Anyone experiencing sore joints?

[janna8]

So I'm curious if anyone experiences achy fingers
Elbows and ankles. Even as I sit here typing my elbows
do not like the position for very long. I feel much older
Than my 30 years all of a sudden. All the other symptoms
I experience have been coming on for just the past six
months to a year, the headaches for several years. It is scary
When you notice a new symptom creeping in.

[taylapj]

I forgot to also say, my main 'dibiliting' issue is my joint pain, knee pain, thigh pain, forarm pain and ankle pain, THIS is what makes it hard for me to walk sometime with out support.

[taylapj]

I just googled 'ankles locking / pain ' and this thread came up, i can not believe it, My ankles are giving me real issues lately, they feel very bruised, and pain when i walk, i also can bend my foot upwards [ not all the time ]  is this really linked to Chiari? or could this be more to do with the fact that i have spinal cord impingement??

[LisaM46]

Let's just say we hope your kids had it.  It's almost always benign in kids.  With kids, once they show the symptoms (slapped-cheek look, lacy rash that works from top of body and then down) they're done being contagious and can go to school.  The good news - if you get it as a kid, you don't get it as an adult (I don't know if there are any exceptions to this...)  Funny thing at my house - I actually gave it to my daughter!  I was breast-feeding my son when I had it, so, since he hasn't had it, I'm hoping I at least passed on an immunity to it!  (A girl can hope, right?)

Did you think you had meningitis because you couldn't turn your head left & right?

Lisa

[*Stormy*]

Supersore... your description is very accurate to what I feel or have felt. My arms and legs feel very dead and that is why I have to swing my legs when I walk. When I sit down, immediately my legs go to sleep, I have continuous pins and needles in the lower half of my legs all the time. One of my first leg symptoms was my ankles would lock up, especially on the left side and I would feel like my knees would give out and would buckle...also I felt my feet wouldn't support my legs. I can't walk up the stairs properly b/c I can't put one foot in front of the other and have no hip strength...so I have to go up with my legs bent out to the sides. I am very curious on how that scan is going to turn out for you...keep me posted..

Lisa..it's never been verified if I had it but some of my joint issues did start after my kids got really sick and I suspected that my son had 5th's disease. But none of us every got tested for it...interesting though...b/c a lot of my pain and Chiari issues showed up after I got really sick with what I thought was a virus. The pain was so bad I ended up going to the ER convinced I had Meningitis or something...

Carolyn

[supersore]

Hi. I haven't been diagnosed with chiari. I am getting a brain scan next week to check. Along with my severe neck and back pain, I also get dead hands arms and legs. My knees buckle when walking upstairs and my ankles have started locking up. Are these considered symptoms?

[janna8]

Just a lil tid bit that might be helpful to someone. Epsome salt baths help
Me quite a bit any heat seems to actually. My hubby just bought this
Lotion for me that's got menthol in it and its very helpful for sore joints
And that creepy crawly feeling that I get sometimes. Its intense cooling effect is
A nice distraction. Its the Rite Aid brand Renewal lotion in a green bottle.
:-)good nite to all

[Jls12]

I have been nursing a very painful hip all day.   Took meds with little to no improvement.  Heat didn't work either.  If no better, off to the doctor tomorrow as this is very new and worse that the pain I had when they found the syrinx.
Glad to hear others have had similar experiences and I am not alone on this.
Take care all and thanks for all the support here.

[LisaM46]

I do have joint issues too.  But, about 11 years ago, I came down with human parvovirus b19 (Fifths disease in children).  At first, the joint pain was so severe, I was certain I had bone cancer.  As it worked through my system, it kind of settled in more in my fingers, wrists, knees & ankles.  I had effects from it for about 7 years.  When you have it, it really messes up your blood work.  I tested positive for double-stranded dna, ana's, made antigens for CREST, Scleroderma, Sjogrens, & MCTD.  I was sent to a rheum dr, and for about 7 months, he believed most likely I had lupus, but I didn't have the rash.  (I was negative for RA.)

Four years ago, my blood panel finally came back NEGATIVE for ALL of those things (with the exception of c-reactive protein.)  Even the ana came up negative and I was told that's a "forever" thing.  I still have bouts of pain in my fingers, wrists, knees & ankles, you know, it flares from time to time.  Sometimes you can actually see the fluid buildup in my knees (that's when they burn too).  So I tend to look at the joint stuff as fallout from the parvovirus - but, like the other symptoms, it's really hard to be certain.

I guess my point would be - maybe some of these things can come from viruses that you may not even know you were exposed to.  Trust me, human parvovirus b19 is another one of those things that many people (including doctors) know nothing about.  Most people don't get that sick with it unless their immune system is low, or they're depressed when they're exposed.  And, since a large portion of the population gets it as children, and then the adults that do get it usually don't become that sick with it - no research, publicity... you know the drill.  Which is sad, because I know with MS, some research indicates that it may actually be caused by, or set off by a virus or combination of viruses.  Interesting field...

Has anyone else here had it?

Lisa

[*Stormy*]

All the time...every joint in my body will ache at one time or another...usually they all will at some time by the end of the day. I have been trying for almost a year now to understand it and how it ties into the CM. After surgery, this issues has become more prominent and the pain is now very localized on my spine and hips. I have gone to all sorts of specialist who keep telling me my joints are fine and that it has to be a soft tissue (ligaments, muscular). I also have joints that are loose, unstable and they pop in and out constantly. I wish I could give you more of an idea of what is causing it...I suspect muscle weakness...but I am still in this struggle myself trying to find out WHY..

PS( No one will entertain that it is EDS...which would make sense but apparently I don't fit the criteria..)

Carolyn

[n40066]

what kind of pain is it, janna?  i have ra.  at first the drs all said there was nothing wrong with me.  i went to several ra drs. and they all tried to give me antidepressants!  (just like the nls!)  then one dr said i had lupus.  so i did my research.  i went back to him while i was having a flare up and told him i do not have lupus, i have ra.  he was resistant, so i...well....i got a bit upset, then i got a bit aggressive with him.  i INSISTED on a anti ccp blood work-up in addition to the normal esr, crp and ana blood test.  and guess what?  my numbers were higher than any he had ever seen!  so....do your research on line, using your symptoms as a guide.  when you feel confident that you have found the source of your misery, go to a specialist and insist on the tests you want.  it works, but you are the one that needs to do the research!  when my dr. went to school, he was taught that it's extremly rare for ra symptoms to be one sided.  mine were, and that's why he refused to consider ra as a dx for me!

fight for your right to a proper dx, jana.  and never give up!  good luck!
elizabeth

[selmaS]

Hi...yup....as chiarians we r prone to autoimmune disorders like RA....and also Ehlers-Danlos...which causes joint pains as well....

I had one drop attack and was having elbow pain that was thought to be a hairline fracture...xrays showed it was not...that was in '07...I still get that pain and now know it is the EDS and since it is chiari related....

Once in a blue moon I do get the swelling of my fingers that is the RA...beginning....
as chiarians we also tend to move into the aging process a bit earlier too.

"selma"