Hi all,
I already have one autoimmune illness and my immune system has been very busy destroying my thyroid but over the last 12 to 18 months I now have a lot of pain in my left knee, left hip and every so often I wake up with mind blowing pain in both elbows. The last time the elbows flared up it took me 3 days to straighten my left arm. Had RA blood test done at the GP's, due to a few nasty falls and the pain in my knee, and when they came back negative my GP tried, and failed, to dismiss me with no further testing. To say I am a very strong character is an understatement and I was having none of it so she referred me to a falls clinic. There they found that I have severe balance issues which were being helped along by the weakness down my left hand side, They suggested an x ray on my left knee but that shown nothing, even though my GP had murmured something about osteoporosis, so know I am a loss as to what to do. My pain comes and goes, my knee pain is the worst and can leave me crawling on all fours up the stairs one day and then the next morning it is gone. After a heavy Christmas shopping trip I ended up in agony with my knee and my hip and ended up having another fall. I am already on a very restricted diet, to try and control my thyroid issues, and am gluten, dairy, legume, sugar and all processes food free. I am also a vegetarian and have been for the last 30+ years. I have mentioned RA to my GP but she has dismissed this due to blood tests, even though it has printed under every result that it does not rule out RA. I am thinking of going back to her and asking for a referral to a haematologist but really need help from you guys for some ammunition that she cannot argue with - unless the above is not ringing any bells with any of you and it seems unlikely it is RA.
Any suggestion would be helpful and appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
Moggie x