Hi folks,
What started out as shoulder pain in mid June (figured it was bursitis) quickly progressed into shoulder, hand, then both sides of my neck and upper back pain, then the other shoulder too,! And I mean intense pain! I can't sleep. For some reason lying down aggravates my shoulder pain and so I need to sit up every 1-2 hours throughout the night, resulting in me trying to sleep up right. Days later knees affected, then hips. At this point, almost every joint is affected, including feet, hands, wrists, all parts of my knee, all on both sides of my body. I have stiffness and the pain is paralyzing. Always a million times worse in the morning. Specific fingers and toes will be swollen, can't bend them, let alone touch them. Balls of my feet, painful. I've looked up a lot of stuff. To me, it seems like I have either PMR or RA, or sadly, both. Now, here's the kicker... I'm 34 yrs old. The first rheumatologist I saw said it's impossible for me to have PMR because I'm too young... I just don't buy it. There are always rare cases. I am waiting on some blood test results... But I have high inflammation markers with the SED and CPR. Done those tests twice and they were both higher the second time around. Going to see another rheumy tomorrow...I'm really freaking out here. I went from basically being an athlete to someone who can't even walk or sit up on their own. Can anyone relate or have any advice? The pain doesn't allow me to be positive...I cry all the time. I'm still in shock. I'm also afraid I may also have GCA since I check off a lot of those boxes too... And time is a-wasting.... Waiting for results, waiting for the next doc appointment which is always weeks if not months away...