Not sure if RA or Gout

[Guest guest]

Several years ago I was told I had RA, I had flare ups about once a

year my ankle would swell up and then it would go away then my other

ankle would do the same. Til now I have had my knee swell up, my

ankles, several weeks my big toe on my foot swelled up and was very

tender I went to the ER and they said it was probably gout. (I don't

have any insurance) Last week my right wrist became swollen and I

headed back to the ER they prescribed me Prednisone 10mg. Friday I

felt my other wrist start to hurt and today it is swollen also. I

guess I'm missing another week of work. I don't know how long my

employer is going to take this me missing work, I don't want them to

know my situation because I am a driver, and I feel that they will

fire me. I guess what I would like to hear is how some of you found

out you have RA and the symptoms you were getting.

[Guest guest]

Welcome!

Years ago, how was your RA diagnosis made?

Do you feel fairly normal between flares?

Do you drink alcohol? You could try eliminating alcohol for a couple of

months and see if that makes a difference.

Since you don't have insurance, one test that would probably give you the

most for your money would be a synovial fluid analysis.

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[ ] Not sure if RA or Gout

> Several years ago I was told I had RA, I had flare ups about once a

> year my ankle would swell up and then it would go away then my other

> ankle would do the same. Til now I have had my knee swell up, my

> ankles, several weeks my big toe on my foot swelled up and was very

> tender I went to the ER and they said it was probably gout. (I don't

> have any insurance) Last week my right wrist became swollen and I

> headed back to the ER they prescribed me Prednisone 10mg. Friday I

> felt my other wrist start to hurt and today it is swollen also. I

> guess I'm missing another week of work. I don't know how long my

> employer is going to take this me missing work, I don't want them to

> know my situation because I am a driver, and I feel that they will

> fire me. I guess what I would like to hear is how some of you found

> out you have RA and the symptoms you were getting.

[Guest guest]

I'm not sure on the Gout, but my big toe joint is one of my most painful

joints. My index finger joints are also the worst on my hands. Just

because it is your toe joint doesn't mean it's gout. And my experience has

been regular doctors and/or ER docs know very little about RA. You really

need a rheumatologist to tell you.

For either disease it is a good idea to stay hydrated. Good luck! :-)

Love and Peace,

Semalee

My Blog:

http://jellodoesntnail.blogspot.com

My webpage:

http://360./considerablewellness

Words to live by:

" A meaningful life will not be found in the next job or the next car. The

way you get meaning in your life is to devote yourself to helping others and

creating something that gives you purpose. "

Morrie Schwartz

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From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of dboys30212000

Sent: Sunday, June 25, 2006 9:45 PM

Subject: [ ] Not sure if RA or Gout

Several years ago I was told I had RA, I had flare ups about once a

year my ankle would swell up and then it would go away then my other

ankle would do the same. Til now I have had my knee swell up, my

ankles, several weeks my big toe on my foot swelled up and was very

tender I went to the ER and they said it was probably gout. (I don't

have any insurance) Last week my right wrist became swollen and I

headed back to the ER they prescribed me Prednisone 10mg. Friday I

felt my other wrist start to hurt and today it is swollen also. I

guess I'm missing another week of work. I don't know how long my

employer is going to take this me missing work, I don't want them to

know my situation because I am a driver, and I feel that they will

fire me. I guess what I would like to hear is how some of you found

out you have RA and the symptoms you were getting.

[Guest guest]

Hi:

Welcome to the group! I found out about my RA after a

huge overnight flare of my hands. I had been having

pain in my fingers and wrists for several months, but

was also a jewelry designer/handcrafter, so I just put

it off to doing too much work. That evening, I

started to experience pain in the base of both thumbs

while I was holding up a book I was reading. Still

put it up to too much hand work, and now holding a

heavy book, nothing more.

During the night, the pain spread to involve my entire

hands, and my hands swelled up like hot, painful

balloons. I was unable to sleep, the pain was so

severe. I was totally in shock at what had happened,

but still felt that I had overworked my hands! I had

to have my husband help me to dress and tie my shoes

so I could go to the doctor.

My doctor, my primary for about 10 years, took one

look at my hands (my feet were also swollen by then

but nowhere as bad as my hands), asked if I had any RA

in my family (answer was yes, my grandmother), she

took blood work and started me on Prednisone and

Motrin. When the blood work came back, she told me the

good news was I did not have Lupus, the bad news was I

had RA. The blood work came back RA factor positive.

That was when I found I had RA. I had never, ever

expected this to happen, even with my grandmother

having RA, as I always thought it was just arthritis,

just joint pain. Boy, was I wrong, and I have really

learned to respect my grandmother for what she went

through. She was crippled by it.

I was started then on my first DMARD, Plaquenil, along

with the Pred and Motrin. I have since been on many

other DMARDs and other meds. Currently, I am on

Enbrel, Methotrexate, Mobic, and Ultram. My RA is

under good control.

It sure sounds like you have RA, at least to me, but

you need to be seen by a rheumatologist, a doctor who

specializes in autoimmune diseases, who will know what

blood work to do, and, by your history of symptoms,

and findings on examination, will hopefully be able to

give you a positive diagnosis. It might be RA, but

there are also other immune system diseases which have

symptoms that are very similiar to those found in RA.

The diagnosis may not be easily made, but I hope for

you that it is made quickly, because then the doctor

will be able to prescribe for you the right treatment

program for what you have, and stop or slow down

whatever disease process is going on which is causing

your pain. Then you will be able to get back to work,

I hope, with the proper meds.

I hope this helps - if you have any other questions,

please feel free to ask, and somebody here will no

doubt have the answers you need. Best of luck -

Kathe in CA

--- dboys30212000 <juan5464@...> wrote:

> Several years ago I was told I had RA, I had flare

> ups about once a > year my ankle would swell up and

then it would go> away then my other > ankle would do

the same. Til now I have had my knee> swell up, my

> ankles, several weeks my big toe on my foot swelled

> up and was very > tender I went to the ER and they

said it was> probably gout. (I don't > have any

insurance) Last week my right wrist became> swollen

and I > headed back to the ER they prescribed me

Prednisone> 10mg. Friday I > felt my other wrist

start to hurt and today it is> swollen also. I

> guess I'm missing another week of work. I don't know

> how long my > employer is going to take this me

missing work, I> don't want them to > know my

situation because I am a driver, and I feel

> that they will > fire me. I guess what I would like

to hear is how> some of you found > out you have RA

and the symptoms you were getting.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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