Muscle pain with RA

philippaedmunds
philippaedmunds Member Posts: 5
edited 10. Jun 2009, 16:57 in Living with Arthritis archive
Having had RA for 8 years and 6 of those years taking methotrexate I have been on humira anti tnf for 18 months as well which has vastly improved my fatigue and inflammation but over the past five months progressivley I have suffered severe muscle pain to my upper legs when I walk much or try to do any exercise.

I used to be able to swim a lot without pain for example but cannot now. Has anybody else suffered similar muscle pain? Blood test results show I do not have inflammation of my muscles

Comments

  • dachshund
    dachshund Member Posts: 9,161
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Philippaedmund's.
    I know how you feel my leg's ache from when i get up to when i go to bed. it's now in my hip's and it go's up my back when bad i also ache all over as if i've got the flu.
    the dr as booked me in for a scan i have not been told i have arthritis.
    it help's to talk on here.
    joan xx
    take care
    joan xx
  • northumbrian
    northumbrian Member Posts: 25
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi I know exactly what you mean. Muscle and tendon pain, especialy tightness in the back of the legs are a big problem. Until I am thoroughly warmed up going uphill is very slow. I am late fifties but have always been fit and into outdoor sports, now I am very slow. I started Humira about 18 months ago and it has helped enormously for the joints and pain but not so much the stiffness of the muscles. I twice tried MTX but found it impossible to function while tacking it.
  • colinone
    colinone Member Posts: 1,039
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Philip , I left you a post on the Hello Forum
    Colin
  • jillydog61
    jillydog61 Member Posts: 33
    edited 11. Jun 2009, 03:08
  • emmarose33
    emmarose33 Member Posts: 86
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    philippaedmunds wrote:
    Having had RA for 8 years and 6 of those years taking methotrexate I have been on humira anti tnf for 18 months as well which has vastly improved my fatigue and inflammation but over the past five months progressivley I have suffered severe muscle pain to my upper legs when I walk much or try to do any exercise.

    I used to be able to swim a lot without pain for example but cannot now. Has anybody else suffered similar muscle pain? Blood test results show I do not have inflammation of my muscles

    Hi,
    I get very bad muscle pain with my RA and was discussing this with my physio yesterday. He gave 2 explainations.
    1) when you suffer from bad pain for a long time, you brain can start to confuse pain signals and become over-sensitive to them, so things which shouldn't be painful seem painful. It's not that you'e going crazy, just that your brain is getting a bit confused by all the pain signals.
    2) all the nasty inflammatory chemicals build up in your tissues and cause pain, especially during rest when circulation is not so good. Keep moving regularly (every half hour) and try to maximise bloodflow to the skin (massages, hot baths etc.) to carry away the nasty chemicals.
    Hope you feel better soon.
    Emma

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