Does anyone have any ideas about.....

[jane1964]

Hello I have had symptoms for a few years,gradually getting worse.Last year I saw a rheumatologist who suggested gout but also found inflammatory markers in the blood elevated CRP and eosinophil, and ESR.In the last month on 3 occasions I have had sudden onset pain in multiple joints and muscles to the extent where I could hardly walk or in fact move I wasn't even able to push myself upright when I slipped down in bed, but my hands were not affected, so I suppose that suggests not rheumatoid arthritis, but I have a strong family history of it and myself have 2 other autoimmune conditions, pbc and Hughes syndrome.I saw my doctor who said this wouldn't be gout.Between these attacks I settle down to a moderate General intermittent pain and stiffness.I see the rheumatologist again in September.Do any of you have any ideas?Thank you.

[nomoreheels]

Yes, attend the appointment! No, it is possible you have been flaring. This is when you feel the symptoms are worse or it could be even palindromic rheumatism/arthritis. The good thing is you've been taken seriously now & you're seeing a Rheumy imminently.

Try to prepare well on the lead up, write bullet point notes, record in pics any swelling that comes & goes, particularly if it's hot around the affected joints. A good piece of advice my GP gave me before I attended for diagnosis was to not take the pain relief & NSAID a couple of days prior to the appointment so true baseline results for bloods & imaging were recorded. If you can take someone with you, it's surprising how much is forgotten when diagnosed & two heads are better than one.

Good luck & if you need any further information it might help to have a look through the NRAS site nras.org.uk or if you want personal experience just ask, we don't bite!

[jane1964 in reply to nomoreheels]

Thank you for your advice.I am taking my husband and writing down symptoms as I get them.My late mother had very bad rheumatoid arthritis before the new treatments,so I tend to think we'll I am no where near as bad as she was but this last month has been very bad and , so I think I need to emphasize just how it's been as the symptoms are intermittent and when it's gone it is easy to forget just how it was and there's then nothing for the doctor to see! Thank you for your advice I will let you know how it goes.

Jane

[nomoreheels in reply to jane1964]

As there is close familial connection to the disease I would think this will help your Rheumy diagnose. I'm pleased your h is attending with you, mine still attends with me, has for every one, 7 years now! As I said it's really helpful post appointment. Look forward to your update Jane. Take care.

[Hidden]

RA usually affects the hands early on it's true - but not always. There are no hard and fast rules and I agree with Heels - it's good that you are seeing a rheumy soon and taken seriously - since there are many other equally serious rheumatic diseases that this might be and the fact that you have a family history of one and confirmed autoimmunity makes it important to get seen and hopefully diagnosed and treated sooner rather than later. Good luck.

[jane1964 in reply to Hidden]

Hello Twitchytoes,

I hope to get an answer this time,because the symptoms are intermittent it has been hard but as they are getting worse I hope to get some answers.

I have read your posts and seen you also struggle with getting symptoms diagnosed, so good luck to you too.

Jane.