Guest guest Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 My story: Last Friday morning I awoke to unbearable pain and stiffness in my right arm, hips and legs. My butt was even extremely sore. I could barely walk. Now, I have bever had a lick of joint or muscle pain except the usual soreness from over exercising. This just came out of the blue...from nowhere. I went to bed pain free and woke up feeling 90 uears old. I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. He basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. He put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or toes are not affected. It is mainly my ankles, knees and elbows. Although the right side is much worse than the left. My muscles in my legs and butt ache as well. Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue my tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and said come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA than he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed and its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with RA symptoms (if you ask me). If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. Best, Brad, Age 34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 My RA started a few years ago. I started out with pain in my knees, and feeling a bit tired and " under the weather " . I didn't recognize it for several years, really realize what it was. It would come and go off and on. Then about 2 years ago " Wham " ! I had severe pain in my legs, feet, hands. I could not walk or anything. The flu symptoms were very severe...I could not get out of bed or walk. Blood tests screamed RA. My doctor sent me to a rhuematologist... the blood tests came out negative!!! It was so wierd, and the rhuemy did not treat me. My symptoms remained for several more months, then slowly subsided for a few months. When they came back I could not walk again and my Primary doctor did the blood tests again.... they came back VERY POSITIVE. She sent me to a new rhuemy who recognized everything, did a lot more blood tests... everything came back positive again. I'm being treated now with mtx, sulfasalzine, hydroxychloriquin. It keeps it in check... Long story short... I know my tests came back negative once but I definitely have RA. It runs in my family. My symptoms crept up on my over time, just like it did my mother. Have you ever noticed, off and on, pain that you just kind of ignored? Do you ever have fatigue and flu like symptoms with it? If you at all suspect RA you should really get a second opinion. When the one specialist told me I didn't have it, I didn't believe him. My teenage son was with me, and when he walked out he said, " You didn't buy that, did you? " I told him I really did not believe him. You do, actually, know best. Good luck! In , " boguynn " <boguynn@...> wrote: > > My story: Last Friday morning I awoke to unbearable pain and > stiffness in my right arm, hips and legs. My butt was even extremely > sore. I could barely walk. Now, I have bever had a lick of joint or > muscle pain except the usual soreness from over exercising. This > just came out of the blue...from nowhere. I went to bed pain free > and woke up feeling 90 uears old. > > I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. He > basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. He > put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I > have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. > but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or toes > are not affected. It is mainly my ankles, knees and elbows. > Although the right side is much worse than the left. My muscles in > my legs and butt ache as well. > > Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, > negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA > patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue my > tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and said > come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA than > he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed and > its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with > RA symptoms (if you ask me). > > If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I > ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does > it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem > like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. > > Best, > > Brad, Age 34 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 > I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. He > basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. He > put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I What was your SED rate? Was your white blood cell count raised at all? Was a RPR test run? A urinalysis? Lyme disease test? A hepatic Panel? A Full Kidney panel? A complete metabolic panel? > have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. > but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or toes > Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, > negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA Did you get a copy of the tests results? Was everything in the normal range or was he just saying they are fine in his opinion? > patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue my This seems like a weird presentation of RA to me, other can chime in, but most autoimmune disorders develop over some period of time. Flares can come on suddenly, but it would be fairly rare for you to go from 100% healthy into a flare where you are this sick overnight. > tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and said > come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA than > he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed and > its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with > RA symptoms (if you ask me). 6 days is so short, it is hard to diagnosis any major illness in the first 6 days after it presents, much less an autoimmune disorder. > If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I > ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does I don't think so, However, I would have a lot of other tests done thought to rule out other things like infection, organ failure or a metabolic problem. > it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem No. Not really, It is quite reasonable for a primary care to handle a case like this until there is more reason for a referral. I think more tests need to be done, but I am not surprised that they have not been done. > like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. Do you have a family history of RA? Do you have diabetes or any other chronic conditions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 Brad, all I can tell you is that mine came on overnight, literally, one day fine, the next, almost the end of the world. I played around with my GP for 3 weeks then he referred me to my rheumy, I waited 6 weeks to get in there. Salvation. And my RA test was negative too. Good Luck! mary in pa [ ] A Little Help! My story: Last Friday morning I awoke to unbearable pain and stiffness in my right arm, hips and legs. My butt was even extremely sore. I could barely walk. Now, I have bever had a lick of joint or muscle pain except the usual soreness from over exercising. This just came out of the blue...from nowhere. I went to bed pain free and woke up feeling 90 uears old. I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. He basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. He put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or toes are not affected. It is mainly my ankles, knees and elbows. Although the right side is much worse than the left. My muscles in my legs and butt ache as well. Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue my tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and said come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA than he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed and its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with RA symptoms (if you ask me). If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. Best, Brad, Age 34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 hi brad, just from your first two sentences its possible that you may have ra..... mine first started in my knees & the drs use to say it was growing pains. yeah growing pains my ass!!! this is a serious disease & people somtimes dont treat it as they should & thats ashame. i to used to wake up in the morning with stiffness & horendous pain, but the dr. told me to stay in bed. that was the worst advice i have ever been told to do.. no more though because i am the kind of woman who ask all sorts of questions(good or bad).. because if i dont then who will, i have to look after myself plus my hub & daughter. sometimes i think life is harder to deal with than the pain we deal with day in & day out!!! brad if you dont mind me asking what kind of PAIN PILLS DID HE PRESCRIBE?? I CAN SO RELATE TO YOU,BRAD! in the mornings im stiff but as the day progresses im fine,just fine.. brad if you are not feeling better by 2 weeks then i would call your dr. & tell him you WANT TO BE SEEN BY A RHEUMMY ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!as for the cortisone shot did it HELP any brad?? be HONEST & TRUE TO YOUSELF,BRAD! my THOUGHTS are with you & may god bless you,melyndagamez 5/22/08 11:30p.m.central [ ] A Little Help! My story: Last Friday morning I awoke to unbearable pain and stiffness in my right arm, hips and legs. My butt was even extremely sore. I could barely walk. Now, I have bever had a lick of joint or muscle pain except the usual soreness from over exercising. This just came out of the blue...from nowhere. I went to bed pain free and woke up feeling 90 uears old. I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. He basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. He put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or toes are not affected. It is mainly my ankles, knees and elbows. Although the right side is much worse than the left. My muscles in my legs and butt ache as well. Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue my tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and said come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA than he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed and its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with RA symptoms (if you ask me). If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. Best, Brad, Age 34 ------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 I would, my advice don't wait. My doctor did the same kind of stuff. My started with a frozen shoulder and progressed from there. It got to where I could not walk at times as well. Every time I would go in they would say oh its this oh its that, they even had me see another doctor to test for Arthritis, not blood work though, and she said I was fine. I felt like they thought I was a fake. Finally after a couple yrs and several frozen shoulders, swollen feet and hands later they referred me to a Rhumatologist. Of course the first thing he did was blood work and did specific tests, and I am positive for RA. Started me on meds asap and wow, I could actually walk again. It was a lifesaver. I wish our family doctors would take us serious cause this is nothing to play around with. My meds help, I am on Methetrexate and Humira, and my new RA doc is great when it comes to needing pain meds, cause as he told me we will always have and live with pain. He prescribes me Hydrocodone which helps me, but I don't have to take it but a few times a week. Hope you get some much needed help soon, and don't give up Tammie In a message dated 5/23/2008 6:05:02 A.M. Central Daylight Time, melyndagamez@... writes: If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. **************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch " Cooking with Tyler Florence " on AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4 & ?NCID=aolfod00030000000002) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Brad, It doesn't necessarily have to be RA, but seeing a rheumatologist would a good idea. Not an MD > [ ] A Little Help! > > My story: Last Friday morning I awoke to unbearable pain and > stiffness in my right arm, hips and legs. My butt was even extremely > sore. I could barely walk. Now, I have bever had a lick of joint or > muscle pain except the usual soreness from over exercising. This > just came out of the blue...from nowhere. I went to bed pain free > and woke up feeling 90 uears old. > > I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. He > basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. He > put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I > have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. > but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or toes > are not affected. It is mainly my ankles, knees and elbows. > Although the right side is much worse than the left. My muscles in > my legs and butt ache as well. > > Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, > negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA > patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue my > tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and said > come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA than > he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed and > its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with > RA symptoms (if you ask me). > > If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I > ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does > it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem > like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. > > Best, > > Brad, Age 34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 > ..If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I > ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but does > it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem > like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. > > Best, > > Brad, Age 34 I would recommend trying to see a rheumatologist if you continue feeling this way. *None* of my blood work is abnormal and yet because of the clinical presentation of my symptoms, my doc not only diagnosed me with RA but I am on methotrexate. So far I view this as my personal wonder drug, it is giving me back the life I had 6 months ago before all this crap started. Now if later I am told that technically I do not have RA but rather something else, it doesn't change that this is the way to treat it right now. Because I am seronegative, we did a lot more bloodwork than usual. Though he suspected it from the beginning, my rheummy wanted to rule out any other possible cause, and that took a good 6 weeks of weekly bloodwork before he was satisfied that the only possible reason left was RA. Negative blood tests do not rule out RA, they just make it a lot harder to diagnose. Good luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Hi Everyone, Thank you all for graciously answering my questions. Here are a few answers. I did not get to see my labs so I am not sure what the actual results were. The cortisone/steroid shot seemed to lessen the inflammation/stifness a bit but I still have pain in my knees and ankles the most. My brother has a combination of RA and psaratic arthritis. I spoke to him over the weekend about it and he said that his medication has really helped him. Besides the RF, Lupus and CBC panel they did take more blood on Thursday for a Liver and Kidney analysis. As I mentioned, the stiffness has eased a bit over the last two days but I have the pain in my knees ankles and, of all places, the top of my feet. My Elbows and shoulder also have slight pains. I am kind of at a loss as to what to do because I have two more months before I get me disability policy. If I get diagnosed with RA I am sure they will deny it. I am almose feeling like I should " wait it out " until then. The only problem is I am not sure I can. Only time will tell. Thanks again. Brad > > > > My story: Last Friday morning I awoke to unbearable pain and > > stiffness in my right arm, hips and legs. My butt was even > extremely > > sore. I could barely walk. Now, I have bever had a lick of joint > or > > muscle pain except the usual soreness from over exercising. This > > just came out of the blue...from nowhere. I went to bed pain free > > and woke up feeling 90 uears old. > > > > I immediately called my family doc and got him to squeeze me in. > He > > basically took blood and tested for RF, Lupus, Sed Rate and CBC. > He > > put me on Mobic and gave me some light pain pills. Since then, I > > have been about the same. Very stiff and painful in the eraly a.m. > > but feel a little better by the afternoon. My hands, fingers or > toes > > are not affected. It is mainly my ankles, knees and elbows. > > Although the right side is much worse than the left. My muscles in > > my legs and butt ache as well. > > > > Went back to the doc today and he said all my tests came back fine, > > negative and normal range.I have read that a large majority of RA > > patients test negative for RF but he claims I dont have RA becasue > my > > tests are negative. He gave me a cortisone shot in the tush and > said > > come back in 2 weeks. I left feeling like I knew more about RA > than > > he does and alittle helpless. Okay, so I have not been diagnosed > and > > its only been 6 days but it has been persistant and consistent with > > RA symptoms (if you ask me). > > > > If I am not feeling better by Tuesday (after Memorial Day) should I > > ask for a referral to a Rheumy? I know you all are not docs but > does > > it sound suspicious to you? Sorry for the long post but you seem > > like a great group and I am worried a bit and would love your input. > > > > Best, > > > > Brad, Age 34 > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 > actual results were. The cortisone/steroid shot seemed to lessen the > inflammation/stifness a bit but I still have pain in my knees and > ankles the most. My brother has a combination of RA and psaratic > arthritis. I spoke to him over the weekend about it and he said that > his medication has really helped him. Besides the RF, Lupus and CBC > panel they did take more blood on Thursday for a Liver and Kidney > analysis. Good, make sure the results from the Hepatic / kidney panel are normal. A family history of autoimmune disorders makes it far more likely that you have the same problem. Knowing that, I would not look as hard for a different answer. Did they run a lupus panel? Was a ANA run? You should have a ANA and a RPR run. You should also have a full hemo panel run (serum iron, ferritin, TIBC, transferrin, hemoglobin, hematocrit) to see if your anemic. It will also rule out hemochromatosis. Anemia would be suggestive of an autoimmune disorder in your case. > As I mentioned, the stiffness has eased a bit over the last two days > but I have the pain in my knees ankles and, of all places, the top of > my feet. My Elbows and shoulder also have slight pains. I am kind > of at a loss as to what to do because I have two more months before I > get me disability policy. If I get diagnosed with RA I am sure they > will deny it. I am almose feeling like I should " wait it out " until > then. The only problem is I am not sure I can. You should get into a Rheumy for eval due to the family history. That might be a long wait. Some things I would do: I would ask for a trial of some corticosteroids, (predisone), Starting dose, 60mg a day, use a NSAID. I don't know what dose the injection was or what it was. I assume it was not a cortisone injection, cortisone for injection is a local injection and is not systemic. It would be injected into a joint or other area of local inflammation and should not have any systemic effect. If it was a dose of something like 100mg of depo medrol, I would have expected a better response. I kind of suspect it might have been a less potent injected based on what you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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