new and request info please

dee2010

hello my name is davina and i am new to this forum.
i am joint to another but this one seams very busy which i like
i have a 22 month active son and in a lot of pain daily.
i have had RA for about 18 months and now using crutches due to my knees and the RA is disabling me.

so here it is my problem hope someone as can help

my ankle has been swelling and it started from my knee down my calf and shin into my ankle and now my foot.
in the morning i wake up and my foot feels like its browsed and and a little stiff then after 1/2 hour the swelling starts and about 2 hours later if is very swollen and stays like it all day. if i move my foot or toes at any time its sore and feels browsed still.

also my calf muscle feels like its got stuck and has cramp in it all the time especially in the morning.

sorry to start the morning negative but i hate this pain and i can't get a doctors appointment until next week.i see the gp last week and it wasn't this bad.

dreamdaisy

You seem to be taking all the right meds but they don't seem to be controlling the RA that well. Having said that, it might be an idea to begin the enbrel and see what that does - unlike in my case you are getting it fairly early on and I think that can make a big difference in how effective the anti TNF treatments can be. I have PA and am on similar meds to you and like you still struggle with swelling, tenderness and pain. These meds are not all they are cracked up to be and I think the consultants sometimes over-sell the relief that one can expect, especially with the pain relief - killers is such a mis-nomer, I prefer to call them 'dullers' as that is all they do, they take the edge off the pain.

We cannot tell you what is happening with you as we are not doctors and I think that GPs are not much help (usually) as they are not experts in rheumatological matters. Rest as much as you can (not easy with a young child, I know), rest with the affected leg elevated, try icing the swollen areas if they are hot (a bag of peas is good for this, it drapes nicely round the joints, wrap them in a teatowel - and don't cook them! I had a number of bags marked 'knee peas' in my freezer!) and I hope that things improve for you soon. Hopefully the enbrel will make that extra little bit of difference. I wish you well. DD

skezier

Hi Davina,

Welcome to the forums and yep its busy and always someone about here.

This one could be a few things and really it would be best if you saw your gp and let them decide if its circulatory, drug related or the bone thing.... See it could be any of those things.

The cramping I do get but i am the other way round and de swell over night to some degree. The stiffness comes in for sure but this one sort of needs checking out and I think you would be better to do that soon really.

Hey good luck with the enbrel I so hope it will work for you.

Nice to meet you and hope you will keep in touch. Cris x

bubbadog

Hi Davina, Welcome!! This site is a great help and everyone will try and help each other. I suffer with swollen ankles and feet and suffer with alot of pain in knees.
You really need your G.P to understand you are still suffering and need medical advice and better pain relief. Do you have a good relationship with your G.P? as that is what you need, if you don't have a good relationship and are not on the same page and your G.P doesn't know the full extent to how you are and your pain scale then you will have alot of problems.
Again welcome to Arthritis care and hope to see you around the forum.

tkachev

welcome Davina. I remember having that cramp feeling in the calfs when I first got R.A which tricked me into thinking I had a sport injury. Like you I had a new baby and also a toddler and it was so hard to keep toddler happy and nappies changed and bathing them and I hated getting out of a chair to make bottles and stuff.
I now have a swollen foot(from osteo arthitis) although it gets worse as the day goes on. Joints can suffer when you change the way you walk due to the pain.Everything sounds typically R.A so don't worry although it is scary when it all hits you at once.
I hope you will ask questions and read the forum to familiarise yourself with the condition although we all react differently to medication and degree of R.A.
I do hope you get good care and help from family and GP. As you are just sarting enbrel then they can see you haven't faired well upto this point.
Take care
Elizabeth

tillytop

Hello Davina

I did reply to your post on the "say hello" forum but have just seen what you have written about the swelling in your leg. Although this could be related to your RA, it is does sound a bit scary and uncomfortable to me. My advice to you would be that, rather than waiting to see your doc next week, you call NHS direct for advice. Hopefully they can tell you if it's ok to wait, or if this is something which needs investigating sooner.

Thinking of you.

Love Tilly xxx

barbara12

Hi Devina
Sorry I cant help with your question has I have OA, but I just wanted to say welcome to the this lovely forum.
And I do wish you well with everything
Love
Barbara x

madwestie

Davina, welcome to the forum
I was sorry to read of the pain you are in. My foot has been swelling on and off for a few weeks now and i have finally given in a got an appointment with the Gp (not til 9th May)
I would see the GP if i were you as you are better off knowing for certain I have put mine down to the RA but then that gets blamed for most things and i think that is because ti is easier to blame what you have than make a fuss and see the Gp.

I hope things settle down for you and the GP can help.

Tracey

dee2010

hello and thank you all for your reply

i will be seeing my gp this week hopefully as my leg's got no better.
hope you are all well and thanks again for your kind words and wisdom.

davina

cthornley

Davina
I feel for you, RA & a toddler is no picnic, esp. At that age when they want to be independent but aren't quite. Mines nearly 3, very independent ( I think it's partially because he has to be good at not being carried etc) but now very cheeky!
Sorry to hear the RA is making you suffer, GP sounds like a good idea, it might also be worth stressing the impact it's having on you and your child.
Hope that a treatment kicks in for you soon
Chrissie

frogmorton

Hi davina

Good to meet you and welcome form me. The forums is very busy and you do get pretty quick responses here which is lovely - you don't need to feel alone.

how many of the girls on here developed RA or another inflamatory arthritis just after the birth of a child!!

As others have said your meds list seems pretty comprehensive.....l think l just hope the enbrel does help you.

Gentle hugs for you

Love

Toni xx

dee2010

cthornley thanks for your insite, i know he is at that stage where everything is fun and exciting but not aware fear or danger and wants to e independant all the time.
how do you find being a mum with RA?
thanks you toni.

xx

cthornley

Davina
To be honest it’s tough. I had RA for many years before we decided to have a child so did my best to prepare for what I knew was going to be difficult and it still caught me and continues to catch me by surprise.
Going back to work actually helped somewhat. He’s quite a physical child (walking at 10mths, running at 14mths, climbing like a fearless monkey :S), so being at nursery with other kids and people who can devote the necessary energy is great.
I hate not being able to always pick him up, or cuddle him when he’s crying / tired/ upset etc
When I had an operation on my hip when he was 20mths he was very good about not hanging off my but it was still very difficult to explain to him to be careful with mummy and it broke my heart when I went for my MRI earlier this year and he asked was it because he broke mummy (daddy’s forever saying don’t jump on mummy you’ll break her)
We avoided a lot of the child safety gadgets as I couldn’t operate them either so he learned very quickly to use the stairs properly, he’s never been in the cleaning cupboard, doesn’t run off the pavement etc and also quickly graduated from a highchair & cot to a chair and bed, which is probably because I can’t lift him so I need him to do it when we’re on our own as daddy’s a dr and works an awful lot.
I’ve always tried to explain a simplified version of everything to him so he knows what’s going on and hes really good about it a lot of the time
My biggest problem has been tantrums – he knows if he throws one, physically there is very little mummy can do. I can’t pick him up or drag him away – so I generally have to be more creative with my punishments than daddy but they must work because hes soooooo much better behaved for me than his dad! We had a few disaster moments( the cleaver little b*gger, worked out if he kicked mummy in the damaged knee he could floor me in screaming agony, which stopped me in my tracks for a bit) but we do ok and occasionally we just snuggle up on the sofa for mummy and ben time on the sofa under our ‘poorly’ blankets for kisses and hugs.
Fatigue is currently a big problem that i’m struggling with and unfortunately we don’t have a lot of family to help out. Thankfully we have absolutely fab neighbours who have ‘saved’ the day on a few occasions when I was physically not up to the job

Chrissie

dorcas

Hello Davina and welcome to the forum

I hope your doctor will be able to give you something for the cramps when you see him this week.

Good luck with starting Enbrel and I hope it brings you relief from the RA. It can't be easy looking after a small child when you are in pain.!

Let us know how you get on when you see the doctor.

Iris xx

ps.. Chrissie I do hope things ease up for you too.xx