Does anyone get mainly joint pain?

I have been diagnosed and undiagnosed with FM so many times over the last 5 years. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis too which has been uncontrolled and severe, so it was hard to tell what was active RA and what was FM. After a tough ride since RA diagnosis in 2009, they've finally found a combination of treatment to reduce my RA symptoms which is fab. However, I'm left with joint pain (much less severe than before obv) which is believed to be not RA related - scans have shown normal joints and inflammatory markers in my blood are normal. So, they think I do have FM but I don't really get muscle pains, only joint pain. Is this normal?

Thank you in advance!

[bluebell10]

hi fruitycake, that's a nice cheery name yes i get joint pain in back,hip,wrists hands,elbows,knees,ankles & shoulders if they're classed as joints.i had blood tests to rule out RA, they came back normal, i then had x rays & bone scan which showed only mild osteo arthritis in 1 hip, low back & both knees, but i was in crippling pain,this had crept up over the years getting real bad about 5 yrs ago, i do get pain in all muscles too so was diagnosed just last year with fibromyalgia x

[TheAuthor]

Hi fruitycake

I am so sorry to read of your issues at the present time. I have both Fibro and RA. Partly in joints and in other areas. This may sound strange but I know which pain is which as I have become more accustomed to them. An example of this is yesterday I felt arthritic pain in my knees whilst walking but later I had fibro pain in my rib cage and the pain feels different.

I am not saying everyone feels this pain the same (or that their are defined parameters) as I am sure as unique individuals that we feel everything differently. However, with me the pains are very different. It may be an idea to monitor your pains, and keep a diary of what type of pain you are experiencing such as sharp pain, dull aching pain, burning pain or stabbing pain etc; and exactly where you are feeling the pain?

I sincerely hope that this can help you in some way? And I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as can be?

Ken

[Hidden]

Hi Fruitycake,

I don't have an inflammatory arthritis diagnosis, although I was investigated for one. All of my pain is joint pain, and has been put down to Fibromyalgia and hypermobility syndrome, I don't get the usual muscular pain of Fibro, although the tender spots for diagnosis are very painful. I think fibromyalgia can related to any of the fibrous tissue in the body, so perhaps the pain feels like joint pain but is attributable to the connective fibrous tissues around the joint? I'd be interested yo know, as I've never really had an explanation for the pattern my pain follows.

X