What is wrong with DH? Joint pain, weakness- various blood tests are negative.

[dyslexicdespot]

DH is having problems with his body and I would appreciate some help figuring out what to do. He is seeing the GP again tomorrow and I'm worried he will get fobbed off.

His symptoms are:

He has been feeling very weak. For example, he has not been able to do more then 2 push ups in a row. He used to be able to do about 20.

He has pain in all of his joints especially his knees. His knees have been painful on and off since he was a teenager, but they have been especially painful the last month.

DH would normally walk a few kilometres a day but he has hardly been able to get around the house these last couple of weeks. He says it feels as if all of the cartilage is gone and his bones are rubbing together. He has had similar problems with his lower back for years.

Knowing DH he would never complain about pain unless it was very serious.

These are the blood tests he has had so far (they have all come back negative):

White blood cell count, Full blood cell count, Uric Acid Test, Rheumatic Factor and E.S.R.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[dyslexicdespot]

Sorry, I meant to say that all of the blood tests came back 'fine'- whatever that means.

[MrsMinton]

Has he had flu like symptoms/night sweats/rash?

[AnotherStitchInTime]

Has he had his vitamin d level checked?

[Boobsofsteel]

Slapped cheek? It knocked my super fit DH around for about two months.

[dyslexicdespot]

Thanks so much for responding!

MrsMinton- he has not had any flu symptoms at all, other than the joint pain.

Another- No, he has not had them checked. Great idea, thank you. We had not thought of that.

boobsof- Off to google slapped cheek!

[MrsMinton]

That rules out the weird infection my H had last year then which is good!
I hope you get an answer soon as it's very unsettling not knowing.

[dyslexicdespot]

Mrs I hope your H is better now.

It is very worrying not knowing. DH is normally so fit and healthy, it's very upsetting seeing him having difficulty walking up the stairs!

[ASpiderInTheBath]

Hidyslexic, has he had his ferratin (iron) levels checked? I had some of these symptoms - fatigue, joint weakness and pain and just generally feeling unwell. The GP checked me for ferratin levels and it turned out they were low so I'm now on iron tablets and hoping to feel better soon.

Alternatively, something to do with his diet? Could he be intolerant to something? My sister has celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and was very poorly before she was diagnosed. Tbh, it's unlikely to be this as I'm sure it'd affect his stomach more than anything else. Having said that she did report feeling weak and tired, having random aches and pains all over her body and feeling generally unwell. Does your dh find it's worse after eating certain food?

[PixieofCatan]

Get Vit D checked, mine came back ridiculously low which contributes to the fatigue a lot. If his comes back low and they put him on vit D, a potential side effect of it is that it can make you feel really ill, so warn him of that. I was at work when it happened to me twice, both times I had to just sit on the floor for an hour until the dizziness passed. It was only the second time that I realised what was doing it and I slowly increased my intake of the tablets rather than have four a day as prescribed at first.

I'm trying to get a diagnosis for fibromyalgia at the moment with similar symptoms to your DPs (though I've been fatigued for a lot longer), though I can hugely relate to the cartilage thing. I have had cartilage issues since I was a child, I've just discovered that there is a family history of dodgy cartilage but mine is ineffective. Doctors have been shit about fobbing me off for years. It started in my knees and has spread to other joints over the past few years. I don't know what tests they have for it though, I had an arthroscopy on one of my knees as a teen that flagged it.

[PixieofCatan]

Vit D displays similar symptoms to iron deficiency btw, I was misdiagnosed as iron deficient from a young age and not retested often, so it was only this year that they did full blood tests and realised that my iron is fine. Get them to check both if they haven't!

[exexpat]

Any chance he could have had a tick bite in the past and now have Lyme disease?

[doziedoozie]

Is he a people pleaser, so always striving to make others happy not himself?

[dyslexicdespot]

Thanks again for taking the time to respond so thoroughly. We really appreciate the advice!

ASpider he has not had his ferratin levels checked. We will ask about them tomorrow, thank you. We will also ask about celiac disease. Although, he has not had any stomach problems and his symptoms are not obviously affected by his diet.

I hope your sister is feeling better after her diagnosis. From what I have read untreated celiac disease can be horrible.

Pixie Thank you- we will definitely ask about his vitamin D levels. DH mother has fibromyalgia so we ask about it as well. I hope you are able to get a diagnosis soon! It must be very hard to experience pain for so long without proper care or diagnosis! Good luck.

exex Oh dear, I hope it isn't lyme disease. DH has not had any rashes, but we will ask his GP about it as well. Thank you!

[dyslexicdespot]

dozie Yes, I would have to describe him as a people pleaser. He has been under a lot of work stress the last couple of months. Things have calmed down now, but I am sure he was close to breaking point at times.

[dyslexicdespot]

I'm going to try and put DS to bed. I will be back asap. Thanks again for taking the time to help. I'm compiling a list of things to ask his GP!

[MrsMinton]

Dyslexic he is now thank you but he was in hospital for eight weeks and off work for four months. He had an infection that is more common to children always said he is a big kid! called Henloch Scholen Pupura. It always has a rash though.
for you because I appreciate the distress you must be feeling at this.

[dyslexicdespot]

What a horrible infection Mrs, it must have been terrifying for both of you! I'm very happy that he has recovered and thank you so much for the flowers!

[doziedoozie]

I was unwell at a time when my elderly DM was ill and getting frailer, my DH was away and I had a huge garden to maintain and job I felt I had to be 'jolly' at.

I had strange aches and weaknesses. I spoke to someone who counsels and was told to make time for myself and my pleasures in life, in other words be selfish!! The guilt I felt when not helping others (and doing all the other 'must do' jobs) was stressing me so much I was becoming ill!

I made changes and recovered over a number of months. Am more careful now!

[dyslexicdespot]

dozie I'm glad to hear you are feeling better now, and that you are better at prioritising yourself. You do sound a lot like my DH. I will have a talk with him this evening about his stress levels.

Thanks again for sharing!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

There are a wide variety of immune mediated diseases that can cause these symptoms just checking ESR and rheumatoid factor only rules out a small number.
I have several of these diseases and get similar symptoms when I have a flare my investigatory bloods are full blood count, ESR, U&Es, liver profile, B12, folate, vit D, full thyroid profile including thyroid antibodies, rheumatoid factor, ANA (quantitative and qualitative).

[MyFairyKing]

How long has this been going on for? It sounds like he would benefit from a referral to a rheumatologist who can then a run a fuller panel of blood work.

[dyslexicdespot]

Thank you Lone for listing all of the tests. Having their names is very helpful. I hope that you have support and are able to manage your symptoms!

MyFairy- DH has had problems with his back and knees for years. However, it's never been as bad as this flare up. The last month has been particularly painful for him. He was housebound last week.

We just got back from a GP appointment. I was pleased with the GP (not the same one he saw before). DH will have his knees x-rayed tomorrow and a new round of blood tests have been ordered.

I forgot to ask for the names of all of the new tests, but the GP did include vitamin D and iron at my request. Thanks again to all of you who suggested it.

I will update as soon as we have the results.

Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread. It is so scary when someone you love so much is in pain and you don't know why. It feels a little bit less daunting knowing that mumsnet has our back!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I am lucky my GP used to work on the rheumatology team, so yes full support.

[PinkSparklyElephant]

Is he on statins? My DH went from being fit and healthy to hardly being able to walk.

[PinkSparklyElephant]

Sorry, posted too soon - I meant to add I hope you get some answers soon.