I was diagnosed with "inflammatory arthritis" 4 days ago. I really want a more specific name for my illness. Is this rheumatoid arthritis?

[Naomi1]

I am confused. I have Raynaud's phenomenon and the consultant said that this doesn't really fir with the diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis so she is doing more tests for an overlap disease but I keep reading that RP can be associated with RA. Really confused now. can anyone offer any answers? I would be really grateful for some help.

[Hidden]

A Naomi, sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I too was first diagnosed with Inflammatory arthritis and Ire found that some doctors called it RA and some call it Inflammatory! I've asked the difference and I've been told there is no real difference apart from the rheumatiod factor.

Sorry I cant be off more help but 7 am sure there is someone who will be able to advise you if not why not try the NRAS helpline they are Fab for advice

Take care

Julie X

[Naomi1 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Julie. I will phone the help line.

[Hidden in reply to Naomi1]

mine has been called by ra and inflammatory arthritis by various gps!!

[Hidden]

Hi Naomi, I think the consultant use's the name "Inflammatory Arthritis" when he can't actually pinpoint which autoimmune disease you actually have.

So as far as I'm aware RA is the most popular of them so you may well have RA but it could also be one of the other related conditions so until you can be properly diagnosed they use the term "Inflammatory Arthritis".

Like Julie said the NRAS may give you a better explanation.

Good luck and take care

mand xx

[Zena]

Hi Naomi,

In case you haven't had your answer yet, I can relate my experience to you: in case they are similar or gives you any ideas:

A year ago I had my first acute inflammatory attack (strangely 8 weeks after I inhaled accidentally some Multirose 3 in 1 spray which also gave me cough-related asthma immediately afterwards, and I am also a lifelong non-smoker!).

I went on to have 9 of these attacks, usually at night and they were so painful I had to call out of hours doctors before I was prescribed Steroids.

The Consultant has called it Palindromic Rheumatism/Arthritis, although in the beginning they called it Inflammatory/Polyarthritis.

The Consultant told me that I would know within 2 years whether or not I was going to get RA since both my Rheumatoid Factor and Anti-CCP antibody blood tests were 'strongly positive'.

Have you had both blood tests? (The latter is supposed to be the most accurate at predicting RA.) (RF can be false positive)

I started on Plaquenil in March and have not had an attack now since April whereas before they were becoming fortnightly or worse so this is working for me so far.

I asked the Rheumatology dept if I had RA and the Doctor didn't give me a straight answer (trying to let me down gently maybe?) and said that my records show it as Palindromic Rh.

Let me know if I can help any more.

Regards and good luck.

Zena

[Naomi1]

Thanks Zena. It is all sooooo confusing. I hope it will all become clearer in time. If I had a more specific diagnosis then I could do my own research and take charge of the whole situation a bit more. I am absolutely all over the place and this illness has come as quite a shock. I was relatively healthy until April of this year and then almost overnight I could hardly move because of the stiffness and pain in my joints. My shoulders were completely frozen as was one knee and my wrists and ankles. The pain in my fingers was excruciating. The only relatively spared joints were my elbows. Then all the skin on my hands and fingers peeled off, I developed Raynaud's and trigger finger, a face rash and eyelid rash, irregular heartbeat, breathlessness, painful swallowing and a red itchy vein on my wrist which turned into a massive bruise. I also felt absolutely exhausted like I had flu. I was drenched in sweat at night and had really bad attacks of the chills. I am much better now and on my second course of steroids. I am relieved that the 'inflammatory arthritis' showed up on an ultrasound scan and am waiting for a call from the methotrexate clinic. I have had so many tests it's unbelievable. My ana was speckled but only 1:80 titre. The nurse told me it was positive yet the consultant said negative which really confused me.

Sorry Zena I have simply blurted it all out to get it off my chest. If anyone can offer advice I'd be grateful. I'd be really interested to hear if other people with inflammatory arthritis have had Raynaud's or had all their skin peel off on their hands as this might help me to find out what the other condition is that my consultant is looking for.

Thank you to everyone who has replied. I am really grateful and feel less alone now.

[Zena]

Hello Naomi. I am so sorry to hear your awful experiences. It sounds simply dreadful. You seem so young too. My niece also has RA and is on Methotrexate but with quite success. Steroids certainly give relief short term..

The skin peeling off I don't know about but my sister has Scleroderma i(and possibly Raynauds?) but guess its not this or they would know by now surely.

A friend in Thailand has heard that Wheatgrass can be good for RA but I know nothing of it other than quickly looking it up on the net.

My consultant reckons you only waste your money on alternative therapies and need to stick to prescription drugs. I really hope you get a resolution soon.

Have you tried various types of natural healing? I.e Reiki, Spiritual etc?

Worth a try maybe.

All the best

Z

[Edie]

Auto Immune disorders are odd. You can have a normal RH factor and a normal ANA count and have all the symptoms and then it can do an about face change and you have no problems and all tests come back high. You have an auto immune disease and need a good RA doctor to sort this out.

[Edie]

Chills and sweats are panic attacks are very common with immune disorders.

[mistertea]

I have 'Inflammatory Arthritis' (IA) but the medical staff I see, seem to use this and RA interchangeably. (I'm RF & CCP Negative but diagnosed on Ultrasound)

I asked the consultant was IA the same as RA and he said RA was a generally used term for all inflammatory arthritis' (of which apparently there are up to 200 varieties) to identify the condition as a 'disease' as opposed to wear and tear.

[Paciafico]

Hi Naomi my name is Pacifico I live in Colombia, I would like you see this video,

there you will find how to cure. This technique is used 100 years ago.

youtube.com/user/AHTenglish...

I am here because I use this technique on me, I know you can to cure your disease very easy and with a very low cost, I hope you take this option, please see the another videos, God Bless you if you want to contact me my email is [e-mail]

I hope you will be ok very soon

[Hidden]

We would always encourage everyone to ask for scientific evidence when considering non-standard treatments for any conditions.

As far as NRAS and the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) are aware there is currently no cure for rheumatoid arthritis.

Kind regards

Sarah Kate

NRAS Helpline

[Naomi1]

I am so sceptical of 'miracle cures' for RA so will not even follow the link from Pacifico. This might be right for some but not for me.