Symptoms

[Guest guest]

Look in the photos, and there are rashes

in there.........

Many people have had them, hopefully they

will chime in and discuss it with you.

I have had rashes off and on for a good while

now. I had hives for 3 months, right now they

are gone.

I am sorry you are so miserable. I know Patty

had rashes and she is away this week. Many of

the girls are away right now, so hang in there,

someone else with respond to you soon !

Hugs ~ Dede**************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

[Guest guest]

Congrats on scheduling your surgery! I am coming up on two months explanted and

well...I have good news...my swelling, and body rashes have subsided

considerably. The first thing people ask me if I lost weight pointing out that

my neck and face are so much less puffy! This was the first symptom I noticed

that went away. Best of luck with the surgery. Please keep the group posted on

your healing. Best Wishes,

[Guest guest]

Oh, yeah. I had terrible skin problems with implants. EVERYTHING gave me hives. My skin was very dry, itchy, red and my veins stuck out. Now, 2 1/2 years after explant, my skin is fine. It is still a little sensitive, but I don't mind.

Congrats on your scheduled explant! You're on the road.

xo

Bindi

[Guest guest]

>

> Could I be experiencing the issues I am because my transdermal cream

> was compounded through Hopewell Pharmacy in NJ and not Coastal in

> Georgia??

>

> Thanks,

> Jodi

>

========

I haven't been reading the forum daily so could you say again what

issues you are experiencing?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm 42 and have not been diagnosed with RA but I seem to have all of

the symptoms... increasingly worsening stiff/sore elbows, knees, ankles

and fingers. However, my tendons in my arms are really sore too. I

went to the doctor who focused only on my sore tendons. I strongly

believe that I have RA. One, can the tendons have something to do with

RA or is this something different? Also, I'm going to ask my doctor

for a blood test to determine if I have RA. However, I read about some

people who were diagnosed with RA whose blood work came out negative

for RA. Is this common?

Thanks,

Jean

[Guest guest]

I think between a fourth and a third of people diagnosed

with RA do not have it show up in their blood work, and in my opinion a lot of

others have RA but are not diagnosed because it does not show up in their blood

work. That means that maybe half of the people who actually have RA do

not have it show up in their blood work.

There is nothing to preclude having both Fibromyalgia and RA,

and RA can contribute to or possibly even cause tendon soreness. I think

you need a second opinion, preferably by a board-certified

rheumatologist. God bless.

From:

Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of &

Weymer

Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 9:31 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: Symptoms

Hi,

I'm 42 and have not been diagnosed with RA but I seem to have all of

the symptoms... increasingly worsening stiff/sore elbows, knees, ankles

and fingers. However, my tendons in my arms are really sore too. I

went to the doctor who focused only on my sore tendons. I strongly

believe that I have RA. One, can the tendons have something to do with

RA or is this something different? Also, I'm going to ask my doctor

for a blood test to determine if I have RA. However, I read about some

people who were diagnosed with RA whose blood work came out negative

for RA. Is this common?

Thanks,

Jean

No virus

found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 8.5.287 / Virus Database: 270.11.58/2061 - Release Date: 04/16/09

08:12:00

[Guest guest]

Hi As with others on the list, I only received your email recently. I'm 31 and have had RA for almost 10 years. Like most people, I tested negative for the rheumatoid factor. It took 13 doctors 2.5 months to diagnose me. Apparently, what caused them to take me seriously was a really high ESR (aka sed rate, a rate of inflammation). When I was first sick, I felt like my whole body hurt. Doctors thought I had carpal tunnel, MS, a stroke, a tumor, lupus ... it ran the gamut. Tell your doctor to run the ESR, CRP (another inflammation rate). If you get diagnosed with RA, an anti-CCP test could help focus on aggressive therapy. Keep fighting until you get a diagnosis. Take care,Steph in VA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~From: & Weymer <pjweymer@...>Subject: Symptoms

Hi,

I'm 42 and have not been diagnosed with RA but I seem to have all of

the symptoms... increasingly worsening stiff/sore elbows, knees, ankles

and fingers. However, my tendons in my arms are really sore too. I

went to the doctor who focused only on my sore tendons. I strongly

believe that I have RA. One, can the tendons have something to do with

RA or is this something different? Also, I'm going to ask my doctor

for a blood test to determine if I have RA. However, I read about some

people who were diagnosed with RA whose blood work came out negative

for RA. Is this common?

Thanks,

Jean

[Guest guest]

Thanks for replying. Since I wrote in Jan., I found a wonderful rheumatologist. He ran all of the tests and they came back fine. He took a lot of x-rays, and they showed no damage yet. My regular doctor had given me a steroid pack which made me feel much better. The rheumatologist thought that was a good sign that I had RA, since I responded so well to it. He put me on sulfsa something and a strong ibuprofen (flurbo something). I responded pretty well to it except for my shoulder, which has now become frozen. I'm going to physical therapy. The doctor said that with my symptoms, yet negative blood work, that 50% of people go on to have RA, 25% go on to have some other inflammatory arthritis, and 25% get better with no explanation. Of

course, I'm really hoping for the last option.

From: DeNicola- <stephdenicola@...>Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2009 7:42:01 PMSubject: Re: Symptoms

Hi As with others on the list, I only received your email recently. I'm 31 and have had RA for almost 10 years. Like most people, I tested negative for the rheumatoid factor. It took 13 doctors 2.5 months to diagnose me. Apparently, what caused them to take me seriously was a really high ESR (aka sed rate, a rate of inflammation) . When I was first sick, I felt like my whole body hurt. Doctors thought I had carpal tunnel, MS, a stroke, a tumor, lupus ... it ran the gamut. Tell your doctor to run the ESR, CRP (another inflammation rate). If you get diagnosed with RA, an anti-CCP test could help focus on aggressive therapy. Keep fighting until you get a diagnosis. Take care,Steph in VA

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

From: & Weymer <pjweymer (DOT) com>Subject: [rheumatoid_ arthritis] Symptoms

Hi,I'm 42 and have not been diagnosed with RA but I seem to have all of the symptoms... increasingly worsening stiff/sore elbows, knees, ankles and fingers. However, my tendons in my arms are really sore too. I went to the doctor who focused only on my sore tendons. I strongly believe that I have RA. One, can the tendons have something to do with RA or is this something different? Also, I'm going to ask my doctor for a blood test to determine if I have RA. However, I read about some people who were diagnosed with RA whose blood work came out negative for RA. Is this common?Thanks,Jean

[Guest guest]

While I can walk on the balls of my feet, it is impossible for me to walk on my

heels with the front of the foot lifted up. But the women in my family would

have a problem with high heels because of the weak ankles causing instability.

It is entirely possible to have a stronger upper body including stronger thighs.

My neurologist recommended riding bike for exactly that reason, so the muscles

in the upper legs could compensate some for the weakness in the lower legs when

walking. I also drive stick-shift although some in my family would not be able

to. According to the information out there, any stress, such as a pregnancy, can

cause a sudden worsening of the symptoms.

[Guest guest]

Francesca,

You are lucky that it has taken so long for your symptoms to come out. Mine has

always been gradual, but I have never regained anything that I have

previously lost. Mine started with having difficulty on stairs at age 22.

Learned from doctor that I could not stand on heels. then later, could not stand

on toes. Got married at 24 and was able to wear small heels, but now only flats.

Keep up the good work with the exercise. You are lucky to have strong quads as

this will keep you active and out of the " heavy " braces for a long time. There

are many braces out there that just deal with foot drop, which sounds like that

is all you will need.

My hands have started getting worse and I am starting to see some rapid changes

there. I can understand why it took you a while to find us. I did not join this

forum until 5 years ago, because I too just dealt with it as I went along and

just thougth it was just as well that I did not know too much. I do know now how

great it is to have a forum to learn and express yourself. I too have no family

history, so this was foreign to me.

Look forward to hearing more from you.

Jackie