Ten months of increasing pain

Jackswan

More or less started May/June 2013.
Both elbows swollen up at the same time, no reason, never thought anything of it. Went into work and they said I should go to the hospital and get it looked at. Both elbows were drained and was told it was probably bursitis.

This happened a couple of more times over the following weeks, elbows were drained a few more times at A & E and they were becoming sore. Told that I should return to my doctor and get a referral to see a rheumatologist.

Saw a rheumatologist in late August 2013 after paying to go private. At this point both elbows were swollen up. so he gave me steroid injections and drained both elbows. said that they could be rheumatoid nodules.

Returned back to see the rheumatologist in late October 2013 after having blood tests and xrays on my elbows. Said that there were no signs of rheumatoid arthritis as the blood tests came back negative. Mentioned at this point that one of my knees was beginning to swell up, so he drained it and did a quick analysis for gout crystals, none found. Also mentioned that there could be a possibility of being sero- negative as regards arthritis and he would see me in 3 months. Given a months supply of arcoxia tablets.

Tablets seemed to keep the pain down for the first couple of months (went back to GP a few times for more, just wrote a prescription each time, no other help)

Pain in my elbows starting to get worse as though someone sticking a knife in there, especially when driving and in work. Both knees have increasing pain, same type as the elbows and one knee is swollen. Had to get out of bed one night last week as the pain in my knees was so bad. Managed to stand, but nearly collapsed as the pain was unbearable. Still finding it difficult when getting out of bed in the mornings and late at night, tend to find the pain is greatest at those times in elbows and knees.

Still waiting for the return appointment to the rheumatologist after one has been cancelled in late March.
Don't really know what to do, feeling low and just hate moaning about my knees or elbows hurting me.

sailrib

Welcome. I do hope you find this forum useful.

I have no expensive with RA, just OA and another joint problem called coalition but I hope you don't have to wait too long to get things sorted.

Good Luck and keep us updated.

Boomer13

Sorry that you are feeling so low and painful. Hope you don't have to wait too much longer for that rescheduled appointment. Waiting in pain and not knowing the cause of it, is very difficult.

If you do have a seronegative arthritis do hang in there and keep pestering the doctors for answers. I have PsA and it took a long time to get it figured out.

Take care.

mellman01

Hi Jackswan well you've washed up on the right cyber beach, this place has many people who can help and advise you, it might take a while though as pain makes us all a bit sporadic so don't give up keep the faith and hang on in there your not alone trust me your not. Now what pain med's are you on other than arcoxia?, also don't worry if it takes a bit of time to get all your pain and other med's sorted out its not an exact sciences so can take some time to do so, but importantly if your in pain then go back and see a GP, it doesn't need to be yours, and sometimes seeing another one can get you a better result, but don't whatever you do stop badgering them if you get the brush off, keep going back until you get some decent pain relief, you shouldn't be expected to suffer in silence not in the 21'st century, that said many do as pain can make you very confused and hyper critical of yourself, you can end up worrying your not crying wolf on the pain front but don't ever think you are OK?, the lack of empathy on the pain front is also common wit folk, even amongst so called health professionals, crazy i know but thats just how it can be sometimes don't take no for an answer and just keep going back until you find an empathic and helpful GP, after all its not your fault you are in pain.
Oh as for bloods coming back negative I think I'm right in saying this isn't unknown with RA even when your in flare mode, I can't speak from experience as I only have OA, I do however get gout, one sure fire way to tell if thats what you've got is the joint gets hot, really hot, you can feel the heat by just hovering the back of your hand over the effected joint, mine also goes in cycles, it always has the same MO, first I get a slight needling stabbing pain in the joint before it really get going, also putting weight on the ball of my foot is painful kind of sore, I also seem to get gout in only a few specific joints, right toe, and right knee, and once its got going the joint can get really nasty looking and boy talk bout pain, its nastier and different to OA pain, the effected joint gets red and angry looking sometimes with a tinge of blue about it, i've also had a strange horn like protrusion growing out of my toe when its been really bad, once my GP went to touch it after I'd struggled getting my shoe off, lets just say I advised him that would be a very silly thing to do and he left it alone, Oh I also nearly forgot, one other noticeable thing with gout is the thought of anything even a light bed sheet laying on the effected joint is almost unbearable to contemplate, even just blowing air over it can bring water to my eyes, also blood tests for gout can be wildly inaccurate so don't take it as red its not gout, and even though gout is painful I'd prefer it in all my joints rather than have OA, gout at least can be controlled very well with todays modern med's, I use Alupruinol for mine and it works a treat haven't had an attack in over a year.

barbara12

Hi Jackswan and welcome to the forum
Sorry you are suffering like this, it does seem that Hermy'sope are getting rarer by he min... arthritis is so complex has you are finding out, I have had many blood test that have come back negative for inflammatory arthritis..I am waiting like you for a Rheumy appointment..I hope you can get some help very soon, at least when you have a name for what is going on you know what you are fighting...good luck and please let us know how you get on..

dreamdaisy

I've been in pain for seventeen years, it's part and parcel of my PsA and resulting OA and is now a fact of life. I began with one fat knee, I now have 39 affected joints and I hurt from head to toe but so what? I can't change it, it won't go away, I have to live with it, get on with it, and there's no point in moaning because doesn't help me or those around me (my husband feels helpless as indeed he is) so why re-enforce those negative feelings?

It is not easy living with pain, many people fear it, resent it and allow it to affect the whole of their lives. I don't fear it, I no longer resent it and yes, it affects what I can and cannot do but I tailor my life accordingly. Any form of arthritis is progressive and degenerative but everyone's arthritis is unique. Learning to Live with Arthritis is not easy but it can be done. DD

mellman01

Yeah and sorry about me long post, like DD say's its part of the deal but that said you should not be in pain 24hr's a day, you need some R & R from it but it will take time to work out the best approach, there's loads of variables, GP's, effectiveness of med's on you, weather, mobility etc etc, in time you will learn the best method of coping with it just be strong and hang in there you will get there in the end, keep the faith dude!.