how does one know the type of arthritus they have

[UNDERGROUND]

Hello,

Belinda is my name , and a newbie,

[Lolabridge]

Hello. If you have just been told you have arthritis it probably means it's osteoarthritis, often caused by an earlier injury or "wear and tear". Any of the inflammatory types of arthritis (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) are usually diagnosed by a consultant rheumatologist, to which your GP would need to refer you.

However, at a face-to-face appointment a GP can probably spot the signs of an inflammatory arthritis (hot, swollen and/or tender joints, reduced mobility etc) and may order specific blood tests (ESR and CRP in particular) which will show if inflammation is present in your body.

If you are suffering a lot of pain, ask for a F2F appointment with the GP in the first instance and then, if necessary, a referral. You may need to wait a while to get the latter so ask the GP for proper pain relief and, if inflammation is suspected, a short course of corticosteroids in the meantime.

Good luck!

[Yasmee in reply to Lolabridge]

My joints are exactly as explained above but inflammation never shows up in blood tests. Is it true it is possible for certain types of arthritis not to show inflammation in the bloods. Im fighting a losing battle as my gp refuses to refer me back to rheumatologist unless there is anything different. X rays have shown inflammation in my knuckles .I understand it is possible to have both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis?

[Lolabridge in reply to Yasmee]

Yes I’m afraid it is possible to have both osteo and rheumatoid as I do. Rheumatoid arthritis is inflammatory but osteoarthritis is not so blood tests would not show up inflammation if it is the latter.

[duncan1 in reply to Yasmee]

Yes Yasmee I have both. You can insist on a referral so don't take no for a answer.Good luck

[DorsetLady]

This might help you understand a bit better - versusarthritis.org/about-a...

[arthritis_action Partner]

Hi Belina UNDERGROUND , welcome to the Arthritis Action Health Unlocked!

If you speak to a GP or healthcare professional about how your joints are feeling, then they should be able to advise what kind of arthritis you have or any other conditions. In the meantime, it may be worth reading our charity web pages about arthritis and the main types of arthritis, so that you have a little more knowledge ahead of speaking to a healthcare professional.

arthritisaction.org.uk/livi...

Hope this helps, let us know how you get on!