Diagnosis of arthritis

Hi folks,
I was diagnosed years ago with fibromyalgia and some form of arthritis. My lab work always come up negative, except for an elevated ANA. The doctor suspects I may have Lupus or RA but won't diagnosis me until something definate shows up in the lab work. He keeps repeating lab work every six months or so and this has been going on for years now. I've been accepting this "waiting game" but I look at my hands and I can tell they are starting to show signs of deformity. Has anyone experienced anything similiar? Should I consult another doctor maybe? Anyone ever gotten a diagnosis without lab work verification? Any help would be appreciated.

Hugs to all,
Kimber

Hello Kimber!
I think I can help you with some advice.
I have been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and osteo arthrosis for about 20 years. Finally, I managed to cure myself through a low acid-diet.
The rheumatic patient is at the origin of his own condition and he alone is able to remove its cause by a drastic change in his diet. For most rheumatic conditions are due to a kind of food poisoning by acids. It sounds rather revolutionary, in that way, that all the food that normally is advised as healthy is a real poison for rheumatic patients. And that is in fact the reason why doctors can’t find the cause of rheumatism. They never look for the cause in the food, and certainly not in the almost -so-called healthy food-. Rheumatism is most frequently due to an accumulation of acids. Acids dissolve the calcium in the body. The only way to cure rheumatism is to give your body the opportunity to rid itself of the accumulated acids without adding new ones. The worst acids are those from foods that actually taste sour, such as wine, cider, fruit juice, buttermilk, yogurt, curd cheese, Molkosan, vinegar, lemon, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, other acid fruit, rhubarb and tomatoes. It is advisable to take daily a teaspoon of cod-liver oil, pure without additives. It is thought to suppress inflammation and it is restoring the oil and the cartilage of the joints.
After my recovery, I could not bear the thought that I knew how to cure rheumatic pains in a way, which was both natural and sound, and was doing anything with it. I wanted to help others as well. I have published the history of my recovery in a book.

Good luck!
Jeanine from Belgium

Hey Kimber, do you have Psoriasis? That is where all my pain is and I have Psoriatic Arthritis. I was on Mobic for a while, but it didn't do ANYTHING for me... Feldene was the only thing that took the edge off the pain to make it bearable. Like you, I have a high pain tolerance, so as long as I could somewhat function, I was happy with that. I hope you get in to see a different rheumy... At the very least, just for a second opinion! - Duck

Where are your rashes and what do they look like?

Hi there Kimber,
This waiting game with docs and diagnoses is the WORST!
With rheumatics it's so flip-floppidy. You can have all positive symptoms physically and the blood labs are negative and then some folks have all the positive blood work yet show minimal joint swelling/deformity but still have much much pain.
There are an array of small joint diseases. A positive ANA is a good indicator of something at least. (well not good, who wants to have arthritis?...but at least on the trail to diagnosis/treatment).
The constant repeat is a pain, but it is a good baseline to see if something changes. Sometimes it takes years for a positive RA bloodwork to show up...the same for Lupus.
Are you happy with the way you are being treated for your symptoms? Do all NSAIDs make you sick? Have you tried all the COX2's? By chance...do you have some inflammatory bowel disease?
It's always good to have a second/3rd/4th opinion sometimes....different insight from docs sometimes "clicks" into a major epiphany!!
I would say definitely get some films or even a bone scan just to cover all bases. Ultrasound also is a very good diagnostic tool for hand joints.
Do you have an upcoming appt?
Take care
Sincerely,
Erin

good idea Kimber.  it sounds like what you are experiencing are flare ups of some sorts.  with me, i've active severe RA and CD and a cast of complications.  dealing with this the past 10 years.  i'm in constant chronic pain in all major joints everyday, and then i go through episodes of acute flares where the throbbing and pain is unbearable.  it lasts a few days or like now....i've been in a bad flare since the night of dec.25th; woke up in the middle of the night and holy cow! awful.

so yeah it's hard.  for your well being, see that other doc. 

all the nsaids and cox2's always made me bleed (rectal bleeding) or vomit & cause pain.  it's a tough process..especially when you feel like you're not being heard and looke at properly.  a good doc is there for you, just have to find em'.

the best to you,

erin

anytime! there's strength in numbers. if it's a help these are the meds i've tried to TRY to get a grip on the RA joint pain:

clebrex, mobic, vioxx ::: bled bled bled & stomach pains. not too much help for RA.
all OTC and Rx NSAIDs ::: bled bled bled...but ADVIL did alleve much of the joint throbbing! but can't take it due to CD.
pred :::yeah it works, but i'm sure you know...it's not a fun med to be on. i hate it.
Enbrel ::: very good for 6 months, was able to finish school on it. helped the best with the AS associated back pain.
Humira ::: since august & it has helped with the fatigue the best! but my joints are still getting worse.
now on Humira every 4 days and pain management.

mind you though...i've had RA since 16 but never was treated for it till i was 22! docs chose to ignore it...passed it off as it was something i would develop when got older. had the bloodworks as positive and pain, but at 15...i was still able to GO GO GO. so i never complained. (had Lymes disease left untreated/undiagnosed from age 12 till 21. so it catapulted this whole autoimmune mess) so this is why the RA is soooo hard to get control of. when you're a fresh diagnosis and start treatment early...it's usually VERY successful. so keep on it!!! i'm rooting for you!!
erin

Kimber, I usually post on the lupus forum, but often visit this forum and the chronic pain forum. I'm also in diagnosis limbo (for 2 years) and my case sounds similar to yours. I have a positive ana and sometimes my sed rate is elevated. My liver enzymes are slightly high once in a while but everything else comes back normal. I also have terrible joint pain and fatigue. I quit going to my first rheumy because he said I had fibro and wouldn't pay any attention to new symptoms I started developing such as rash, fevers, sun sensitivity and several other things. My current rhuemy says I probably have lupus and may be developing RA, but she says little benefit to officially labeling it and it can later cause problems with health and life insurance. She says the most important thing is to treat the symptoms. I understand that, but when you know you are sick it can be validating to get a diagnosis. I hope you can get into your friend's rheumy soon and hopefully you'll get some answers. Take care

Hi Kimber:

For sure try a new rheumy, I have been to three, the newest one only once, but I really like her...she actually listens, and puts some stock in what her patients say, not going 110% 'by the book' only.

I have been through the 'pill pushing' type doctors and it's not fun. If one med does nothing or causes problems they just push a new one at you. Aspirin is the only thing I have found will take the edge off, so that is the only thing I have been taking for the past 7 months. I just started on HUMIRA and am hoping for positive results, from the pain, the fatigue and the progression of the disease. I have tried so many meds (was diagnosed in 1968) that I have often felt like a walking pharmacy ad

I wish you all the best with the new rheumy..diagnosis is the first step on getting some control over a nasty disease. I changed both GP and rheumy last year and am very optimistic/pleased with both.

You take care and hang in there Kimber... we are all pulling for you