Athritis ,uncertainties , no answers

UnknownD

I am a female 29yrs of age. I started having problems with my knees last winter .Where they would become red and feel like they are dislocating. ( they never really did just the feeling) . I ignored it . Summer came and went I felt fine . When winter arrived this year it all started again. But worse . I read about winter and arthritis and seemed to have figured that barometric pressure could have something to do with it? Nevertheless I went to a rheumatologist about 4 months ago , who did blood work on me. RF . Lupus . Autoimmune disease .You name it. All negative . Only thing they found was vitamin D deficiency .Then he diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. Treatment being anti- depressants so that I could actually sleep at night and painkillers. I had to revisit him after which he actually gave me a chance to tell him . About my knees how they become red and inflamed. This happens only at night ?? This has now moved to my feet as well. My wrists pain at times . My ankle become very sore . My knees make a sound like crushing glass. And I know for a fact that fibro is not associated with inflammation .But what now? I stopped taking the anti- depressants and painkillers because I don't see myself drinking them forever even if they offered relief . I now am battling to sleep at night with the immense pain . Could I just be a seronegative case ? What do I actually do now ?

stickywicket

Hello UnknownD and welcome from me, too. Pain is the unifying factor on here whatever type of arthritis we have and I'm sorry to hear you have it too.

You've already seen a rheumatologist so it seems you don't have an autoimmune form of arthritis. Autoimmune forms of arthritis can be hard to diagnose, and don't really slip neatly into the sero-positive and sero-negative pigeon holes. Have a read here http://www.nras.org.uk/seropositive-seronegative . However, they are not the only criteria for judging as the above article shows. With an RA flare, the morning stiffness and heat coming off the joints is a bit of a give-away. Plus crushing fatigue even after a good night's sleep. A bit like having flu.

I presume you're now taking Vit D tablets as, according to this NHS page, at least some of what you describe could be attributed to the lack of it. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-D.aspx In this country many of us are low in Vit D and need a supplement.

I do understand when you say 'I stopped taking the anti- depressants and painkillers because I don't see myself drinking them forever even if they offered relief.' I think many of us felt that way at first but, for some of us, medication for life is not optional. It's simply redressing the balance (or should that be imbalance?) in our body's make up.

You ask what you should do now. Whenever I've been a bit baffled after a visit to a consultant, I've made an appointment with my GP to talk it over. I've always found them very helpful and usually emerged understanding more. Why not try that?

curly

Hi,
Don't know if this will be any help to you, but I've found that the 12hr voltarol is good for during the night. I have arthritis in my spine, hands and feet and also find it hard to get a full nights sleep. I also put sea salt in my bath, which I have almost every night. sfl0