood tests ordered by nurse practitioner.   Whatever test they did the readings were supposed to be under 14 and it was 945!  An absolute positive!  On Enbrel and except for aching wrists I have no other pain.  

    Goid luck and keep us posted!

     

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.