Still Awaiting a diagnosis

[ozrkcrafter]

Hi Everyone!

I am a 55 year old woman who has had a fairly active life up until last September. The doctors are still trying to figure out what is wrong with me.
I am beginning to have some suspicions that my problem may be RA but only because of some of the articles I have been reading. My husband and I have been so healthy that we didn't even have a GP until this past year.

Can someone describe the pain from RA. Everything I have read describes the joints but mine feels more like the muscle that originates in the elbow. Is it pain or more like a deep ache? Does RA make your muscles hurt? Some days it feels more like a deep ache, some days pain. There are even times when there is a sharp pain that almost feels like someone is sticking me. Are any of these symptoms part of RA?

It doesn't hurt to push on my elbows but there are days I have a hard time picking up a cup of coffee or opening the shampoo bottle. I go outside and work in the garden or pick up my 1 yr old grandson but thefollowing day I am paying for it. Some days it feels like my hands are so weak. Everything I have read about RA says that there is redness and swelling at the joints which I do not have. It also talks about nodules but I don't have those either. I do have arthritis in my fingers and back.

The pain started in my right thumb and extended up into my elbow. Nothing seemed to make the pain/ache go away. My GP thought it might be carpal and had me wear a brace for 6 weeks. That didn't help at all. So he sent me to a neurologist. After running tests, the tests came back that it wasn't carpal tunnel. The neurologist also told me that my pain didn't make any sense. My husband went with me and we both thought that the neurologist thought I was lying about my symptoms. My GP then sent me to an ortho. He took Xrays of my hand and elbow and neck. He said that the thumb problem was arthritis but the elbow looked fine and the neck had 3 bad discs but a surgeon wouldn't operate because they weren't that bad. He gave me a steroid injection in the thumb and it relieved the pain/ache in the thumb and seemed to be helping my elbow as well. He also had me doing traction at home which didn't help any either. It wasn't long after that when the left elbow began to bother me as well. I thought it was simply that I was using it more because of the pain in the other elbow or the traction was causing it.

At this point the ortho sent me to a neurosurgeon. He put me through all the paces and then said that even though the discs were protruding they were not causing the problems in my elbows and hands. The neurosurgeon was wonderful and spent a lot of time talking to me. He suggested going to a rhuematologist. I am still waiting for that appt which will be on May 17th.

I am so frustrated. The Ortho Dr. has me on tramadol (100mg ever 4-6 hours) and hydrocodone neither of which seem to be doing much good. I have tried muscle relaxers, heat, ice etc and nothing is helping.

I have told my husband that I will go to the rhuematologist but if he can't help I am done with Doctors and will learn to live with whatever it is that I seem to have.

[littlemissgreedy]

One thing I would suggest is to try homeopathy. Homeopathy is based on treating YOUR symptoms. It doesn't need a "diagnosis" to work, it treats whatever is presenting. As part of my cure (and I don't believe for a minute that I won't be cured, despite the fact that the rest of the world might have bought the idea that this in "incurable"- that's just their interesting point of view) I am using homeopathic remedies. Of course not all homeopaths are created equal, I would recommend finding a classical homeopath. That way not only can your presenting "symptoms" be dealt with to relieve pain , but also a classically trained homeo will be able to give you a remedy to bring your whole body back into balance. I have been using homeopathy on and off over the years with myself and my kids and we all swear by it. The reason it gets bad press, people saying it doesn't work is that if the remedy is not well-chosen it won't do anything. And the same remedy given to different people for the same ailment won't always work...as I said it deends on YOUR particular symptoms. How the pain feels to you. where it originates, whether it's worse in the morning or the evening, worse in bad weather? worse on right side? worse on left side? and a million other seemingly inconsequential things that make YOUR case unique.
From what I have been reading on this and other rheaumatoid forums it seems that once you get on the drug roundabout you'll never (or rarely) get off of it. And I haven't read of anyone being cured of this that went on drugs. The body is designed to heal itself, homeopathy helps the body to heal itself by reminding it what it needs to do to be well, not by overloading it with drugs that only mask symptoms.
I'm currently taking one particular remedy for a week, then going on to another one that has a longer lasting action. It's a bit of trial and error, but I am confident that this , along with the changes I have made to my diet , will see me being fully functional in a very short time.
I hope this gives you another way of looing at things!

[knackedlegs]

i have muscle wasting in my right thigh due to the fact my right knee is riddled with arthritis so would this homeo do anything for me?as i cant exercize bcoz of the damage in my knee.i was a weightlifter and fitness freak till my knee went.i am only 36!!!!my doctors just keep passing me from doc to doc and then send me for scans,this has been going on for 3 years and now my knee is totally shot to bits,i have felt my leg get weaker and weaker over the 3 years.i am actually thinking of sueing my doctors bcoz i have heard that if caught and treat early it can be sorted???????????????any advice would be great..thanks........lee

[flower]

Hi Everyone!

I am a 55 year old woman who has had a fairly active life up until last September. The doctors are still trying to figure out what is wrong with me.
I am beginning to have some suspicions that my problem may be RA but only because of some of the articles I have been reading. My husband and I have been so healthy that we didn't even have a GP until this past year.

Can someone describe the pain from RA. Everything I have read describes the joints but mine feels more like the muscle that originates in the elbow. Is it pain or more like a deep ache? Does RA make your muscles hurt? Some days it feels more like a deep ache, some days pain. There are even times when there is a sharp pain that almost feels like someone is sticking me. Are any of these symptoms part of RA?

It doesn't hurt to push on my elbows but there are days I have a hard time picking up a cup of coffee or opening the shampoo bottle. I go outside and work in the garden or pick up my 1 yr old grandson but thefollowing day I am paying for it. Some days it feels like my hands are so weak. Everything I have read about RA says that there is redness and swelling at the joints which I do not have. It also talks about nodules but I don't have those either. I do have arthritis in my fingers and back.

The pain started in my right thumb and extended up into my elbow. Nothing seemed to make the pain/ache go away. My GP thought it might be carpal and had me wear a brace for 6 weeks. That didn't help at all. So he sent me to a neurologist. After running tests, the tests came back that it wasn't carpal tunnel. The neurologist also told me that my pain didn't make any sense. My husband went with me and we both thought that the neurologist thought I was lying about my symptoms. My GP then sent me to an ortho. He took Xrays of my hand and elbow and neck. He said that the thumb problem was arthritis but the elbow looked fine and the neck had 3 bad discs but a surgeon wouldn't operate because they weren't that bad. He gave me a steroid injection in the thumb and it relieved the pain/ache in the thumb and seemed to be helping my elbow as well. He also had me doing traction at home which didn't help any either. It wasn't long after that when the left elbow began to bother me as well. I thought it was simply that I was using it more because of the pain in the other elbow or the traction was causing it.

At this point the ortho sent me to a neurosurgeon. He put me through all the paces and then said that even though the discs were protruding they were not causing the problems in my elbows and hands. The neurosurgeon was wonderful and spent a lot of time talking to me. He suggested going to a rhuematologist. I am still waiting for that appt which will be on May 17th.

I am so frustrated. The Ortho Dr. has me on tramadol (100mg ever 4-6 hours) and hydrocodone neither of which seem to be doing much good. I have tried muscle relaxers, heat, ice etc and nothing is helping.

I have told my husband that I will go to the rhuematologist but if he can't help I am done with Doctors and will learn to live with whatever it is that I seem to have.

I have RA and exactly the same symtoms as you. I do have swelling at the joints but no redness or nodules. From my experience your symptoms definately sound like you have RA. The sooner the diagnosis the better as you can start treatment and limit joint damage. Hope this helps.

[knackedlegs]

hi everyone!

I am a 55 year old woman who has had a fairly active life up until last september. The doctors are still trying to figure out what is wrong with me.
I am beginning to have some suspicions that my problem may be ra but only because of some of the articles i have been reading. My husband and i have been so healthy that we didn't even have a gp until this past year.

Can someone describe the pain from ra. Everything i have read describes the joints but mine feels more like the muscle that originates in the elbow. Is it pain or more like a deep ache? Does ra make your muscles hurt? Some days it feels more like a deep ache, some days pain. There are even times when there is a sharp pain that almost feels like someone is sticking me. Are any of these symptoms part of ra?

It doesn't hurt to push on my elbows but there are days i have a hard time picking up a cup of coffee or opening the shampoo bottle. I go outside and work in the garden or pick up my 1 yr old grandson but thefollowing day i am paying for it. Some days it feels like my hands are so weak. Everything i have read about ra says that there is redness and swelling at the joints which i do not have. It also talks about nodules but i don't have those either. I do have arthritis in my fingers and back.

The pain started in my right thumb and extended up into my elbow. Nothing seemed to make the pain/ache go away. My gp thought it might be carpal and had me wear a brace for 6 weeks. That didn't help at all. So he sent me to a neurologist. After running tests, the tests came back that it wasn't carpal tunnel. The neurologist also told me that my pain didn't make any sense. My husband went with me and we both thought that the neurologist thought i was lying about my symptoms. My gp then sent me to an ortho. He took xrays of my hand and elbow and neck. He said that the thumb problem was arthritis but the elbow looked fine and the neck had 3 bad discs but a surgeon wouldn't operate because they weren't that bad. He gave me a steroid injection in the thumb and it relieved the pain/ache in the thumb and seemed to be helping my elbow as well. He also had me doing traction at home which didn't help any either. It wasn't long after that when the left elbow began to bother me as well. I thought it was simply that i was using it more because of the pain in the other elbow or the traction was causing it.

At this point the ortho sent me to a neurosurgeon. He put me through all the paces and then said that even though the discs were protruding they were not causing the problems in my elbows and hands. The neurosurgeon was wonderful and spent a lot of time talking to me. He suggested going to a rhuematologist. I am still waiting for that appt which will be on may 17th.

I am so frustrated. The ortho dr. Has me on tramadol (100mg ever 4-6 hours) and hydrocodone neither of which seem to be doing much good. I have tried muscle relaxers, heat, ice etc and nothing is helping.

I have told my husband that i will go to the rhuematologist but if he can't help i am done with doctors and will learn to live with whatever it is that i seem to have.

hi there i have been having similar symtoms to yours but mine are in my legs and back,i have been gettin messed round off the docs but went to reumotiligist and they took bloods and i was diagnosed with "as" ankylosing spondtlitis,its a form of artritis that affects the immune system,they have me on "methatrexate" wich seems to be taking swellin down a bit but i still feel really weak and am still in pain!!!i hope you get sorted,best of luck and just keep harrassing your doctor,dont be afraid to question him and its always handy to write down in advance what you want to ask bcoz we all go a bit blank when they dribble on lol..............kind regards lee