How are the different types of Arthritis diagnosed?

cheshirefay

Hello everyone,
From reading through all the posts it seems that it is difficult to get a diagnosis of which type of Arther one has.
Can it be diagnosed through simple Xray for instance. I have had problems for so long , and had so many diagnosis` cervical spondylosis , motor neuropathy, cysts in the spinal cord, degenerative disc disease. The physio I saw diagnosed chronic fatigue after speaking to me for five mins , gave me a sheet of paper with exersizes and told me to come back in six weeks!!
Latests xrays shows severe OA in feet and less so in hands and I have now been refered to a ortho surgeon which is a bit worrying.
I have problems elsewear ie hips ankle back and also have this unwell feeling quite often. I am so afraid of being fobbed off again and would really like to get to the bottom of what ever this is.
I get the impression that a lot of people go through this before they get the right diagnosis and if you make a fuss you get labelled as being a neurotic trouble causer so you cannot win either way.
My app is n the 10th of May at Manchester Royal. xx

frogmorton

Hi

You can have more than one diagnsis of course....

If i were you I would write down a list of questions and symptoms before your apt so tha you feel heard and understood. Alos make sure you take someone with you so you get some back-up.

The xrays did show something of course but if you are worried about something esle going on too - you need to try to get to the bottom of it if you can.

I'm sure someone else will be along soon with a better plan than me

Take care

Toni xx

elnafinn

My diagnosis of OA was by xrays and scans. I feel OA is fairly easy to diagnose, with the other kinds of arthritis it is often much more complex especially if you have a couple different types of arthritis at the same time.

I do not quite agree that if you "make a fuss you get labelled as being a neurotic trouble causer". Unfortunately sometimes we do have to keep on at the medics, but there is a polite but firm way of doing that. After all we know our own bodies more than anyone else and the medics will not come to you. Very rarely if ever, does one get a courtesy call, asking how you are going on. If you do not keep going back, they are not giving you another moment's thought. Persistance does pay, but often when one is feeling unwell, this is something that is very difficult to keep doing.

I wish you well with your May appointment. You need to write down a few pointers and make sure you are listened to and come away with some feeling that it was not a complete waste of everyone's time. After you, you help to pay their salaries and keep them in a job. Look at it like that.

Look after yourself,

Elna x

dorcas

Hi Fay,

that's quite a question you've asked

I think that the speed at which you get a diagnosis does depend on the type of arther you have (or combination).

Blood tests can quickly indicate RA because of the presence of rheumatoid factor....other arthers such as the bunch called sero negatives take a much longer time to diagnose as the rheummy's rely on a combination of signs and symptoms over time. Symptoms such as the pattern of pain in the joints that you report.. and which joints are involved, level of fatigue, swelling, redness, stiffness in the morning all seem to play an important part in giving rheummy clues as to what the arther is. They also look for the type of joint damage that show on x rays and scans as different types of arther have tell tale joint erosion; blood tests also have their role to play...rheumatoid factor, CRP, white cell and platelet count etc....

It's a complicated process that's for sure :roll: and is even more complicated if you have more than one arther type...sometimes it takes a long time for a clear pattern to emerge so we have to be patient!

It took over a year for me to get a diagnosis of PA after being referred to rheummy. I had signs of arther for five years before that but GP had not put two and two together especially as I didn't have the psoriasis (GPs are not specialists and I was a rotten unco-operative patient in denial so no criticism of GP intended!).

As Elna And Toni said...write down questions you might want to ask rheummy and between now and your appointment keep a diary of how you are feeling, the aches and pains you have with arther and which joints......be as specific as you can as the more you are able to tell definitely does help!

and don't think that being assertive and asking questions is being pushy or neurotic...it isn't!

good luck with the appointment.

Iris x

dreamdaisy

Hello Cheshirefay, and a happy Monday to you. It can take a very long time, in my case from 1997 - 2006. Those nine years were very strange: it started with my left knee swelling. That doesn't sound too bad but by 2000 it was 26" in circumference. It looked as though a large cauliflower had been pushed under my skin where my knee cap should be! I spent a year being shuttled between orthopaedics and rheumatology, nobody wanted me! Finally had an op in Feb 2002, knee lovely for three months, then started swelling again. Off to rhematology, who reluctantly agreed it might be an inflammatory arthrtitis. Sure enough, other bits started swelling too! In Oct 2006 had my first - and to date only - bout of psoriasis, on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. Only then was a dignosis of PA given. I hadn't followed the traditional route of PA in any way, much like Dorcas by the sound of it.
Arthritis is very hard to dignose - I think I read somewhere there are over 200 types of inflammatory conditions. PA is very similar to RA but cannot be diagnosed by a blood test. It does make GPs very sceptical when you keep turning up on their doorstep complaining of general fatigue, aches and pains that come and go, a general feeling of being run-down, listless, tired, drained of energy etc etc, but they are what the label says on the tin - general. They should have the wit to refer you to a specialist much earlier than they do. Hang on in there, one day daylight will dawn for someone who can make sense of all your symptoms and, as others have said, you may have more than one thing wrong (that doesn't mean you do, tho). I tried homeopathy, acupuncture, relaxation classes, diet, drinking, not drinking (alcohol that is), anything I could think of 'cos my GP back then was quite content to see me turning up with an enormous knee and tell me that it was OK, it would go down eventually. Silly B! What I did for myself didn't work, and what rheumy does for me ain't that successful either, but at least I know what's wrong. That does make a difference. Just hang on in. We're all behind you! Best wishes, Dreamdaisy.

frogmorton

Hi Dream daisy

Yours sounds really interesting (my kitten daisy just interupted me there ) case. Takes forever really dosen't it sometimes.

i dont think I've really got one - the rheumy calls is RA but as far as I know my bloods have always been negative... :?: Who knows?? there is a theory that seronegs are just RAs who dont show positive YET. A lot of folks on here have had postivie bloods YEARS later so you cannot always rely on bloods can you.

At least I am being treated which is all I care about - I dont want any long-term damage to my joints if at all possible.

You take care

Toni xx

dachshund

Hi Fay.
i was told last year i have oa in my spine hips knees. i had a mri scan.
i also have the feeling that you are worn out and aching all over.
dont worry about the app.
joan xx

dreamdaisy

Hello Frogmorton. Looking back over it all yes, it was quite interesting. The first people to take my knee seriously were the physios at our local (then Premier division) footy team. I went on a walking holiday with friends in Oct 2000. They went walking and I sat and waited for them to return, but I wore all the kit, like you do. It was the leggings that showed the disparity between my knees. One between 23-26 inches round (depending on the stress it had been under), the other 14. I did look weird! My friends suggested the physios, their reasoning being if anyone understands knees, footy physios would. They didn't - in fact they took pictures of it! - but THEY referred me to the hospital. My GP never bothered and in fact the first ortho guy I saw also said it would go away, but I then literally bumped into a bloke in the waiting room who turned out to be an ortho surgeon and saw me there and then. He was amazing. He has done three procedures, none of which have cured the problem, but he was able to cut out all the solidified synovial fluid around my left knee (twice) and my right knee (once). Bless him. He also took pictures of my left knee, at the first op, for medical textbooks. When he cut into it I squirted an estimated half litre of fluid all over him! He forgave me. Dreamdaisy

oneday

it does take a while to get a diagnosis and i think in some ways if for example you have phsysio at the beginning stages and it works then thats it...if you have physio and its still bad and your symptoms dont seem to match what they think you have you have more tests and scans until you get a diagnosis - thats what happened to me...and thats all before i was seeing gps and tried tablets for a while, well probably a long time first...
keep pushing for answers if you feel things arent clear...

sharmaine

Hi Fay

Mine was diagnosed with blood tests and x rays.

Sharmaine

cheshirefay wrote:

Hello everyone,
From reading through all the posts it seems that it is difficult to get a diagnosis of which type of Arther one has.
Can it be diagnosed through simple Xray for instance. I have had problems for so long , and had so many diagnosis` cervical spondylosis , motor neuropathy, cysts in the spinal cord, degenerative disc disease. The physio I saw diagnosed chronic fatigue after speaking to me for five mins , gave me a sheet of paper with exersizes and told me to come back in six weeks!!
Latests xrays shows severe OA in feet and less so in hands and I have now been refered to a ortho surgeon which is a bit worrying.
I have problems elsewear ie hips ankle back and also have this unwell feeling quite often. I am so afraid of being fobbed off again and would really like to get to the bottom of what ever this is.
I get the impression that a lot of people go through this before they get the right diagnosis and if you make a fuss you get labelled as being a neurotic trouble causer so you cannot win either way.
My app is n the 10th of May at Manchester Royal. xx

airwave

The government promised to make arther a disease that had accelerated treatment within a shorter timespan, but that was last year and nothings happened. So we shall continue twiddling our thumbs until the treatment of arther gets a more positive response in the NHS.

Do you know I nearly believed the government, but that was last year!

Meanwhile keep smiling.

8) Its a grin, honest!

cheshirefay

Thanks everyone,
lots of really good ideas . I will keep a diary to take when I go and hope he will try to make some sense of it. It just concerned me when I saw that he was a surgeon and not a rheumatologist but maybe if there is any doubt about it being OA he will refer me on.
Thanks so much for all your encouragement and well wishes. I really feel that I have come to the right place and hope to offer support to others when i have found my feet.
One thing I can say is that I had constant neck pain for twenty years with very reduced movement , I saw a pain doc who prescribed Fentanyl . It is a strong analgesic but is the only thing which touched the pain. I would recommend it to anyone who is desperate to get some relief .
\fay xx

woodbon

Hi,
Some of the different types of arther are very hard to diagnos, especially in the early stages, I'm still having tests after a year or more. Sorry, I don't mean to depress you, but its just the way this is, although they are getting better at it now.

Love Sue

jackie1955

airwave wrote:

.........Do you know I nearly believed the government, but that was last year!"

It's a scary thought, isn't it, actually BELIEVING in what they say they are going to do :shock: