What do I have?

[Charmgirl6811]

Hi! I am new to this forum so please bear with me.  Two years ago I broke my ankle.  It was taking a very long time to heal so the orthopedic dr. decided to do some blood work and found out that my ANA level was positive speckled  1:1280.  Till this day no one knows what is wrong with me.  I had JRA when I was young and the arthritis has gotten worse over the years.  I have so much pain and some days it is really debillitating.  Some days my legs, arms, shoulder, and ankles go so numb.  The last time this happened I went to the emergency room in a wheelchair and the doctor told me he couldn't do anything for me.  So he gave me a shot and ten vicodin.  That didn't help though.  I see a new rheumatologist on the 29th of this month.  I went to my pcp and she had the nerve to tell me that i was just going to have to deal with the pain because it will never go away.  Im thinking in my mind, what the hell...........

[SunWorshiper_26]

From what you are reporting I would think that the JRA  has reared it's ugly head. Many adults to experience a reoccuranc of their JRA. RA can cause pain, stiffness, immune problems (difficulty healing), numbness, tingling and many more symptoms. I would suggest seeing a neurologist to rule out any conditions like MS. I would also suggest getting a bone density scan to see if you have or are at risk for osteoporosis. Additionally I would see a rheumatologist. Yes RA and JRA cause a lot of pain however there are a lot of different treatmnt options including biologics TNF blockers and others. If you have more questions I have been reading up on a website called ********* .com which seems to have a lot of med info on RA and JRA an is easy to understand. Good luck.

[elise929]

What is your IgG?

[Charmgirl6811]

Well actually it is kind of weird because I was just walking and my leg seemed to numb and I fell and yes I did hurt my back in the process.  My anemia levels have been in the 9.6 areas, my triglycerides were a little high, I have lost 45 lbs in the last 4 months without even trying, my a-na level was at a titer positive speckled 1:1280, I had a scan of my liver and it showed a fatty liver, but I do not drink.  My body is so stiff in the morning it takes me forever to get up.  Last week, it felt as if I was completely paralyzed because I could barely use my legs or arms and my neck was stiff and kept having stabbing pains up and down my spine.  My sed rate was 24. I had to have sinus surgery last year because I kept getting infections over and over again. It took a while to heal from that.  Then in my left ear my eardrum started bleeding really badly so I was put on a heavy dose of medication so now I have lost some hearing in that ear.  I see my new rheumatologist on the 23rd of this month.  I hope this helps at least some.

[Audrey_M]

Sorry to hear about your pain and problems. It must have been really hard to deal with JRA and now this on top of it.

It might be helpful to know a bit more about your history.

Can you tell us how you broke your ankle and if there is any possiblity that you may have injured your back? That could explain numbness and tingling if there is any nerve compression in your back. It could be that you are dealing with several diffierent issues or just one.

What doctors have you seen since the ankle injury and what tests have been run? Please list any abnormal results. If you are not already doing so, it is highly recommended that you get copies of all of your medical test results.

When you see the new rheumatologist, bring along any and all copies of medical records that you can get your hands on. Also try to record some kind of timeline of symptoms that you have had/are having. You might want to start the conversation with the rheumatologist by saying something to the effect that "I'm having a lot of different symptoms and I'm not sure if all of them are related to rheumatologic disease."

If you can provide more info, maybe others can pitch in.

Audrey