no diagnosis, but plenty of questions

April 12, 2002

Hi Everyone! I have been reading your posts for the past few weeks

hoping to gain some insight and I think it is time for me to introduce

myself.

In the past few months I have found myself going from a very active

lifestyle of running and working 12 hour shifts in a warehouse where I

do nothing but stand and lift heavy boxes to barely being able to walk

up and down my stairs. It started in January with a very sore and

stiff neck which would not go away. My PCP thought it was stress (who

doesn't have stress?!) and told me to take 800 mg of Advil but this

did not help. In February it started in my knees. I awoke one

morning and could barely make it down the stairs. I would be stiff

and sore for the first 4 or so hours of the day but then would usually

be able to function. Within a week or so I was having pain in my

wrists, chest, ankles and still in my neck and knees. I couldn't even

get out of bed at times and it hurt to lift the blankets off of me. I

went back to my PCP and they ordered some BW and put me on Relafan and

Ultram (which did nothing). My RF was negative, ANA negative but my

Sed rate was 91. My doctor was convinced that I did not have RA but

referred me to a RA doctor anyway. My husband is a RN so I knew that

just because my RF was negative did not mean I did not have RA. I

then started having tingling and numbing in my feet with very sharp

pain shooting through them. I can barely stand.

The RA doctor ordered tons of tests and has basically been unable to

diagnosis me. My SED continues to be high (now it is 105). He says I

do not fit neatly into any one diagnosis. He tried me on Celebrax

200mg BID and now he has me on Prednisone 20mg BID. All of my joints

are feeling much better except for my feet. I have been on the 40mg

Prednisone for just over a week and have felt some subtle improvement

in my feet but still unable to do much of anything.

Well, I have gone on and on much more than I had planned. I am just

curious if anyone else has experienced the same feeling in their feet

and what is the cause and what has helped.

Thanks so much for any input you may have. I am really frustrated and

looking for answers.

Deb Toms

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