please help explain symptoms

During a period when I was under a lot of stress, I woke up one morning and both my shoulders began to click every time I tried to move them. One of my shoulders felt extremely loose. I don't know how to exactly describe it. I didn't hurt and I didn't notice any swelling(but the shoulder muscles could hide it) or redness, but it felt stiff. I didn't have a fever or any decline in energy.
After a couple weeks, this went away, but my joints still felt weaker than before and they still click and subluxate. I

I am 26 years old. Most of my joints are somewhat loose and make noises, but none of them hurt, except for my neck arthritis. I have a habit of cracking most of my joints - which could contribute to hypermobility.

Well, I know I need to see a rheumatologist, but I don't have insurance. I can't stop thinking about all the things that could be wrong with me. I don't know if my whole life is going to take a detour.

Right now, my best guesses are hypermobility syndrome, AS, RA, and mold or bacteria infection. It could be overuse symptoms, but more likely some kind of autoimmune disease. So far, I haven't read of anyone with the same pattern as me.

Hi there,
Welcome to the forum! Wish I had some advice to give you, but I haven't been diagnosed all that long myself. Just wanted to say HI, and hang in there. Hope you can get to the doc, I know it is scary to have all these strange things happening with your body, even scarier without insurance. Is there a health clinic or anything like that near you that offers assistance of any kind?
The weekends can be a sort of slow time on the boards, but I'm sure one of the forum moderators will come on soon and be able to help you.
Take care,
Jody

Thanks for your responses. The only person I have told this to is my brother and my parents. My parents aren't taking me seriously. I don't feel a need to tell my close friends, but I almost did. I appreciate being able to come here for support.

tonight, I am thankful that I got to spend a normal night out with my friends . What I've been through so far has changed how I appreciate everyday stuff that I usually take for granted. Man! I miss being ignorant.

Earlier today, I was reading about infectious arthritis. I think that may be the cause. It even said that IA can be polyarthritic with greater chances if RA is also present. I don't know. Its pretty confusing, but it could make sense of all sorts of joint problems I have experienced so far in life. I've read about the book, Conquering Arthritis, and I feel that even in the worst cases, my prognosis could still be alright.

I'm going to make seeing a rheumatologist a priority. How many tests can i expect and should I skip any tests that are probably useless or have low accuracy?

Post Edited (kvn332) : 8/19/2007 1:33:03 AM (GMT-6)

Hi there - I read your story and have to comment about what to expect when you get to see the RA. They will likely just do a simple blood test to see if you have RA - or other arthritis diseases. They'll check your RA Factor, your Sed Rate, and for some type of antibodies (ANA). At least that's what they did to me.

And - as for the symmetrical pain (pain occurring in the same joints at the same time) I rarely have that - so it cannot always be a marker for whether or not it's RA. I can wake up w/pain in my right thumb, feel better an hour later, and then limp on my left ankle for another hour or two -and then better again. For me it moves everywhere, most times on the same day.

You'll drive yourself nuts wondering what it can be without taking the actual blood tests. I had a horrible stomach/ chest pain and did research for 2 weeks before I finally broke down and took a day off to have an endoscopy done to see what it was. Turns out the doctor thinks its my liver (I never would have thought that!). More tests need to be done - but it has kept me from researching the what ifs, because I put a lot of energy building a case on what it just had to be... and it turned out to be something different.

Hang in there (insurance companies suck don't they?) - and find an RA Doctor out there to help you.

sometimes when they can't pinpoint it they will label it mixed connective tissue disease or fibro. Also not everyone with ra have the same symptoms. I've had a mild form(still going thru diagnostic testing but I'm 99% sure its ra) for the past 15yrs and have never had the swelling or fatigue, but i do have the syamtrical(sp) pain, occasional warmth and burning sensation in affected joints. Hope you find answers soon.