Can RA affect just one side of the body early in the disease?

Okay, I have new symptoms as of today.  The 2nd and 3rd toe on my right foot look totally deformed.  They're both bending in funky directions. SORE too.  Wow. I can hardly put any weight on that foot today. The toes themselves are really painful.

But the toes on my left foot look normal, no pain.

Does RA affect both sides of the body, or can it hit one side first and show up later on the other side? 

I don't have an RA diagnosis (yet).  Seeing rheumy on Wednesday.

Thanks!

Ginny

Yes, thank you that is helpful information!

I have had gout before.  This isn't gout.  I had it in my big toe a few years ago and the pain feels totally different.  I've been having foot issues for about 2 months now, and it's in the toes and on the ball of my foot.  Today, the pain is not only on the ball but on the top where the joints meet the metatarsals. The pain goes all the way to the tips of the toes.  This is a new symptom today too.  The pain has always been only on the bottom of my foot.  These two toes are definitly looking deformed and bent in weird directions.  I had xrays done. No fractures. 

I tested negative for the RA factor back in February.  I'll have it rechecked next week when I see my rheumy.  My hands and fingers are definitely swollen, but there is very little pain and no deformation.  It's a mystery. 

You mentioned you were sick for a lengthy time.  Was it the RA that was causing the sickness? I'm asking because I keep going in and out of feeling absolutely rotten.  It doesn't feel like my lupus or Fibro kind of sick either.  It's totally different.  The fatigue I'm getting is really bad too.  None of this is typical for me and my lupus.  But that can change over time too. So many possibilities.

Thank you for your information. I really appreciate it!

Ginny

What is so complexing to me is that when I increased my prednisone a couple of weeks ago to stop a lupus flare, it actually made my pain and sick feelings worse.... Weird eh...  So I immediately assumed it was a Fibromyalgia flare up. Fibro and prednisone don't mix. I went back down to my normal dose of prednisone, and the sick feelings went away, but the joint pain stuck around.

The foot, heel, ankle, knees, lower back, hips, elbows, wrists, hands, and neck pain has been consistant for almost 3 months now. No matter what dose of prednisone I'm on, whether it's 8.5, 10, 15 or 20mg, the pain is the same or gets worse.  You'd think, if it was inflammation, arthritis, etc, that the higher doses of prednisone would help?  It doesn't. Even my ESR sed rate is within normal ranges. I have been diagnosed with arthritis in my neck. C3, 4, 6, 7. It's moderate to severe.  Not very nice at all.... I also have bilateral sacroilitis.  Again moderate to severe. AS is one thing she's thinking about, and she's told me that. But she's a stickler for positive blood test results, and I came back negative for that antibody. How ironic!! Of course I'd be negative!! LOL.

I am actually really eager to see my rheumy on Wednesday. Who says that!  She's been on vacation for almost a month, which is why I haven't been able to get any answers on all this.  I need her to take this very seriously and test me for EVERYTHING.  I'm usually a very easy patient that she only needs to see a couple times a year.  This will be my 4th visit with her this year already.

I"m trying to learn as much as I can about AS and RA.  Just in case I do have one of them, or both - good grief, that is my luck. No kidding.... Thanks again for such great info and sharing your experiences. It helps me to wrap my head around it all!

Ginny

Yeah, I've never had to be on a medrol pack (knock on wood).  I won't let my rheumy put me on higher doses of prednisone as the treatment for this if it turns out to be RA.  I've been on prednisone for 8 years now.  That's a long time.  I refuse to be on higher doses than what I need for my lupus.  I'm afraid of the long term consequences of higher pred doses.  I'm already wondering how my body is doing with the 10mg I've been on for so many years.... It's a toughy.  I want to entertain other options. 

Even now, on 10mg, my body is telling me I'm on too much.  I get jittery, anxious, hyper, etc, when I'm on too much pred.  It's a great indicator for me that it's time to taper down a little.  My body knows how to talk to me!  It's great.  Trying to balance the lupus with the fibro and the prednisone is really hard sometimes.  And now with the existing arthritis I have, plus this new "stuff", it's going to be a trick to figure out how to make all my diseases happy, LOL.

The toes and both feet and ankles are really sore today.  Still all bent funny too. Knees are bad today too.  Great timing for all these symptoms to poke their heads up.  Wednesday can't come soon enough.

Thanks again for talking with me about this.  It's just comforting to know I'm not crazy or reading into things too much.  I know my symptoms and the visual evidence is there. I'll keep you posted. 

Blessings,

Ginny 

Yes, I talked to my rheumy on the phone just before she left on her longggg vacation.  I told her I thought we should discuss and at least consider the possibilities of me changing my meds to something else.  I'm on Imuran and prednisone for my lupus.  I've never tried anything else. This combo has worked so well for these past 8 years.  I'm very open to trying Plaquenil and methotrexate.  What is odd is that when I was talking with her, she said that I, "Don't have many options" for trying other meds..... Hmmmmm.  Well, I can think of two, that we are talking about right now!  Cellcept is another one.  I don't know, maybe there's something about my body that means I can't take anything else!  I have no idea. 

I will need to be on a small dose of pred no matter what.  My adrenals are mildly deficient because I've been on pred for so long.  So that stinks, but even if I can get down to 2mg or something it would be fantastic. 

Wednesday is right around the corner, thank goodness!

Ginny

I can't decide whether it's just more patience needed or whether it's time to add something!  I am sooooo fatigued, and learned from here that I need to be taking way more folic acid than I am (I am actually pretty inconsistant with it and only take 800 mcg).

I am going to try taking around 3 mg and see what happens.

Best of luck to you in your journey to find relief!  My doc told me this last time that I am not "classical" in my RA presentation!  So I guess I am just as weird as you!

~~ pkm ~~