Can anyone help put my mind at ease please

Morning all,I have been reffered to rhuemotoligist but as yet still waiting,doctors receptionist can't get in touch with hospital and I seem to be lost in the system! Yesterday I had a really rough day,I felt like all my body was tingling on the inside keep getting dull aches in various parts of body,left breast area,which has worried me a little. Can't get through to doctor yet this morning but just wondered if anyone else has these symptoms. I know everyone has different ailments and I do read posts on here and do try help myself where possible but until I have a proper diagnosis I feel a bit in limbo at the moment

Thank you all for listening 😊

[oldtimer]

You can ring the appointments system yourself at the hospital and ask if they have received the referral. They might possibly be able to tell you the waiting time for an appointment too.

It's a good idea to keep a record of your symptoms ready for a consultation (which might these days be by phone), but remember you will need to summarise the list!

Have a look at the NRAS website for advice on your first appointment and what to expect.

Dull aches aren't usually a sign of anything serious and may be related to you being anxious about yourself at this difficult time. Spend some time doing deep slow breathing exercises - I find they help when I'm getting het up about things especially when they are out of my control.

[Hidden in reply to oldtimer]

Thank you for replying

I couldn't get anywhere ringing the hospital that's why I went back to the doctor,they are going to try again today,I do meditation and it does help. I work full time in retail and have put myself on late shifts to avoid all the heavy lifting in the morning's but still on my feet doing physical work for over 8 hours a day and know that impacts a lot. Once I get a dianosis I will look at what I can cut down on,SSP a week won't even pay my rent a week.

[Rampam]

Hi! Are you taking any medicine for pain relief?? Have you changed your diet?? I am waiting for my gp appointment which took ages to get. I am having rough days like you. It feels like my body is on fire with a lot of pain. I don’t know what to eat and what to avoid, getting weaker and weaker not knowing what to do. Every thing I used to eat is listed as bad foods, I am scared of increasing the inflammation which is already unbearable. I am so so scared. Not yet diagnosed but have all the symptoms.

Reading the posts has helped a lot.

[Hidden in reply to Rampam]

Hi Rampam it is a minefield out there isn't it! Glad that I have helped you in some way. I also suffer with IBS so diet is limited for me and I'm not supposed to take ibuprofen but have to,rather an upset tummy than this pain. Doctor prescribed naproxen but that made me really poorly. This website is great and although I can't give advice I can take it from here. Have you tried complan as a substitute meal to get vitamins etc. I have but find a full sachet is too rich for me so take a third of the sachet 3 times a day. I would speak to your doctor again about pain relief,naproxen might be the one for you as it seems to help a lot of others and diets are different for us all too,I just stick to plain boring foods that don't upset my tummy. Hope this helps you a little 🙂

[Rampam in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the quick response. Really appreciate it. I will try complan. Let see what the doc suggests. Will update as it happens.

Stay strong

[Hidden in reply to Rampam]

Lovely,it would be nice to chart our journeys through this uneasy time good luck with this quest....

You stay safe and strong too

[Boxerlady in reply to Rampam]

I'm just wondering where you're getting this "list of bad foods" as there's very little evidence supporting that idea. 🤔

Until you get onto the right medication, the important thing is to try to eat well and stay as healthy as possible. I know that it's a scary time and we are all here to support you and help you through it but overthinking and putting your system under more stress is probably more damaging than eating the "wrong" thing.

[Rampam in reply to Boxerlady]

Well, my diet includes a lot of carbs, meat, dairy and sugar. No matter where I searched ( web pages, videos and so on ) all I could read was that people with R.A. are avoiding most of it to control the pain and inflammation. I don’t know if I should carry on with my normal diet or go on a vegan one. A month ago I was normal and now I am struggling with my condition physically and mentally. Still waiting for my gp’s appointment.

Thank you for your reply. I would definitely welcome any suggestions.

[Boxerlady in reply to Rampam]

Have you read the relevant advice on the NRAS and Versus Arthritis websites? I have tried to improve my diet since diagnosis - more fish, veggies and fruit - and that's got to be good for general health apart from RA. I've cut down sugar a bit (could do better!) and also eat mostly wholegrain bread, pasta etc. It seems that different people do find that different diets can help to a certain extent (you'll find lots of different views on here too) but it is very personal and sadly, no one diet has been found to be the answer for everyone.

My personal approach is to eat as healthily as possible (for me!) but not to worry about it too much and enjoy my food. I'm lucky in that I enjoy cooking meals from scratch and I don't find it difficult to keep my weight down (good for the joints) but I haven't found that certain foods seem to affect my joints; the thing that's helped me is getting onto the right medication regime and giving it time to work - not easy but worth it.

Stress is the worst thing of all for RA so I've tried to relax as much as possible and to try not to overthink things (which a few nudges from the folk on here!)

[Rampam in reply to Boxerlady]

Thank you. I do need to keep my stress under control. I am learning more each day.

[Boxerlady in reply to Rampam]

You're welcome. Keep reading on here and feel free to post with questions or just asking for support - lots of great people on here who will understand exactly what you're going through 💐

[Boxerlady in reply to Rampam]

I'm not sure if you've seen this on another thread but just in case here's a link HelixHelix posted -

healthunlocked.com/nras/pos...

[Rampam in reply to Boxerlady]

A beautiful piece of writing. Gave me a lot of hope. Thank you so much. 🙏

[Boxerlady in reply to Rampam]

It's posts like that which really helped me at the beginning 😊

My lovely GP also gave me some great advice when I was waiting for my first rheumy appointment - she told me not to read anything older than 5 years as there has so much progress made medication-wise and to stick to trusted sites so I just looked on the NHS and NRAS websites and was so pleased when I found this forum 😉