Getting my head around this

Craine1998

Hi

Been told by GP he thinks its RA but doesn't want to refer me to a Rheumatologist straiught away - give it a month or so he said.

Extreme swelling from ring finger - up and down pain radiates towards wrist, wrist swollen, elbow etc. So given prescription for 500mg Naproxen .

Been taking since Tuesday and swelling gone down so much - aiming to go back to work after a week self certing, but feel sickly....

Any magic tips for not feeling sick - also more emotional than I thought I'd be.

Job is part office based, part home visiting - going back tomorrow to see how I fare -

Any advice?

helpline_team

Hello there,

Thank you for your post to Helplines. If you've got suspected arthritis then the auto-immune types (i.e. rheumatoid) would be confirmed by blood test. The more common musculo skeletal kinds - ie osteo arthritis can often be identified on examination by the GP.

Key early self management would involve weight loss (if necessary) gentle exercise and some painkillers.

If problems persist then you'd need to go back to the GP.

You can see our booklets here:
http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Listedbytype/Booklets

If you'd like us to send you an information pack please email us (helplines@arthritiscare.org.uk) your full name and address

I hope we can help further

Guy

traluvie

helpline_team wrote:

Hello there,

If you've got suspected arthritis then the auto-immune types (i.e. rheumatoid) would be confirmed by blood test. The more common musculo skeletal kinds - ie osteo arthritis can often be identified on examination by the GP.


Guy

I have inflammatory arthritis and this has not been confirmed through bloods as my bloods were ok, mine was confirmed through bonescan..I was under the impression that bloods are not always needed to confirm a diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis??

helpline_team

Hi Tracey

Thanks for your posting.

Blood Tests are usually always given initially to detect inflammatory arthritis, though a proportion of people show as negative in the tests will be diagnosed as having inflammatory arthritis because of their symptoms. For more information see our factsheet on Spondyloarthritis (Also known as seronegative arthritis) at
http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Listedbytype/Factsheets#cK45 and on testing for arthritis at http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis_information/arthritis_today_magazine/spring_2005/testing_testing.aspx.

Regards

Nick
Helplines Team

scattered

If your GP thinks it's RA he should be referring you to a rheumatologist straight away. The best way to treat RA is to get in there early with treatment as that stand the best chance of getting it under control. The chances are you'll have to wait a few weeks for the referal to go through anyway. The longer you leave ti before seeing the rheumatologist the more chance the disease has to take hold and cause damage. I don't say this to scare you, I just think if your GP suspects RA and has test results or clincal findings backing up his diagnosis, it's in your best interests to get treatment for it as quickly as possible. RA treated within the first 3-5 months of first showing symptoms stands a much higher chance of going into remission and causing no damage than RA left longer than that.

Good luck.

salamander

The national protocol is to get patients on disease modifying drugs within 3 months of diagnosis. This is to prevent joint damage. So the sooner you get a referral, the better, in my humble opinion.