Symptoms

I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia but I have been in terrible pain since march. My palms and wrists are painful, my fingers get stiff if I don't move them for a while, my collar bones hurt, my shoulders and neck too. My ribs at the front and back. I'm having trouble getting out of chairs and walking distances. But my joints don't seem swollen or red. I need to pee more too. I'm very tired. I had a blood test on Friday and they rung today to say I have b12 deficiency and my blood count an ESR are abnormal and to take b12 tablets and repeat the bloods in 4 week's. Could these symptoms be RA

[Hidden]

I have have both fibro and RA. I experience all your symptoms and often find it it difficult to tell the difference.

On the fibro website there is a pressure point diagram if you put pressure on the spots and there is pain (boy will you know ) it’s a fibro flare. If it’s RA then when you squeeze the joints and it’s painful then its RA. The pee thing is definitely Fibromyalgia.

Hopefully the B12 will help a little x

[Biofreak]

Hi Sunshine. B12 deficiency can cause various symptoms, two of which are muscle aches/ weakness and pins and needles. If your ESR is higher than normal it can indicate inflammation. It could signify RA but I expect the doctor wants to treat the b12 deficiency first to see if that reduces your other symptoms. If it doesn't I would ask for a referral to a rheumatologist.

[rabbits65]

Have they done a urine test . You may have Urinary tract infection , you say your going to wee a lot, it’s worth checking that too.

[Karengreen66]

Having both fibro and Seronegative RA, I recognise your symptoms and I’d certainly be asking for further information and tests. I rarely know which one is causing me a problem at that time so tend to treat them as one. Hope you get the answers you need and feel better very soon

[Ravey in reply to Karengreen66]

Complete Bummer isn't it..I got.. get 2 get another one free..RA Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis..the hatrick 🤣🤣

[Karengreen66 in reply to Ravey]

Yep 🤦🏻‍♀️ Me too🤣 So many things that just keep popping up but hey, it could be worse, it could have lost my sense of humour 😁

[Hidden in reply to Ravey]

Beat you. I have Hyper-mobility Syndrome as well as RA, Osteo & Fibro 😂

[Ravey in reply to Hidden]

🤣🤣🤣well not showing off but I also have asthma..copd and emphysema 🤣🤣...got the hatrick in lung disease as well 😘..hilarious eh x

[Hidden in reply to Ravey]

Ok you win 😝. Jesus. Life sure loves some of us 🥰….

[Hidden in reply to Ravey]

Just read your bio. What a bstd. With me it took a few years before all the meds kicked in. 2 years before I could move without screaming and another 2 to literally get back on my feet.

The best thing I did was get a year of one to one counselling

(One session of an hour per week). It takes ages to get as waiting lists are insane.

Get your GP to do an IAPTS referral. You will prop be offered CBT. Do this and then ask for more specialised help. It is a jumping through hoops process and involves lots of waiting lists.

IAPTS also do a Chronic Illness ‘course’ which may also be of help. I didn't do one and maybe I should have??

I was completely alone to deal with everything and it’s really tough.

5 years after diagnosis I moved back to my home city and that did me the world of good. My family all work etc but knowing they are nearby really does help.

Lost friends along the way.

Anyway. Day at a time. Be kind to yourself. Take care x

Cut out as much stress as humanly possible. It makes you even more poorly. ☹️

[Ravey in reply to Hidden]

Wooo thankyou for all that 😘..blimey learned more from you right there than I have from any " professional " involved in my treatment/ recovery/ . Its been tough going getting answers for alot of people through these crazy times..I've been practically crawling and pretty much housebound of late and finally I was offered and been referred to physio today 🥳🥳....I've been offered pulmonary rehabilitation as well this week so yep might ask about some counselling as well 😀. Bloody hell better get me diary out..busy times ahead 😅. Glad you have family close by ♥️.. and thankyou for your time lovely lady 🤗 x

[Hidden in reply to Ravey]

Pleasure. Best of luck xx

[Hidden]

I dont have any swelling but I do have painful wrists, elbows and the where the fingers join to your hand in the palm of your hand. Can you have RA without swelling. Also the doctor said today my white blood count is raised and the ESR is too but the CRP isn't and she is waiting for the arthritis results because they take a bit longer. Is this consistent with RA

[Ravey in reply to Hidden]

I'm the same..rarely swollen but always in pain and as stiff as a board..like I'm wearing a pine suit 👀..I'm Seronegative there is rarely anything wrong in my blood or not much anyway. I was diagnosed after a nuclear bone scan.

[Fruitandnutcase]

If you are taking B12 look on the label or list of ingredients and be sure to get Methylcobalamin and not cyanocobalamin which is a synthetic form of vitamin B12 that’s not found in nature but is cheaper to manufacture.

My thumb joints hurt a lot, plus my fingers - my GP who was really on the ball -squeezed my hand like he was going to shake hands and asked if it hurt! Of course it did. My CRP was never all that raised and I’m sero-negative.

[Deeb1764]

I now ache and have higher pain levels with the fibro mixed in with the RA. It feels unfair but it is learning to find a way of calming both down in their own way and it's HARD! The pee thing is huge part of fibro for me and resulted in being diagnosed last week with an overactive bladder which all came on as I was diagnosed with fibro. If I have a bad fibro day and RA day it feels like my whole body is in pain from joints to muscles.Neck, chest, shoulders and ribcage also for me came on board for pain with the fibro more than RA. It is hard to spot differences but a year on I feel more adept at spotting plus weather can affect me in a big way on the fibro. I thought swelling was bad when it was warm on RA side of things but the past year fibro has shown me another level.

Just keep stress as low as possible and listen to your body. Get your GP onboard too as mine been a gold mine in helping from sorting x rays or pushing for my bladder to be checked or sorting meds. For me pregabalin has been my fibro drug t helps me sleep at night but trying to keep it as low as possible.

[Hidden]

Yesterday and today have been much better days. The pain has been terrible since march but I think it's going now. I feel more alert, not in such pain all over my body and I'm able to move a lot easier. The pain and stiffness is still there but I can handle it. Can a RA flare go away like that on its own

[Ravey in reply to Hidden]

Good morning Sunshine..fantastic news you have been feeling a tiny bit better 🤞.My symptoms seem to change constantly pain level wise ..goes from literally bad to much worse so I hope that you manage to sustain this for a good while. We have had a storm in the night and it feels humid so I'm expecting a rotten day lol...it seems to work like that. Too hot and humid and cold and damp are enemies.Hope you have a good day ..no break dancing tho 🤣x

[Hidden]

I still feel a lot better but my feet and ankles have swollen up tonight. They are tingling and itchy. And painful around the ankle bone

[Ravey]

Have you been playing football just coz you're feeling a bit better? lol..you tend to go hell for leather when you get a bit of respite dont you .☹. Get your feet up or give them a nice soak. Hopefully they settle back down for you x

[Hidden]

I'm in pain today and so tired I've had to have a nap. My feet, ankles, knees, wrists, hands are sooo painful. Moving around is better than sitting. Any advice on what to do would be very much appreciated

[Deeb1764]

I have both so diagnosed with RA got hit with Sojerns then Fibro and Raynauds.If the pain is bad you will need to work out with your GP some meds to assist you I have pregabalin as my sleep was awful which then meant the pain got worse. I also have pee issues since being diagnosed too. If the bloods not showing sero positive RA it can leave you open to sero negative. However don't underestimate how difficult fibro is to treat and things such as weather can set you off and also fatigue horrendous.

Many of us on here get how awful it is so you are not alone x

[Hidden]

Rang doctors today for my arthritis blood results and they came back normal. This pain must be fibro. I'm pleased but disappointed that they seems to be nothing that anyone can do for the pain. Any advice on what I do next