I had a severe form of pneumonia in February and in March, turned out caused by Pulmonary Fibroses, which in turn may have been caused.....

[dirose]

Caused by Nitrouafoin (antibiotic for cystitis)'. Now I cannot walk far without becoming breathless, and I think I have Rhumatoid Arthritis, maybe caused by either the trauma of the pneumonia, or by the infection it'self. tingling painful swollen legs and feet, pains in both heels too, both shoulders, hips too sometimes. These pains come and go, but mainly in the legs, andfeet, and prevent me from walking at times. Is it the immune system? And is there anythingI can take, from the doctor or the herbal shop, to ease the pain and stiffness? Wouldbemostgratefrul foranyadvice at all.

Dirose

[sylvi]

An infection will cause ra to open up into your system.If you think you have ra go to your drs for a diagnosis. It may take a while to get told you have ra so be patient. You will need blood tests to show ra. I hope you soon get some help and i hope you soon feel brighter.xxx

[dirose in reply to sylvi]

Thankyou for your reply. What do you take for RA?

[sylvi in reply to dirose]

Sulphasalzine,mtx,co-codamol, cimzia..xxx

[dirose in reply to sylvi]

Thank you very much, I havewrittenthose down x

[dall05]

Hi Dirose, I too had a severe double pneumonia which put me in hospital for 4 months, 3 years ago, I have since been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and RA. They have recently changed their minds on the RA and at the moment I'm now in the IPF bracket which is unknown cause of pulmonary Fibrosis.

I had a lot of stiffness in my muscles, especially in the hands and feet but this has since gone away. I still show high inflammatory markers in my blood tests but show no real signs of RA.

It seems I'm a bit of a mystery.

Tony.

[dirose in reply to dall05]

It's good your symptoms have eased off, Tony, mine started after pulmonary fibrosis, and a rare type of severe pneumonia. The Antibiotic, Nitrourafoin is the suspected cause of the fibrosis. I started with stiff joints, and swellings in legs and feet, pains everywhere, coming and going. I am afraid the doctors will think I am a hypochondriac if I go with these new symptoms now!!!

[Hidden]

Hi Dirose. Whether or not you have RA - it does sound as if your autoimmune system might possibly have been affected in some way by the pneumonia.

You need to go to your GP and have some blood tests and, depending both on results and symptoms, you probably should be referred to a rheumatologist. These specialists are the only ones who can diagnose diseases in the rheumatic family. RA usually presents in the first instance in the wrists and knuckles and toes. But not always. Alternatively it could be osteoarthritis - which can affect all the areas you mention.

There are no over the counter drugs that can slow the progress of inflammation in your joints if you do have some type of inflammatory arthritis - but some things might compliment or help your pain - particularly Ibuprofen and paracetamol. Good luck - hope this isn't RA and you feel much better soon. X

[dirose in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for this, I would rather it were osteoarthritis, than RA, I think it started in my lower back, then the hips, then the legs, and heels/feet, one day only in the wrist! Weird!, sometimes in the shoulder blades. Legs swollen now. any more thoughts anyone?

[Hidden in reply to dirose]

Better to be thought a hypochondriac than to leave any form of inflammatory arthritis undiagnosed and untreated I feel.x

[Sharon56]

Sorry to hear about your illness.and the pain you are suffering. Hope you soon get to the root of your problems. Take care.x

[miss]

Hi Girose can only agree with what others have said. I hope you don't have RA but if you do it will take some time to sort you out. Best wishes Christine xx

[dirose in reply to miss]

Thank you foe your best wishes.

[allanah]

Hiya, think the others have given you good advice re seeing the GP. If it is inflammatory arthritis the quicker you get seen and find out whatever meds you can have, the better for your joints.

We have a lovely man on the site who has lung problems who may be able to advise you further but good luck. Axx

[dirose in reply to allanah]

Thankyou allanah, but I knowitwill be ages, before I get to see a Rhumologist,, if at all, I wonder what meds there are available, I have a delicate stomached,k no neobrufen for me I'm afraid. In the meantime, it is paracetamol, vitamin e fish oils, vitamin D and Q 10 for the immune system. Dirose.

[allanah in reply to dirose]

There are tons of meds available for RA from steroids to painkillers to specialist drugs. I think however push firstly for a quick a appointment to know where u stand but get your pain relief sorted ASAP. The docs will then work out what is best for you and suit your other health conditions. Keep us posted? Xx

[dirose in reply to allanah]

Thank you, all advice is most welcome

[mattcass]

Hi Dirose, The first thing you do is go to your GP and get bloods taken if they confirm RA your doc will refer you to the Rheumatologist straight away try and get a contact number and don't be afraid to pester them for a consultation, at the same time he probably put you steroids the more flare ups the higher the dose to start with, You can mention Omeprazole for your dodgy stomach, Keep us updated with your progress,Mattcass

[dirose in reply to mattcass]

Thank you for this. You know I was on steroids for the pneumonia, for some weeks, they made me hyperactive;and I put on a stone I weight, my face became 'moon' shaped, the skin was so stretched you could see all the veins; I did not look like me at all. my hair was falling out too, don't know if this was the steroids, or illness in general.

[allanah in reply to dirose]

Could well from what u say be the steroids as you maybe had high doses! But also your lung condition maybe contributed to it too? Steroids in RA can be , like a ladder, different levels for different times, so don't be worried too much if they I'd offer you steroids, just tell them of your difficulties last time you got them. But first things first! See the docs, find out what's causing your painful joints, then as mattcass says get the pain relief sorted lol! Hugs Axx

[summer32]

Hi hope you get answers the first person to see would be your GP for blood tests x

[earthwitch]

I don't know about RA, but I do know that pulmonary fibrosis (especially apical fibrosis - at the top of the lungs) is a recognised complication of longstanding spondyloarthritis - especially where there has been a lot of problems in the thoracic spine that have led to reduced rib expansion. Spondyloarthritis is another form of inflammatory arthritis, but affects slightly different places to RA (spine, and the entheses, which are the bits where tendon joins onto bone, but doesn't usually include synovitis). There are several different forms of spondyloarthritis.

Are you seeing a rheumatologist? If not, then ask your GP if you can be referred for possible "inflammatory arthritis". Probably best not to mention RA specifically, because you want them to give you a full assessment for both RA and spondy. The danger if you ask about RA and you don't have classic symptoms for it, is that they could just dismiss you saying it isn't RA, but not look for anything else. Heel pain (either achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis) is also pretty classic for spondy, though you can get RA in feet as well.

[dirose in reply to earthwitch]

Gosh! Will re - read this tomorrow,a lot to take in, Thankyou so much for your interest. Nitro,urafoin caused my fibrosis, and upon stopping those antibiotics, my worst symptoms lessened! it will be ages before I can get to see a rheumatologist I think, Talk again soon, I hope. Dirose.