Help Vitamin D deficiency too!

[nanascraps]

Ok went to the Rheumatologist last Thursday and he examined me and asked a bunch of questions and then sent me on to have a ton of lab work done and also x-rays of my feet, ankles, knees, wrists, hands and neck. He set an appt to see me back in a month. I had been feeling pretty good at that point until this last Wed. Hands, wrists, ankles and feet swelled up big time with lots of pain! I put in a call to his office and when the medical asst called me back she said he wanted me to start taking the steroid Medrol but informed the nurse that I was put on that last year due to a severe allergic reaction to meds and being a Type 1 diabetic it shot my blood sugars up to almost 600! Well she called me back and he called in an RX for Toradol. Hasn't touched it yet! Well this morning she called me again and said that some of my labs have come back and I am very deficient in Vitamin D. So he called in an RX for Vitamin D 50,000 IU once a week. Is Vitamin D Deficiency part of RA or Lupus? A lot of the lab work he ordered looks like he is looking at both of those possiblities.

[nanascraps]

I live in Arizona. The only weird rash I have is on my right cheek by my ear and hairline. My whole leg on both sides actually gets swollen. I also have a lot of back and neck pain. My GP when I was complaining about the swelling in my legs and feet put me Lasix but it didn't help at all. The Rhuemy told me that a lot of the tests he ordered would take 2-3 weeks to come back but if something was really wrong he would call me. Which I guess they did when they called me about the Vitamin D Def. It is just so frustrating waiting to find out if something is wrong with you. I have friends saying you have Lupus, some looking at my hands saying OMG you have to have Rheumatoid arthritis, some even saying with the swelling that it could be congestive heart failure. I am just glad he chose to see me. He is the only Rheumatologist in Norhern AZ and I really didn't want to have to drive to Phoenix all the time to see one. It is a 2 hour trip down there. My husband is saying that if the Dr can't find anything we will make an appt at the Mayo clinic down in Phoenix because he is tired of seeing me in so much pain all the time. He is such a love!

[smittygirl]

I do know how you feel!  Went thru it 4 years ago myself and the pain was beyond belief.    What part of the country do you live in?  Any weird rash on your body?  Are your knees swollen too, or is it your feet and hands that are being effected.  Sorry for all the questions but I'm trying to help as I had the hands and feet thing too but also severe swelling of the knees and severe back pain.  Ask your dr. what your sed rate is and find out if they tested you for the HLA-B27 marker.   My feet were so swollen I was put into soft casts to try and stop the inflammation until they could figure out what was wrong with me.   Based on what you are telling me I can't believe he doesn't want to see you for a month!!!!  Make sure you call and get your lab reports and tell them you want copies for your records. If the pain and swelling persists go to another doc or to an ER.

[nanascraps]

Thanks! When my feet swell everything is swollen! I can't even bend my toes! It also feels like my feet are on fire and burning. Hurts to walk. Right now sitting here at work my feet, wrists, hands and fingers are throbbing and very tingly. The knuckles in my hands (closest to the wrist and the middle of my fingers) are kind of popping out and look really big. No infections since October when we got back from our cruise and I came down with Pneumonia. But I had been feeling bad since way before that.

[smittygirl]

Hi There,

I was dx with 2 different types of arthritis 4 years ago.  I can tell you the long version via PM if you'd like.  I can tell you however that when a patient first presents with the symptoms you describe they do test to rule out, Lupus, Lyme, RA etc.  I don't know much about the D deficiency only that it does help bones in conjunction with calcium , so Osteoporosis would be more related to that.  RA is one of  many types of autoimmune diseases.   Did you have any type of infection prior to these symptoms appearing?  There are over 100 types of arthritis , Going to the Arthritis Foundations site will give you a lot of information.  It took me going thru 2 different doctors before being dx.  Do not them lump you into a dx of "poly arthritis", it means they don't know what you have.  Please don't hesitate to contact me via message if you have more questions.  BTW:  When your feet swelled up did your toes look like sausages?    

Stay in touch/


Sue