For the past 6 months I've been suffering from joint pain (burning/itching/aching) in the small joints of my fingers and my knees (both sides of my body). Recently the aching has spread to my elbows at times. I also have been having major difficulty sleeping at night and afternoon severe exhaustion setting in around 2pm. I am a 32 year old white male, 140 pounds, 6 feet tall.
My doctor has run blood work for RA Factor, SED Rate, ANA and Vitamin D. Vitamin showed deficient at 30 and after 4 months of treatment my level 2 weeks ago was up to 70 so I was taken off the vitamin D. While on the Vitamin D, I felt MUCH BETTER - almost 100% normal. Now after just 2 weeks though, I'm back to severe fatigue, joint pain and now some tingling in my chin and fingers.
Could this actually be RA? With some internet research it seems to point to this again and again although 80% of people with RA have a positive RA factor. If not, could you please suggest some other possibilities? This is starting to negatively affect my work and relationship with my wife and kids. I have tried taking sleep aids and while they do help me sleep soundly, I am still fatigued the next day and do not feel refreshed.