Aa
Am I in the early RA stages?
Hello!
I am a 32 year old woman, 135 lbs, 5'4. I've been having joint pain in my wrists for 10 years now. The pain used to come and go, and it only got bad when it was rainy. In the last year the pain progressed to my fingers and one night in this past April all of the sudden I had aching pain throughout my body, like a very bad cold, and terrible pain in my joints. After that day, the pain in my wrists and fingers (especially my thumbs) is constant, never goes away. Some days is even worse and it hurts to move. Two months later, around June, the joint pain progressed to my ankles and toes. In some days in July, the pain will be enough that it will hurt to walk.
I have gone to both a rheumatologist and to an internal medicine doctor, they have run analyses for rheumatoid factor, globular sedimentation rate, CRP, and Lhyme disease. They were all normal, except for CRP slightly high (7.06 mg/L). X-rays showed no erosions, I have no visible inflammation in my joints, in fact I have bony joints. I started Lyrica because they thought it may be fibromyalgia, but I only experienced side effects including terrible dizziness and nausea, the joint pain never went away. I stopped the medication. Then I started celebrex, which was great for about a month, it considerably reduced my joint pain. Unfortunately I run out of the medication for 4 days. Then when I started taking it again the medication did not work, even when I increase the dosage (from one pill every 24 hr to one pill every 12hrs).
I am very desperate, the pain in my joints is getting worse. I am a yoga instructor and teaching my classes is becoming very painful. I am afraid I may need to stop in the near future and this is actually the way I earn my living. The last doctor I saw just disregarded my pain, he said I have no RA, that everything is ok, that it might just be something I am doing wrong. But even if I rest I am still in pain, in fact, if I don't exercise the pain is worse!
Can you please help? what other tests do you suggest?
Thank you so much for your time.
This discussion is related to Undiagnosed joint pain and exhaustion.
I am a 32 year old woman, 135 lbs, 5'4. I've been having joint pain in my wrists for 10 years now. The pain used to come and go, and it only got bad when it was rainy. In the last year the pain progressed to my fingers and one night in this past April all of the sudden I had aching pain throughout my body, like a very bad cold, and terrible pain in my joints. After that day, the pain in my wrists and fingers (especially my thumbs) is constant, never goes away. Some days is even worse and it hurts to move. Two months later, around June, the joint pain progressed to my ankles and toes. In some days in July, the pain will be enough that it will hurt to walk.
I have gone to both a rheumatologist and to an internal medicine doctor, they have run analyses for rheumatoid factor, globular sedimentation rate, CRP, and Lhyme disease. They were all normal, except for CRP slightly high (7.06 mg/L). X-rays showed no erosions, I have no visible inflammation in my joints, in fact I have bony joints. I started Lyrica because they thought it may be fibromyalgia, but I only experienced side effects including terrible dizziness and nausea, the joint pain never went away. I stopped the medication. Then I started celebrex, which was great for about a month, it considerably reduced my joint pain. Unfortunately I run out of the medication for 4 days. Then when I started taking it again the medication did not work, even when I increase the dosage (from one pill every 24 hr to one pill every 12hrs).
I am very desperate, the pain in my joints is getting worse. I am a yoga instructor and teaching my classes is becoming very painful. I am afraid I may need to stop in the near future and this is actually the way I earn my living. The last doctor I saw just disregarded my pain, he said I have no RA, that everything is ok, that it might just be something I am doing wrong. But even if I rest I am still in pain, in fact, if I don't exercise the pain is worse!
Can you please help? what other tests do you suggest?
Thank you so much for your time.
This discussion is related to Undiagnosed joint pain and exhaustion.
Hi Vizcaino.
It's not supposed to be this way, right?
You're young, you take care of you body-mind-spirit, by following
the Yoga Path.
Well, it can happen to the best of us, my dear.
In my immediate small family(3) our combined backgrounds include: 2 Reiki Masters, 1 clinical dietitian, 2 holistic health practitioners, 1 yoga instructor, 2 hypnotherapists, 1 adv EFT
practitioner, 1 independent medical researcher.....
Yet all 3 of us have had significant health issues at one time or another.
RA is predominantly, a clinical diagnosis .
RA is generally bilaterally symmetrical (1) and it typically involves the hands.(2)
If it involves more than 5 joints it is considered Polyarthritis (3)
which is one more clinical criterion for RA dx.
It is important to note, that you have serious pain and inflammation and yet tests (with the exception of your slightly elevated CRP) and doctors fail to detect anything significant.
So your almost normal labs, are kinda... meaningless.
Do not be discouraged though.
My opinion is that most drugs are , at least in the long term, more damaging than the condition they're designed to treat :(
Many Doctors may disagree with me, but rheumatoid arthritis has been widely suspected to have an infectious etiology.
From my experience, I suggest taking the following steps to overcome the crippling effects of RA
1. Build up your immune system. Consume very little grains, eliminate sweets and sugars, ready packaged foods, fast food, junk food etc.
Grass fed red meat, free range poultry & eggs, mercury-free fish
fresh and organic produce where possible.
Aim for a healthy low carb alkaline diet.
Drink plenty of water, 1 hour away from meals.
Optimize your breathing. Visit the normal breathing website
for details.
Rule out deficiencies, hypothyroidism, hormonal imbalances.
Increase anti-oxidants, through diet and supplements.
Apple cider vinegar (raw, unfiltered and organic) is one the best sources of malic acid, something you may be low in
2. Fight off the infection within your body and your joints.
Antibiotics will not work much as they cannot fight viral agents, fungal organisms and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Consuming organic virgin coconut oil starting with 2T daily
and working up to the therapeutic dose of 5T -either added to your food or cooking with it, which is preferred than inflammatory cooking oils as they degrade when heated, in contrast to coconut oil, which resists alteration when heated..
Coconut oil is anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and anti-microbial. Top functional food, to my opinion!
3. Optimize your oral health, even if you may think it is great !
Do "Oil Pulling" every morning preferably with coconut oil.
Just look it up. It will help you remove billions of toxic molecules and microbes from your mouth every day!
Your oral cavity is the primary residence of bacteria and toxins,
which gradually find their way into the body and cause havoc.
If you need any details, let me know, however, please note that my comments here are not intended to replace medical advice.
Blessings,
Niko
It's not supposed to be this way, right?
You're young, you take care of you body-mind-spirit, by following
the Yoga Path.
Well, it can happen to the best of us, my dear.
In my immediate small family(3) our combined backgrounds include: 2 Reiki Masters, 1 clinical dietitian, 2 holistic health practitioners, 1 yoga instructor, 2 hypnotherapists, 1 adv EFT
practitioner, 1 independent medical researcher.....
Yet all 3 of us have had significant health issues at one time or another.
RA is predominantly, a clinical diagnosis .
RA is generally bilaterally symmetrical (1) and it typically involves the hands.(2)
If it involves more than 5 joints it is considered Polyarthritis (3)
which is one more clinical criterion for RA dx.
It is important to note, that you have serious pain and inflammation and yet tests (with the exception of your slightly elevated CRP) and doctors fail to detect anything significant.
So your almost normal labs, are kinda... meaningless.
Do not be discouraged though.
My opinion is that most drugs are , at least in the long term, more damaging than the condition they're designed to treat :(
Many Doctors may disagree with me, but rheumatoid arthritis has been widely suspected to have an infectious etiology.
From my experience, I suggest taking the following steps to overcome the crippling effects of RA
1. Build up your immune system. Consume very little grains, eliminate sweets and sugars, ready packaged foods, fast food, junk food etc.
Grass fed red meat, free range poultry & eggs, mercury-free fish
fresh and organic produce where possible.
Aim for a healthy low carb alkaline diet.
Drink plenty of water, 1 hour away from meals.
Optimize your breathing. Visit the normal breathing website
for details.
Rule out deficiencies, hypothyroidism, hormonal imbalances.
Increase anti-oxidants, through diet and supplements.
Apple cider vinegar (raw, unfiltered and organic) is one the best sources of malic acid, something you may be low in
2. Fight off the infection within your body and your joints.
Antibiotics will not work much as they cannot fight viral agents, fungal organisms and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Consuming organic virgin coconut oil starting with 2T daily
and working up to the therapeutic dose of 5T -either added to your food or cooking with it, which is preferred than inflammatory cooking oils as they degrade when heated, in contrast to coconut oil, which resists alteration when heated..
Coconut oil is anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and anti-microbial. Top functional food, to my opinion!
3. Optimize your oral health, even if you may think it is great !
Do "Oil Pulling" every morning preferably with coconut oil.
Just look it up. It will help you remove billions of toxic molecules and microbes from your mouth every day!
Your oral cavity is the primary residence of bacteria and toxins,
which gradually find their way into the body and cause havoc.
If you need any details, let me know, however, please note that my comments here are not intended to replace medical advice.
Blessings,
Niko
Hello and Welcome to our Community. I'm delighted you found us but sorry to read about your undiagnosed pain.
The physician that said, "it might just be something I am doing wrong" does not sound compassionate or caring. How dismissive. You paid him to say that, meaning our physicians are hired by us. We pay them and they are not doing us a favor. You deserve better consideration that what you received. I'd kick him to the curb and consult another physician.
You may not have RA. There are over 100 Arthritic type disease. Finding which one is effecting you can be a difficult and daunting task. Often it takes a committed physician to complete all the necessary diagnostic tests.
An elevated CRP (C-reactive Protein) in your blood can have several reasons. Most often it indicates an acute body wide inflammation such as inflammatory rheumatic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, or it can be an indicator of MI (heart attack) risk. There are more labs should be considered besides the rheumatoid factor, globular sedimentation rate... such as:
Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) -- Also called anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA)
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate – Also called ESR or “SED rate,” this test measures how fast red blood cells cling together, fall and settle (like sediment) in the bottom of a glass tube over the course of an hour. The higher the SED rate, the greater the amount of inflammation. There are many conditions that can cause an elevated ESR, including an infection or anemia.
Even a slight elevation of your CRP can indicate an inflammation. Lyme's Disease can be tested in several ways - and does not always show up in every test. Some are more accurate than others. I'd want to know what tests were done and ask for them to be repeated.
I'd certainly consult another Rheumatologist. I'd get that second - or even third opinion. There is a reason you hurt - and I would be very distressed at the physician that tried to dismiss your pain. I am so sorry!
I hope you'll keep in touch. Feel free to ask additional questions. I'll watch your thread with interest.
Take Care,
Tuck
The physician that said, "it might just be something I am doing wrong" does not sound compassionate or caring. How dismissive. You paid him to say that, meaning our physicians are hired by us. We pay them and they are not doing us a favor. You deserve better consideration that what you received. I'd kick him to the curb and consult another physician.
You may not have RA. There are over 100 Arthritic type disease. Finding which one is effecting you can be a difficult and daunting task. Often it takes a committed physician to complete all the necessary diagnostic tests.
An elevated CRP (C-reactive Protein) in your blood can have several reasons. Most often it indicates an acute body wide inflammation such as inflammatory rheumatic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, or it can be an indicator of MI (heart attack) risk. There are more labs should be considered besides the rheumatoid factor, globular sedimentation rate... such as:
Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) -- Also called anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA)
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate – Also called ESR or “SED rate,” this test measures how fast red blood cells cling together, fall and settle (like sediment) in the bottom of a glass tube over the course of an hour. The higher the SED rate, the greater the amount of inflammation. There are many conditions that can cause an elevated ESR, including an infection or anemia.
Even a slight elevation of your CRP can indicate an inflammation. Lyme's Disease can be tested in several ways - and does not always show up in every test. Some are more accurate than others. I'd want to know what tests were done and ask for them to be repeated.
I'd certainly consult another Rheumatologist. I'd get that second - or even third opinion. There is a reason you hurt - and I would be very distressed at the physician that tried to dismiss your pain. I am so sorry!
I hope you'll keep in touch. Feel free to ask additional questions. I'll watch your thread with interest.
Take Care,
Tuck
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