Have had pain in my hands and less so in my elbows and shoulders for several months. My GP has spoken on the phone to me and been given voltarol gel which helps a bit. Blood tests show raised inflammatory markers and rheumatoid factor. Have been referred to rheumatology as GP thinks rheumatoid arthritis.
It's just getting me down.
I’m sorry your suffering. You obviously have a good Gp who is sending you to the right people for help many GPs unfortunately are a bit slow off the mark. Perhaps your Gp could give you something stronger to tide you over until you see your rheumatologist please god you don’t have long to wait.
In the meantime NSAIDS , paracetamol , heat and ice packs and lots of rest is that I can advise for now. This is a great forum we understand and are willing to listen to the good or bad . Any questions someone on here will give some good advice.
I have had problems with NSAIDs previously, it exacerbates my indigestion. I take paracetamol. Hard to rest my hands.
If you look at the NRAS website there is lots of advice and information for people being referred with suspected Rheumatoid Disease. Well worth having a look.
It's a good idea to keep your own record of your symptoms and if you have any swollen joints, take a photo (they always seem to disappear when you go to outpatients!).
I hope that you get an early appointment and can start to get sorted out. But I'm afraid it often takes a while to come to a firm diagnosis and sometimes even longer to find the correct treatment for you.
Please post on here if you have queries and if you just want to have a moan. We do understand.
I have had pains in my hand and my fingers yesterday you could have chopped them off and they wouldn't hurt anymore. I use fenbid gel which we get on prescription, but you can get an over the counter i think it is ibrobrufen gel. I use the fenbid at night i rub it into my fingers and then i put fingerless gloves and sleep in them. My bloods don't show any infalammtory markers. So unless the rheumy sees my fingers they can't do anything. I have asked for a ultra sound scan so they can see what is going on. Hugs darling i feel for you.xxxx
I get Voltarol gel on prescription.
You can get fenbid also darling on prescription, but if you want to try it first buy the over the counter version before you ask your dr about it. xxxxx
Never heard of fenbid before?
It is a ibrobrufen gel it helps my hands until i start doing things with them.xxx
I'm sorry you have had to join us here but we're a friendly supportive bunch. It's a good idea to remember that, apart from a few angels, most people posting here are the ones with significant problems. The vast majority of people with Rheumatoid Disease are far too busy getting on with their lives.
Hiya , hope you are managing . It's really good that there is some marvellous drug therapy out there these days so it's a case of getting good painkillers from your gp and all the good advice above , until you can speak to your rheumy.
Get a list of your pain , where it is , how often and maybe grade it on a 1 to 10 before your appointment. Photos can be helpful if you have any swollen joints etc ,some rheumy like to see them ( it always happens you are fine the day they see you lol !!)
Keep chatting . I'm really well on my treatment, took a little while to get the drug that suited me but keep going !!!
My GP won't do anything other than give me Voltarol. I've to wait for the rheumatologist.
Voltarol is ok , plus gels and hot pads and cold pads are great too. I hope you get see your rheumy asap xxx
As voltarol is a non steroidal anti inflammatory I believe you can take paracetamol at the same time , but PLEASE give your local chemist a ring to check that out. I think I remember doing that .... anyone else on here did that???
Hi Dismal and welcome to the forum. I hope you don't have to wait too long for your appointment. I can understand what you mean as it really does get you down, it's a horrible disease. Painkillers for now is the key for a little bit of relief until you see the rheumy doctor and I hope you can find some that work very well for you. In the meantime, we are here if you need us. Take care. x
Sorry that you've needed to join our club but this is a great place to get information and support. I was where you are last year but things are so much better now that the meds are kicking in 😉
I'm sorry to read this and pain is debilitating if the gel doesn't work I'd suggest you ask for an oral painkiller to tide you over. These days because of the present situation appointments are seemingly taking a lot longer to get so good pain relief will be very helpful for you. I don't know about Volteral but hope it works for you.
I take paracetamol, my GP says she won't prescribe anything else until I'm seen by rheumatology
I think thats ok as long as it works but if it's not then I'd suggest another chat with the GP. Mine gave me Zapain which worked well. But I suspect it depends on the individual. Don't put up with pain especially if an appointment is a way off. I hope you get relief.
welcome to the forum Dismal. Things can get better. When is your appointment? Have you been given anything for your pain while you wait for referral? Naproxen has an accumulative effect and while I don't need it all the time when I do turn to it it does help.
Don't have a date yet. Naproxen just makes me have severe indigestion
Hi Dismal, I too have a rather 'delicate tummy' and find that steroids, Naproxen etc all give me horrendous stomach pain. I was prescribed Omeprazole to protect the tummy and it works a treat, absolutely no issues. I still have to take it even though I am now on a disease modifying drug. Might be worth chatting to your GP. It maybe that they are trying to ensure that the Rhuematologist sees you at your worse, as it were, but it is a fine balance especially if you have to wait a long time. I phoned the medical secretary to get an idea about waiting time - it used to be 6 weeks maximum for new patients but not sure what has happened with Covid.
I was on Omeprazole and then Lansaprole. Was taken off and now on something else as it was contraindicated with my health problems but not so good. My GP would like to change it back so I'll be asking when I have a phone consultation next month with my specialist.
Omeprazole caused my AKI so be careful if you change back to it I now take Cimitidine to protect the tum from AZA so if you go back to Omeprazole make sure you get the blood tests done regularly. Its better safe than sorry and whilst all medications carry risks sometimes the most common and cheap that can cause real problems much worse than RA. I'm not trying to worry you as an AKI is very rare when caused by a medication but if you've been warned about other health issues then please ask questions.
Are you taking paracetamol regularly? It's supposed to have a cumulative affect so taking it regularly can be more helpful than just once or twice a day.
Hot and cold compresses can help more than you might expect too.
It's miserable waiting for your first rheumy appointment but they often offer a steroid injection then to tide you over until the Dmards kick in. Your GP is probably trying to avoid giving you anything which could make the rheumy's diagnosis difficult but that's hard when you're in pain. Hopefully you've been fast-tracked? When I had to wait longer than I should, my GP rang the rheumy herself to push things along.
Sorry what are Dmards? My GP said she was asking for an urgent appointment as the sooner I get started on treatment.
If I need to do any ‘topping up’ I like Ibuleve spray. I find it works really well without having to take any more pills.
It’s only a little round bottle spray and comes in a small blue box from Boots. You’ll find it in among the Deep Heat sort of products.
Ooh - didn't know about this. Another thing to add to my growing arsenal.
Hi. Sorry you are having pain and difficulty just now. Glad to hear your GP is on the ball. The sooner you get a proper diagnosis the sooner you can start taking the medication which will help you to feel better. Good luck. x
Sorry to hear about your pain. In the early days, I found a lot of meds upset my tummy. A stomach protector pill might help like omeprazole. Dont suffer in silence....speak to your GP.
I found putting my hands in warm water for a bit of relief. Personally i find Biofreeze gel gives me relief, which u can buy over the counter.
Just read your post and saw your mention of GERD. I know this is a common condition but I wanted to tell you that I was misdiagnosed with RA with exactly these symptoms 9 years ago. In the end it has turned out that I have a rare disease mix of Systemic Scleroderma (causes Bilateral pain and fluid retention in hands), Vasculitis and Sjögren’s disease. All these and Lupus are often misdiagnosed as RA.
The GERD and other GI problems are very much associated with my mix ie part of diagnostic criteria for systemic sclerosis rather then my previous diagnosis of RA. So please don’t let any GP or rheumatolgist take your immunology blood panel and leave out the rare autoantibodies as mine did. This misdiagnosis seriously delayed me getting the more targeted treatment and care I needed.
Bilateral joint pain and high inflammation can go with other much less common rheumatic autoimmune diseases too - not just RA.
It does get u down, maybe ur GP could give u a steroid injection in the interim that’s what mine did, it worked in about an hour, the relief was fantastic although side effect was my face ballooned a bit which I really didn’t care about as the pain had gone, r
Hope its not to long before you get a correct diagnosis and treatment ,just a thought have you tried wearing any compession gloves or hand braces for your hand pain , they really can help in taking off the pressure ....
I think that you should take particular note of the comment that most people who have RA are busy getting on with their lives. I had 6 years of sheer awfulness with RA (I was diagnosed with another condition simultaneously and i found out that my then husband of 30 years was having an affair whilst I was on drips in hospital!). Eventually (6 years) by trial an error drugs were found and I now live a very active and fulfilled life pain free. I spent too much time reading very downbeat posts (particularly from people in the US because a lot of the drugs that do work are very expensive whereas the one that works for me is about £11,000 per annum but supplied by the nhs). I do know how you feel; I got very low, but please try and remember that most people who have RA do, eventually, have lots more good days than bad ones and many of the biological drugs give amazing results. Almost all of the people on this site are supportive and positive. Some days will feel endless waiting for treatments to work that don't but it is important to build up a support network of friends and family and to try and look on the positive. I would also try and read up on the treatments before seeing your rheumatologist and try and build up a rapport with him/her and their team (nurses and the administration staff who organise delivery of the drugs). Best wishes.
Hope they don't take too long to double check what's wrong with you. Whatever you are diagnosed with hope it's speedy and you can start to feel better soon. Best wishes. 🙂
Hi there,
First of all let’s wait and see what blood tests reveal before stressing yourself out. The volteral gel or in tablet form will only help a little and it is understandable that your GP will not prescribe other meds until your results arrive from blood tests. Make sure you ask for ameprazole if you start taking daily prescribed pills as ameprazole will put a protective lining in your stomach. If your inflammatory markers are high I would avoid heat and buy some freeze spray (same spray sports people use when they receive a bang) it works a treat, however it gives relief but not long lasting.
There are treatments out there and if you do get diagnosed with RA it can and will be managed, it may take time but you will get there. If your pain is so severe ask for tramadol, this will ease your pain. This said please start of slowly as you may feel woozy but it will ease your pain so you can get a decent sleep.
Good luck to you and keep positive you are not alone
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