Other Symptoms of RA

[Natalie.D]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can tell me about symptoms of RA.  I know that some of them are stiffness in the joints, redness and swelling.  I don't have stiffness, redness or swelling.  What I do have is painful joints, especially when its cold and damp, feeling very fluey nearly every morning, extremely tired most of the time, dizziness and tingling in my legs from the knees down and a general feeling of being unwell - does this sound anything like rheumatoid arthritis - has anyone had any of these symptoms?  I'm trying to find out exactly what's wrong with me - I've been to see a rheumy and had bloods done - they came back normal apart from ESR at 26 (which has since gone down to 13).  I've now been referred to a neurologist who I see on 12th December.  Would be grateful for any comments.  Thanks.

Natalie.

[lam651]

Someone posted a site that talked about RA and its simptoms awhile back. If you go through some of the RA posts you should find it. I think it was a post started by me. I hope you get some answers.

I'm still looking for answers myself. I guess it isn't uncommon for it to take a long time to get diagnosed. Good luck, Larry

[Heather M.]

Natalie,

Have you had a whole body exam (full blood panels, hands-on kind of stuff)?  Your symptoms sound very distressing...unfortunately a lot of illnesses from Lupus to RA to fibromyalgia to Lyme's disease have these symptoms.  Too many to name here.  You really should be seen by a team of doctors who can take a whole-body approach and tackle this problem.  I was just reading about the author Amy Tan (Joy Luck Club) and she was ill for two years before someone figured out she had Lyme's disease!  It took someone stepping back and looking her over from head to toe to figure it out.

I hope you begin to feel better soon--it's very difficult to feel terrible and not know what's wrong with you.

Heather

[Natalie.D]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your replies.  

Larry, I've looked through all the posts and can't find anything that sounds anything like what I've got.  I'll keep on with my search though.

Heather, I've had a few blood tests done to check on B12 deficiency, anemia and a few others, all came back normal apart from ESR which came back slightly elevated.  I'm waiting to see the neurologist on the 12th Dec and am hoping that he'll send me for some tests and scans etc, the first doc I saw said that my symptoms could be MS or 'some other neurological condition' but she didn't even give me any kind of examination.  The 2nd doc gave me a few tests, ie tested reflexes and reactions and said that results were not characteristic of MS but it was a possibility.

So far I haven't had any kind of scan or x-ray etc.  I had read somewhere that rheumatoid arthritis could have some symptoms similar to what I'm experiencing that's why I posted here to find out if anyone else here had experienced them or heard of them, I think it may be unlikely but I'm kind of grabbing at straws here, hoping for anything that might give me more information.  I've been scouring the web and have entered my symptoms and my searches always come up with either MS, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and others similar, so I'm really not any clearer on what's going on.

You're right that things are quite distressing for me at the moment, having to cope with all this uncertainty on top of a pair of knees that just won't sort themselves out, I'm still trying to get rid of the tendonitis and strengthen the quads but this is REALLY difficult just now when it takes all my effort just to put one foot in front of the other.  Also my mum has just been diagnosed with 4 separate cancerous tumours which was a real shock.   Anyway, sorry this is so long and SO whiney.  I'll let you know if I get any answers.  Thanks for 'listening'.

Natalie.

[Clarkey]

Hello Natalie,

First can I say that your response to your problems is not too long and whiney. Its always good to type out how you feel at the time of posting message  and so far from what I seen from your responses from other postings that you are a caring type of person who tries to help other the best you can. The posting you sent me was very useful and thanks again.

Do not know enough about RA to help you but agree with Heather and go for a Medical checkup. Very sorry to hear about your Mum its the last thing that you needed, Nick

[Natalie.D]

Hi Nick,

Thank you so much for your comments, it really means a lot.

Natalie.

[ORCA]

hi there i know u asked about the symptoms of R A  some time ago i wish i had found this site alot earler. No one believed that i had R A until my blood test came back and was 126.but that was 3years ago,since then i ave learnt that people ave all the right symptoms but all the test come back normal,i was told that if it was the early stages it would not always show up on blood work or x-rays as this looks for bone damage.

if u need any more info let me know,i hope everyone is well.
             

                                 Orca

[Skip]

RA can be very difficult to diagnose, especially if you're young and active.

4 years ago, my doctor swore black and blue that I had inflammed knees because I played so much sport.  At times, my knees were so swollen you couldn't see the knee cap.

The doc put me on anti inflammatories (which did little), did full bloods (which showed nothing), and sent me for x rays - which showed nothing.

It wasn't until he aspirated my knees and sent the synovial fluid for testing that it was finally confirmed that I had RA.  A painful way to get a result!

We thought that it was only my knees that were affected - until I had MRI scans.  It showed every joint (except, ironically, my jaw) was diseased, and even the ends of my ribs were affected.  And yet it was only my knees that were causing me any pain.

RA commonly affects women 25-30 after the birth of their first child (woo hoo, I fit the profile!), and it's not just an old fogey thing.

I have tried everything, from anti-inflammatories to natural remedies to methoblastin (methotrexate) - nothing gave me relief.  The rheumatologist sent a curt note to my GP, telling him that my head had more to do with the condition than anything ... needless to say, never went to the rheumy again.

Dunno what happened, but I've been more or less pain free for the past couple of years.  Every now and then my joints flame up and I hurt and I get grumpy and I hate the world ... but I'm back playing hockey, riding my horse, and gardening without pain.

Keep talking to your GP and exploring avenues.  An awful side effect from RA is that depression is never far away - the condition is distressing and debilitating until you find something that works for you.  It took me years, and we still don't know what it is - I hope you find your relief soon.

[grizelda]

hi there.   i had similar symptoms to yours for 20 YEARS....plus alot of chronic trouble with my cervical spine and sacroiliac joints....20 YEARS....my internist when i was in my late 20's , early '30's (i'm 52) would just laugh and tell me to take some ibuprofen...it wasn't until i had foot surgery four years ago and i just didnt' heal because of inflammation that the podiatrist told me he thought i had a systemic inflammatory problem and he arranged for me to get in to see a local rheumatologist,,,there are only TWO of them where i live and it is impossible to get an appt.   anyway....she did a very thorough work up, all the blood work etc., which came back neg. for RA, but she told me i fit the category for "spondyloarthropathy"....an inflammatory autoimmune disease that is actually only a few symptoms short of RA.....i have four other autoimmune disorders too....all inflammatory.    she treats me with "disease modifying" drugs, like bextra...actually i just switched to Mobic....can't say it's done me any good...i was using azulfadine too but stopped a few months ago as she didnt' think it was doing ANYTHING and why bother having to have blood tests all the time if the drug isn't helping my inflammation level.   so..........it took me all those years of pain and dysfunction before someone in the medical field had any clue as to what all the pieces of my particular puzzle were about.    at least now i have someone who keeps an eye on things ......so to speak.   nothing that she has to offer has kept me from continuing to have necessarly surgeries however....knee surgery is next, in october.

i hope you find some answers.   don't give up trying, whatever you do.

[makeba2005]

 Hello Natalie,

Don't give up your search.  Like the other responses it will take someone to actually do that complete thorough exam to find what is wrong. 

My search has gone for two years with an outcome of fibroids, cysts, OA and RA and I am only 33 .  The  symptoms that you expressed was my life for those 2 years and in the beginning I thought that it was the way it was for turning 30 .  not the case.  One doctor told me that my fibroids were too small to cause the symptoms, that it was all in my head.  Second doctor went for the full physical and came back with the RA Factor of 26, with the Rheumy, he said that the Sedi were elevated and that was the final straw.  He actually listened to my pain and did further test:  x-ray and MRI.  It takes someone to actually listen to be able to help us through it all.  My MRI has come back with grade IV chondromalacia (BONE ON BONE) for both knees along with debris floating freely and a couple of Baker's cysts. 

There will be a physician that will come along and help you, you just have to stay strong and persistant.

[Natalie.D]

Hi,

Well, I had actually forgotten all about this post  , that was a long time ago I posted, since then things have changed for me.  RA has been ruled out, I saw doctors, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons - the works - turns out they think that a lot of my symptoms were caused by extreme stress and fatigue (what a relief that was), due to my mothers illness and other stresses going on at that time, so I'm so glad to say that I DO NOT have RA or MS or anything else major, I do still have some of the symptoms - like a slight dizziness now and again and a feeling of general unwellness/fluish but these have dramatically reduced since my first post and I'm finding that I can cope with the weird symptoms that arise now and then.  My OA is the major problem for me now, like you I also have grade IV bone on bone with debris floating about (I've had a debridement but it only gave me relief for a few months)  .  I really appreciate your posting here after all this time.

Natalie.

[tiapuss]

Im no doctor but my mother suffers from Fibromyalgia and from what you are describing it sounds very similar.