Help! Could I have RA?

[eternalsunshine]

Hello- I have been suffering a long time and would like to hear from people who have gone through what I have. In March of 2005 I was a 25 year old college student who hadnt been sick with anything but a cold prior. I had a wisdom tooth pulled that month. It wasnt the first time but the pain was much much worse. I also got very sick with what seemed like the flu right around the same time. Two weeks later I was getting off of work and my wrist started hurting. Over the next few hours the pain started spreading up my arm. It hurt so bad it felt like it was broken. The pain lasted about 24 hours but got better after about 10 hours. The next day my hand on the same side swelled up so much I had to take off my rings. Three days later the same thing happened but to my leg. The pain lasted 24 hours. This went on till August happening to a differant part of the body. It always started in a joint. In August my troubles suddenly stopped. But in the morning I could barely walk. I was so stiff. After a few hours of waiting tables and I was fine. But as soon as I got home and sat down I couldnt get back up without help. The weird thing is I could work out like crazy but as soon as I stopped I was in so much pain. My toes and fingers started to go numb and they were always falling aleep. Occasionally I would get pain in joints but nothing like before. This went into the next year. I did see a RA specialist but he just looked at my hand and said he didnt think I had it. He didnt do any test. Although my other doctors may have at some point. In April of 2006 I had an MRI and a spinal tap. They found a lesion on the brain which showed demyelination and they suspected MS. They also did a spinal tap and that showed evidence of an autoimmune disease although I'm not sure what they found. I decided to quit waiting tables to help the pain and it did get better. I saw a MS specialist and they said that I didnt have MS but to do another MRI to make sure in a year or so. Since that time I have had a baby. When I was pregnant, I was fine. But in January of 08 it all started again. My hands are really cramping up and my pinky's seems to be heading the other direction. It takes alot to keep it with the rest of my hand. Its difficult to drive or type. because of my hands. I still ache in the morning or after activity. My neuroligist is a jerk and basically treats me like Im crazy or that I have fibromyalgia . I have been tested for that and its negative. I have another MRI on Monday and if that comes back normal I am going to a new doctor. It seems like my symptoms are a lot like RA. Is it possible for blood work to be normal?Does anyone have any advice? It would be a miracle to find out whats wrong no matter what it is. thanks! Michelle
p.s. right after the MRI, I had an IV steroid treatment and I did get better for a little while

[eternalsunshine]

When I found this site, I cried. I have spent years searching for people who have the same problems and I am so happy to have found you guys. I have also remembered a few things that seemed like they had nothing to do with my illness and after reading the stories, I see they might. 2 weeks before all this happened and I had my wisdom teeth pulled I remember the doctor saying I had serious TMJ issues. I just remembered that yesterday and I looked it up and saw it was a joint. Also this summer on a Cruise, I had extreme pain under my left brest when I breathed in, coughed or layed on my left side. It got so bad that I went to the ER and they said I had a fractured rib. They said the pain would last 6 months but a week later after spending a night crying in bed, the pain just stopped. I read in RA the lining of the lung could get inflamed and cause that pain.  If it was a fractured rib the pain would have lasted a lot longer. I should have the MRI results on Monday. I am getting injections in the facet joints in my back that day also. Tuesday, I will be at my primary asking to see a rheumy for sure.

[roxstua]

Your story sounds so familiar to mine.  I had a flu-like thing and shortly afterwards started having that roving joint swelling.  The first time, I was sleeping and having a dream that my hand was in a vise grip..then I woke up and it was still hurting...I woke my husband and asked him if I had punched him, sure that my hand was broken. xrays showed no break, but my hand was swollen like a softball and I wanted to chop it off it hurt so bad.  That was just the beginning.  I never knew when or where it would hit me next, but it was constant, forcing me to learn how to be left handed and drive without my right foot. It never lasted longer than 2 days in one joint. The rheumatologist told me that I did not have the rheumatoid factor..still don't, but that does not seem to matter. Now I am officially diagnosed with RA. Here is what I know after at least 10 year with this disease....don't waste you time with steroids...they will make you sicker than you are now...methotrexate and all the other treatments don't work...they just make your hair fall out...get to a rheumatologist immediately...your c reactive proteins are probably off the charts and that can be dangerous for many reasons including cardiovascular events.  Do your best to get on what they call a biologic...enbrel, humira, or others...that is the miracle you are looking for.  Also, get lots of sleep, avoid emotional and physical stress and get away from cleaning chemicals (bleach, windex)(You were probably coming in contact with this at work.) I was a chemistry teacher...lots of chemical contact. If you read the MSDS (material data safety sheets) on bleach, they are different from the label cautions...on the label it says avoid prolonged contact...on the MSDS sheet it says avoid all contact.  If I could go back in time, I would go tell my sweet grandmother who suffered horribly with this disease to stop cleaning with that Comet stuff.  You have to wonder why the majority of RA victims are women...we do the cleaning. Also, your fingers and toes are going numb because the joints above them are swelling, cutting off blood and nerve supply.  I hope you find an answer, life with this disease can be just miserable.  Really, get on enbrel....and don't let them tell you that you cannot have it because of MS...my mother has that and I have signs, but it is all about quality of life.

[Dnmh]

Your welcome! Hope all goes well. Do keep us posted!

[eternalsunshine]

thank you so much for the advice. I am waiting for the results and will ask to see a specialist if the MRI comes back normal. Thanks again.

[Dnmh]

Hi there and welcome to the community!
First and foremost, find a new doctor. Get copies of all you tests if possible, as well as copies of your MRI - the actual films. You can get them from the facility to preformed the test. When you go for your next one - tell them you would like a copy of the films. They should be able to make you a copy while you are still there.
My sister has MS, diagnosed by lesions on the brain and an MRI - but with her, they had to do a special kind of MRI - thinner "slices" to find her's. Regular MRI came back normal. She went through the same diagnostic problems you are. To my knowledge MS is autoimmune, although there is still some debate about that.

As far as RA - yes - labs can come back as "normal" for a while. It wouldn't hurt to have a consult with a rheumatologist. They have a lot more experience with symptoms of RA and would be more helpful in that area.

Steroids can be helpful in MS as well as RA  - so you finding relief from it doesn't tell us much.