Please Help, extra problems.

Tezz01uk

Hi there,

Im Tezz, and I have been on this forum before but forgot my details so had to make a new account.

I really hope you guys can be of some help to me here as my GPs and consultants have not been so far.

Ok I`ll be as brief as I can.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid Arthritis 4 years ago and since then have suffered the symptoms that generally go with this disease, (stiffness and pain in the hands and joints etc).
Now for the last 2 years at least I have had other symptoms on top which are worrying to me and even after discussing these things with my GP and consultant I am nowhere nearer any sort of explantation as to what and why etc.

These extra symptoms seems to be even more debilitating than the actual arthritis.
This is what my extra symptoms mainly consist of:

Pain in my neck shoulders and upper arms, pain that is so intense at times I cannot operate my arms properly and cannot lift them above chest height without severe pain, alongside this the muscles in my upper arms shoulders and neck always feel tight. Just recently the tight muscles are also affecting my back and causing me pain when breathing. My wife said to me that I felt like a statue because my back was so tense its even painful to the touch, any sort of massage makes me wince in pain.
Also for some reason I keep pulling muscles in my back and chest which causes pain moving and breathing.
And I cannot straiten my arms fully as both my elbows are painful both inside and out.
Plus I`m having what I believe to be trouble with tendons, Back of my knees and ankles are affected. This makes it super painful to bend down and kneel and especially getting back up from a sitting or kneeling position.
Lastly My sleep is affected because I cannot lay on my side without pain in that arm or shoulder waking me up. this seems to happen around 20 odd times a night. I get up feeling worse than when I went to bed. Fatigue hits me really badly to the point that I do not want to participate in anything anymore because I feel physically drained after doing the merest of tasks.

So that is what I consider to be "secondary" symptoms.
I also have to deal with all the bad stuff that the RA throws at me, which is worse at the moment because I seem to be in a flare up almost all the time.

If any of you can give me any idea as to what I might be dealing with here so I can pose some decent questions to my healthcare people.
Because right now everyone seems happy to just pump more tablets and drugs into me and go down the route of "lets wait and see" instead of giving me a proper diagnosis.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am at my wits end.
I am also suffering from what I would call a deep depression with stress and anxiety thrown in, which to be fair has been compounded by having to fight the DWP twice for PIP.

So again Please, if there is anyone else who has had the same problems please talk to me.

Many Regards,
TEZZ

[Deleted User]

Hello Tezz

Welcome back to Arthritis Care Forums. As mods we are here to help with any problems you may have on the message boards.

If you would like your old account back, please do get in touch

As you know, there are lots of lovely people here with a wide range of experiences with arthritis and the problems of living with the condition. Just join in wherever you like you will be made very welcome.

I'm sure Helplines will be along soon to answer your post.

I look forward to seeing you on the boards.

All best wishes
Mod B

helpline_team

Dear Tezz,

Thanks for your post to Helplines. I'm sorry to hear that things are so sore right now. You might consider posting on Living with arthritis forum too - so you get more replies from folks with arthritis.

If you are having lots of pain and tension I appreciate that night times are difficult. I can see that the meds side of things can be frustrating - getting inflammation under better control is not an easy thing when the drugs are slow acting.

If you feel like talking and having more explanations for things, you'd always be welcome to ring us on the helpline.

I wonder whether there's something that's nagging at you? Is there something that you have not been able to discuss properly? Or are you not being taken seriously?

Having another condition such as mental health it can be difficult to get away from having things put down to it - and you may not always agree with the way it's described.

I hope we can help - we are here to listen and do try the other forum too.

Kind regards

Guy