bad joint pain, no diagnosis yet! ..

lizzy100

hi,
Im really struggling at the moment. I'm 27 and for the last 4 weeks Iv been having really bad joint pain, affecting basically all the joints in my upper and lower limbs, but it seems to be migratory and vary. It affects my hips, shoulders, knees, wrists, ankles and hands and feet. I don't have lots of swelling but i have had some minor swelling in my hands with my ring getting stuck on, and also knees and ankles swelling. I also have IBD/ulcerative colitis which iv had for less that 2 years.
The joint pains so bad though that I cant write most of the time, and often cant walk very well, only hobble.
I've had to sets of bloods done-they just did CRP and ESR, and all these were normal. But i havent had anything else done. My gps refering me to rheumatolgy so have to see what they say. It sounds alot like peripheral arthritis to me (and apparently 25% of people with IBD get arthritis so would make sense, but with normal bloods? I dont know what else it could be though? In the mean time paracetamol and ibuprofen (which im not meant to take), aren't helping at all. any ideas? thanks

tillytop

Hello Lizzy100 and welcome to the forum.

I am a forum member, not a member of the helpline team but just wanted to say that, if you repost your message on the Living with Arthritis (LWA) forum, I am sure you will get some helpful answers. We are a friendly, knowledgeable bunch and you will be made very welcome.

I am so sorry you are struggling so much - but really glad your GP is on the ball and referring you to a rheumatologist. There are lots of different types of arthritis and it can be notoriously difficult to diagnose. The question about normal blood tests, even when there is obvious pain and inflammation, comes up regularly on the forum and many people (myself included) do find that the blood results don't always reflect what is going on. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and in the very early stages, even when I could hardly move, my ESR and CRP were apparently normal.

Thinking of you.

Tillyxxx

lizzy100

thanks i'll do that.
how long did it take for yours to show up in your bloods can i ask?
well i had to ask my gp to refer me, and thankfully she listend to me.

helpline_team

Hi lizzy100

Thanks for your posting.

I'm sorry to hear about the pain you are currently experiencing.

As tillytop mentioned, posting on the Living with arthritis forum is a good idea and hopefully you will find out more when you see the rheumatologist.

For information on Coping with pain see our booklet at http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Listedbytype/Booklets/main_content/Copingwithpainbooklet2011.pdf.

You are welcome to ring us on 0808 800 4050 if you would like to have a chat about your current situation.

Regards

Nick
Helplines Team