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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 10/21/2007 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
I have been having horrible pain in my hips and lower back. It seems to be radiating to my pelvis. It kind of feels the same as when i was going into labor. My legs feel very weak and heavy and the muscles feel like their "overworked" just from walking. If I stand for more than a few minuites I feel like I'm going to collapse. Does this sound like arthritis pain. I don't have my first rhuemy appt untill next week. Oh and my feet are killing me too. This pain just makes me nervous nothing seems to help. Thanks
Posted 10/22/2007 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
melanie Hi,I have a sister that name is melanie.Ok to answer your question yes it does sound like it to me.But the only way to no for sure is to see the Rheumy and go from there.When your Rheumy see's you he/she will do what they call a 16 point test wich consist (sp)of moving your arms,legs,you get the picture and way they will check for stiffness in your joint's you will have blood work done as well and they will ask you question's like when you get up in the morning how stiff are you?how long does it take befor you are able to move around.So I hope that your Rheumy will be able to give you some input as to what he/she thinks is the proble and please let us know how it goes.
Posted 10/22/2007 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
curley,
Thanks for your reply. I have had a positive test for rhuematoid factor and an xray that shows arthritis in the spine. I guess I just want to make sure it was the ra. I always seem to second quess myself since up untill I started seeing my new dr I was being told I had fibro. I never really thought that in my gut but finally the right tests are being done. I just can't wait to see the rhuemy and maybe get a little relief. By the way has anyone heard from erin?
Posted 10/25/2007 5:03 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Melanie!

I have the same symptons that you have,so I really feel for you. I'm thinking of going to the doctor and finding out if this is all arthritis or if there might be something else along with it. I know I have spinal stenosis and I have arthritis in my hips, but don't understand the leg problems. I was sent to a pain doctor sometime ago and he had me do pool theraphy. That did help some. I think I may need a more thorough exam. I'm 78 so thats part of the problem. Hope they find out whats causing your pain and can relieve it for you. The best yeah Dee

Posted 10/25/2007 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Dee!
I'm sorry to hear that your having similar pain. I would think that the arthritis in your hip is probably contributing to the pain in your legs. From what I understand, with arthritis there is obviously, joint pain and swelling, and swelling in the hips could put pressure on the legs since they are all connected. I just reread what I wrote and I don't know how much sence that makes but it's start! I have a couple questions, if you don't mind. Does the pain in your legs start from your hips and ache all the way down. That's how mine is and then I get the occasional sharp pains, they seem to not last very long but it's so intense it almost brings tears to my eyes. The general pain feels like, {this sounds crazy} but it feels like my skin is too tight. Also, do your legs seem swollen to you when your having this pain? I'm somewhat small so when I ask my husband if my legs look swollen he says I'm crazy but I swear they look very "puffy" to me. Anyways, that's all for my questions, hope I didn't ask too many!I think you should definitely go to the doctor and get to the root of your pain. You shouldn't have to suffer silently. If you do, please let me know how it goes. Thanks again Dee!! Good luck to ya!
Posted 10/26/2007 4:24 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Melanie!

The pain does start in my hips and goes all the way down. Sometimes I feel like its my bones that are aching. I don't have any swelling. The sharp pains that I have are in my hips when I bend over. I do plan on seeing my doctor and getting a physical. He is very good about recommending a specialist. Hope you are feeling better. The Best, Dee

Posted 10/26/2007 2:21 PM (GMT 0)

HI Melanie, I can certainly relate to what you are describing. I had low back, hip, and leg pain for almost a year before I got diagnosed with severe lumbar central canal stenosis, DDD, and spondylosis. I also get large disc herniations on and off. If the pain is more sharp and radiating, it might be nerve pain. It's possible you might have herniations or some other kind of spinal compression where the nerves get impinged, hence causing sharp radiating nerve pain. I've had bad bouts of sciatca with pain going all the way into my foot and making it numb, my most recent bout of this caused me severe radiating nerve pain into both hips (front and back areas) and also radiated into both sides of my groin area. It was very difficult and painful to walk like this. Before my surgery, on top of sciatcia caused by the discs, I also had neurogenic claudication due to the stenosis. Stenosis, if bad enough, can cause not to be able to stand upright or walk for any length of time. The claudication is a deep, aching cramp-like feeling in the backs of the legs, most noticeable when you stand or try to bend backwards or when you walk. For me, the only partial relief I got was leaning on shopping carts and leaning forward while sitting. The claudication is caused by the nerves and blood vessels in the canal being compressed and/or almost cut off. So that is a possibilty....even one or more large herniations can cause your symptoms & also can cause muscle weakness. You just sound so similar to the way I was before I was diagnosed. Not saying you do have any of this but it's a possibility.

Make sure you tell that doc how long it's been going on, and tell him exactly what makes it hurt worse. Tell him everything you described below and anything else you can think of. If it's been going on for a while now, you might want to ask about getting an MRI done because an x-ray does not show the soft tissues (muscles, discs, etc..)

Posted 10/26/2007 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi! I have these symptoms, it has been diagnoised as arthritis and nerve damage (dont know the medical terms). the pain comes in different ways, from a dull throb to sharp stabs. Nights are the worst - I have to shift from laying down to sitting up to laying sideways and I cant even tell you the meds it takes to get a little sleep.... anyway, I relate.... good luck!!!
Posted 10/27/2007 11:10 PM (GMT 0)
hi!
Babybreeze, It seems like you've had a horrible time with your back. Sorry to hear about that but thank you for the advise, it definetly will give me something to keep in mind when I go to see the rhuematologist. Thank you also for letting me know about the difference between an mri and x ray. Very useful info!
Asking, That must be horrible for you at night. Especially because you're prone to feeling worsr the next day due to fatigue. Is there anything you do or take that eases it any?
Thanks again both of you for your understanding and advise. I'm just trying to educate myself the best I can. Good luck to you both!
Melanie
Posted 10/28/2007 2:08 PM (GMT 0)
Right now I no longer have the claudication, as surgery totally helped that. However no surgery will get rid of arthritis, OA, or DDD. I still get disc herniations also, it seems like every couple of months. When I had sciatica so bad I could not sleep for weeks, I had a nerve block done, which helped. In the past I've had epidural steroid injections, which also helped my nerve pains. The only meds that ever seemed to help my arthritis pains were Bextra (taken off the market) and forms of steroids (either oral prednisone, medrol dose packs or the epidurals). I have tried everything OTC, Relafen, Mobic, Celebrex, low dose Elavil and some others I cant remember. Also been doing Physical Therapy for a year and 1/2, with TENS and stimulation. Right now my fatigue and pain isn't too bad ( I am used to ALOT of pain, so to me it's not bad right now, but maybe for someone else it might be). But i've had times in the past where fatigue was undescribable. Once my rheumy had me try Provigil for fatigue. It's a med approved for sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy and night shift workers. It's also being studied for use to relieve the fatigue that MS causes. It didnt help me, though..in fact it caused my heart to race constantly and I could not sleep at all! Which then fatigued me even more. I was given the low dose Elavil for pain and sleep...it did nothing for my pain, BUT it did help me sleep! about an hour after taking it at night, I was out like a light, that was great. Except if I had intractable pain, nothing kept me asleep. I've also tried Lidocaine patches and shots for my low back pains. I found moist heating pads kept on spasming muscles helped to soothe it a bit, this helped more than muscle relaxants did.

So in effect, before surgery i tried everything I could for my pain & the only thing that really relieved it was surgery. With my nerve pains caused by disc herniations, the only things that really helped were the epidurals and nerve blocks. My last bout of herniations resolved itself over 2-3 weeks, but I cant stand for too long or I feel it. It also hurts alot with weather changes and high humidity (along with my joints) Oh, not too long ago my rheumy gave me some Lyrica to try, it was a small dose, but it seem to help calm the nerve pains in my hips a little bit.

Well, anyway now I'm rambling on so much here. Just make sure when you see the doc to tell hiim every symptom and point to everywhere it hurts. Also use desriptive words..for example: deep ache, dull ache, bruise like, cramping, sharp, shooting, stabbing, pins & needles, things like that. Also tell him exactly what makes your pain worse and what makes it better (if anything) I wish you luck and let us know how your appointment goes!

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