Lupus swelling?

[Fennella02]

Hello to all who read this. I have a dx of SLE/uctd with constantly evolving symptoms. I haven't been well this week and have had bad knee pain. The swelling and redness seem extreme this time and I would like to know if others get this degree of swelling too.

Also, my recent letter from Rheumatology states the muscle strength of my limbs to have decreased to 4/5 proximally and distally despite having weaned myself almost completely off the steroids and remaining pretty active despite the wobbliness. I have been complaining of weakness for 18 months but have had no evidence to support this so it has been documented but largely ignored. Is this score significant or variable depending on the individual doing the test?

Many thanks for reading. C xx

[Bronagh2015]

Hi Clare, I would get swelling in joints and muscles too but never to this extreme! I really think you should get an urgent appointment with your GP tomorrow and have this checked out in case of infection etc. Good luck.

[Whathappned]

Hi Clare

You definitely need an urgent appointment tomorrow. That's a lot of swelling best to be safe x

[Fennella02]

Thank you to Bronagh and Whathappend.

Infection had never even crossed my mind! I get swollen knees quite frequently and I'm pretty sure it's inflammatory as my bloods at the end of last week were low rather than high but it makes good sense to get it checked out.

Thank you for the advice! C x

[windless22]

Hi I just having same problem less swollen I had xrays.steriod injection. I've got bursitis and now possibly osteoarthritis. Do see gp asap.im also going have physiotherapy for knees.

[mslady]

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your knees I hope you get some relief soon I can relate to the knees I just had my first injection of steroid and I feel 80% better. I will say a special prayer for you.

[Fennella02]

Just to update those who so kindly responded to my previous post. I went to see my GP - she didn't think there was infection and this was confirmed by the blood tests. The swelling seemed to be outside the joint on this occasion. She has, as always, deferred to my rheumatologist but in the meantime, the swelling and pain have largely resolved. When active, my disease pattern is very turbulent so rapid improvement is not unusual. It seems, from the responses to the post, that the level of joint inflammation that I experience is not entirely typical of lupus whereas other features are - another example of overlap perhaps? I now have bad pain in my hips due either to the inflammation or bad posture from limping . . .

Thank you for your advice. Clare