New to this forum

Wakeylass

Hi I'm a 47 yr old woman who until the beginning of this year was fit and healthy. The year started off with a hospital stay for aggressive Tonsilitis which needed antibiotics and steroids to shift it. Then in March i was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Good thing is as yet it's diet controlled. I've been getting aching joints for some time but it's the fatigue and constant aching that's hard. Gp has had bloods tested and they came back as arthritis but I needed a referal to rheumatologist. Still waiting for that but in mean time I'm on naproxen . Not been to work for six weeks now and going insane with kids also off for summer.Just had some more bloods done as the function of my hands is reducing.

[Deleted User]

Welcome to Arthritis Care Forums, Wakeylass, from the moderation team.

I am very sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes as well as the nasty sounding dose of tonsillitis. I can imagine being told you have Arthritis must have been a real blow on top of all that.

It is really good to hear that your GP has referred you to a Rheumatologist and started you in naproxen to help with the pain. Talking to people who understand can be so helpful and I know the members here will help in any way they can.

Given that you are being referred to a Rheumatologist I would think your GP is suspecting an inflammatory Arthritis and thought it might help you to have a read of this:

https://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/inflammatory-arthritis-pathway.aspx

As well as a link to information about coping with fatigue including pacing yourself among other strategies:

https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/living-with-arthritis/fatigue

As moderators we are here to help with any problems you may have using the message boards so feel free to send us a message if you need to.

I look forward to seeing you posting on the boards.

Best wishes


Ellen

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you and I am sorry you have had to find us. You have had a tough time, haven't you? All of this must be a real shock, good health doesn't prepare one in any way for setbacks such as these.

I was born with auto-immune issues so the possibility of my starting an auto-immune inflammatory arthritis was always on the cards but it can also start out if the blue with triggers including illness and pregnancy. My body duly obliged when I was 37 (I have psoriatic, PsA) but my then GP hadn't a clue about such matters. This was back in 1997 and now things are much better, your GP has acted promptly and this is a good thing. There are many kinds of auto-immune inflammatory conditions which is why it is necessary to see a rheumatologist, they know a lot about a little and I hope your appointment comes through soon.

Naproxen is an anti-inflammatory medication but, like all drugs, it helps some but not others. My husband finds it very good for his gout (an auto-immune inflammatory condition) but I found it useless for my PsA. PsA is one of the sero-negative kinds of auto-immune, i.e. rheumatoid factor is not present in the bloods and, like all auto-immune troubles, is caused by my immune system deciding to attack my body rather than defend it. The only effective treatment is to reduce the activity of the immune system and this is why seeing a rheumatologist is important because only they can prescribe the necessary medications.

While the disease is active it can cause pain, inflammation (which affects the whole body) and tiredness, a tiredness quite unlike any other. This can also happen whilst taking the meds but usually not to such extremes because disease activity is suppressed. You say you have had some more bloods done, I hope they have included measures of your inflammation levels (ESR and CRP are the usual) - my hospital regards anything from 0-10 as normal but I have had numbers considerably higher until things were brought under control which finally happened around 2007. I was fortunate with work because I was self-employed so I could adjust things as I deteriorated, I carried on for seventeen years before deciding enough was enough.

Has your GP also prescribed a stomach protector? This isn't necessary if one is on it for a short time but if it helps, and he prescribes more, then it's better to have the extra medication to help your stomach: I took omeprazole so don't be afraid to ask! I hope you find the forum to be of interest and please let us know how you get on. DD

Wakeylass

Thanks for your replies. I've been prescribed Lansaprazol 15mg but have found its either that or naproxen that's giving me really bad stomach pains so I'm back at doctors later today. The doc did ask me if I suffered from psoriasis which I said I get the tiniest patch sometimes but nothing major. Pain is not too bad at moment but I'm resting more this week. Hope you are doing well yourselves x

stickywicket

Almost certainly it's the naproxen. Lansoprazole is prescribed to try to prevent the stomach problems which all NSAIDS can cause. I hope that, by now, you've seen your GP and he/she has managed to sort things out a bit better. Sometimes it's just a matter of ensuring you always take the naproxen with a little food.

The psoriasis could be a pointer as to which type of autoimmune arthritis you have but the meds are broadly the same anyway. Unfortunately, GPs can't prescribe them unless directed to do so by a rheumatologist so I hope you can get on a bit better with the NSAIDS until that happens.