Hi.
Im new here. Im 28 and this is my story so far - Im in pain alot, and it seems to come in bouts. When its happening the pain is all day, every day and sometimes i have to just go to bed with hot water bottles and painkillers and feel like crying. I have a baby to look after so this isnt a great solution and im relying on family alot

Ive been back and forth to the gp about this pain over the last year. I had some blood tests and was diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency which the doctor said was the reason for all my pains. I took vitamin D everyday but the pains continued. After 6 months i had more bloods done and the gp said my vitamin D level was normal now and i could come off the tablets. Because i was still in pain she agreed it wasnt the vit D deficiency and ordered some more blood tests, including testing for arthritis. My pains are mostly in my fingers, hands, wrists, the joint from my leg to my foot, arms and legs and between my shoulder blades.
I feel so weak and achey its affecting my everyday life now. It hurts to walk some days from aches and stiffness. One day my hands were so stiff and achey i couldnt grip my mug handle of tea in the morning and this really upset me. It just hurt too much. Im worried its going to get worse.
Anyway, i had the blood tests. They came back negative. Ive got another appointment with gp next week. I just dont know where to go from here

Did you all have a positive blood test for arthritis?
Thanks for reading x
Comments
My arthritis was seen in blood tests I had in the early part of this year. I am not sure if the gp has to request the blood test to look for arthritis. It may be worth having a conversation with him or her to ask if this was done. I know it was full blood tests that I had ie no food or drink except water from 10pm night before. I do hope you get some relief soon. Wishing you a Happy and pain free New Year.
My GP kept telling me there was nothing wrong with me.....I went with a "pain in my leg...towards the hip" never thought of arthritis at that time. After going back and forward and him saying he couldn't find anything wrong I insisted on a referral to the Hospital.....There I saw an orthopaedic surgeon, sent me for an x ray and when I went back to his office he said I need 2 new hips!!!!!!!!! So much for the GP :roll:
Good Luck with the diagnosis
Love
Hileena
So sorry you are suffering like this..arthritis is sooo complex..I have OA but have had raised levels of whatever that said it look like RA..then they all came back negative...so had xrays that showed OA in multiple joints...so they should at the very least keep checking your bloods but should also back them up with Xrays or even better an MRI..it must be so hard a little one to look after, please let us know how you get on...and the one things I learned is you have to make yourself heard....good luck x
Barbara
I'm so sorry to read ure story so far
I have severe chronic plaque psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), Osteoarthritis (OA) & Fibromyalgia (FM).
I had a swollen ankle & was referred to a Rheumatologist in 2007, I was 37 & had all four of our children by the age of 24 so they were older, luckily.
I had bloods taken & had xrays as well as a physical examination. In early 08 I had another appointment. My bloods were clear of the Rheumatoid Factor (RF) so it was less likely to be Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). I also have a lot of hypermobile joints. Because of the pattern of damage shown in my xrays & my medical history I was an easy diagnosis, one of the lucky ones, of PsA & OA.
Two years later after complaining about the pain in my shoulders my Rheumy did a verbal & tender point test on me, I was diagnosed then with FM. It is a pain disorder that they are linking to the immune system as well as other factors. It has many, many symptoms but is finally becoming more & more recognized & diagnosed faster by Rheumatologists & most importantly GPs!!
RA, PsA etc are autoimmune types of arthritis. They can often be very difficult to diagnose & many people have to sit with a diagnosis of 'Inflammatory Arthritis' until something presents itself that will aid a full diagnosis. If you have one of these types you'll often have raised inflammatory levels in ure blood, that'll be checked by either a CRP or ESR test on ure blood. There is no blood test for FM available in the UK yet.
I would suggest you go back & talk to ure GP. Explain how badly effected you are by the pain as well as how upsetting losing ure grip can be. Ask wot they are testing for & even ask if they are considering an arthritic or FM cause!!
If you aren't breast feeding it may be worth asking for some mild pain relief as taking something like paracetamol can have an accumulative affect so may help you.
Please keep us informed. You have a voice & plenty of ears in here that understand chronic pain.
I wish you well.
Xx xX
Debbie.x
My bloods were clear for a long time but I had plenty of pain. I already had Osteo arthritis but this was a different pain in different joints. I was diagnosed with sero negative rheumatoid arthritis. My bloods came back positive recently so now I am a bog standard sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis without the sero. .lol
Bloods can be a good way to tell a lot of things but not all things.
Best wishes and some Yorkshire Blokey Hugs.. :xmas_cheesygrin:
Cleo - 1996 to 2011. RIP
Good luck and don't take "no" for an answer from your GP please - it's your life and your body and you are too young to be suffering in this way without proper advice and support. Mat x
I have been back to the gp and she has agreed to refer me to the rheumatologist. She said it could take up to 6 months but at least i've been referred. Im glad someones going to take a look at me, i know somethings not right!!! x
Good luck, crabby. A step in the right direction, at least! As others have said, some kinds of inflammatory arthritis don't produce anti-bodies that show up in blood tests. It's also not overly unusual to have negative inflammatory markers (ESR and/or CRP) but still have active inflammation in the joints.