Jaccoud Arthropathy and SLE

[KeepingUpBeat]

Has anyone on the forum been diagnosed with Jaccoud Arthropathy? I'd never heard of the condition until I began researching the changes to the joints in my hands. I have several lumpy joints, in the thumb joints and first joint of index and second fingers. The joints are extremely painful and often lock when I'm using the computer, I have to stop and massage them. When I do this the fingers crack loudly but become a little more flexible but once I resume work the whole cycle begins again. Alongside hand issues I've been getting chest pains and palpitations, occasionally I hear crackles in my chest when lying down but this is intermittent. I have a constant sensation of something being stuck in my esophagus and when taking large tablets this is exactly what happens.

Last week I went to the GP, he gave me a sheet full of exercises for my hand and has requested a copy of the x-ray of my hands from rheumatology at the hospital. This x-ray shows no signs of erosion of bone however no explanation given by rheumatology for structural changes to my hands. My blood pressure was 165/92 when I saw the GP, although the GP could not hear any abnormalities to the sound of the heart he sent me for an ECG. The result was normal sinus rhythm, non specific T wave abnormality, abnormal ECG. I'm waiting to be contacted to collect a 24-hour heart monitor. I did not mention Jaccoud Arthropathy to my GP. I understand there is a correlation to heart problems and to a lesser degree the esophagus. My reluctance was partly because I did not want to be labelled a hypochondriac and partly due to fear.

I really would welcome information from anyone who can relate to these symptoms or who has any knowledge of the condition perhaps even a diagnosis. Every time I feel as though I'm winning the battle against these symptoms something else comes along that sends me into a spin.