Rapid onset

Michaelgee

Hi everyone, My name is Mike I've joined to try and help my wife. Three months ago my wife was healthy but now has aggressive osteoarthritis in all her joints. Does anybody know why this would happen so quickly

Tom

Welcome to the forum @Michaelgee . You are seeking help for your wife who, from being healthy, has over a period of three months developed osteoarthritis in all her joints.

Here is some general reading on the topic:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/

Does your wife have any other symptoms? AS for management of the condition, many people find physiotherapy helps.  Your GP can give a referral.

This link gives ad vice on pain management.:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

Now your post is released to the public forum, I am sure that you will get responses from other members.

Take care and let us know how your wife gets on.

Tom, Moderator.

Tom

Michaelgee

Thank you for the replies. My wife got bursers behind both knees to start with, followed by swelling of the ankles then the rest of her joints. She sleeps alot during the day with intermittent sleep during the night. We had a healthy diet and her weight is 7 stone so not overweight. She tries to keep active despite the pain. We are waiting for a further scan and a visit to the physio.

stickywicket

It's good that further investigation and physio is going to happen.

We all have bursas (bursae) behind our knees. Bursitis is when these swell up. Have a read here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bursitis/#:~:text=Bursitis%20happens%20when%20the%20fluid,usually%20a%20dull%2C%20achy%20pain It can be connected to arthritis but people without arthritis can get it too.

In reply to your question 'Why can it happen so quickly?' the only real answer is 'because it can'. As your wife seems to have developed symptoms in several joints at once, though, with fatigue, I'd be wanting to investigate for an autoimmune form of arthritis such as Rheumatoid. (Which I have.) Some GPs do a common blood test for this but, if the rheumatoid factor isn't high, decide it's not that. However, some autoimmune forms can be negative on the rheumatoid factor - even RA, though it usually isn't. Have a read here https://nras.org.uk/resource/seropositive-and-seronegative/

Perhaps the scan is to try to determine exactly what's going on. In the meantime, are there any autoimmune diseases in your wife's family - asthma or psoriasis to name but two of many? We can inherit a 'disposition' towards autoimmune diseases. We might not get any but, equally, it doesn't mean to say we'll get the one that someone else in the family has.

I hope some clarity and help can be sorted soon.

jamieA

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/57848/rapid-onset

Hi @Michaelgee

I think what @stickywicket says is spot on. In late 2020 I went from relatively healthy to being diagnosed with really debilitating inflammatory Psoriatic Arthritis in 6 weeks. In my case I come from a family of Psoriasis sufferers but none of us had heard of psoriatic arthritis before a 2nd line A&E medic (who'd previously been a rheumatologist) diagnosed it after I was referred to the local hospital by my GP after my knee swelled. Then my hands, shoulders, hips, feet and ankles followed.

Michaelgee

My wife has asthma although this year has been unusually mild. As an aside, my son has severe fibromyalgia brought on by an accident at work. Both the fm and oa have been found to be autoimmune disease (research by Kings college and Liverpool University). Light at the end of the tunnel? A big thank you for the comments and links, very much appreciated.

Moira

Years ago, I woke up one morning with every joint red, swollen and extremely painful. All the tests the GP did came back negative. It turns out I had been in contact with a kid (I was a primary teacher) with slapped cheek syndrome. I was sent to a specialist hospital in central London. Now it is called viral arthritis but when I had they didn't have a name. I was even written up in "The Lancet" (but anonymously). It cleared after 9 months but left some damage.

Several years later I was diagnosed with immflamatory artritis - psoriatic. Now it appears to be mostly oesteo damage. I have lived with arthritis for so long, got used to the pain, and can honestly say physio & exercise (that is suitable for your age and condition) are the best ways of keeping sane. My moto is do little and often.

Everyone needs to find out what is best for them but sitting around doesn't help.

Good luck folks.