Pain in my hands & feet - should I revisit the GP

[Katymac]

Last summer ([[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=general_health&threadid=553529-my-hands-and-feet-are-really-s wollen-and-sore-i here]) I had painful & swollen hands & feet

They have slowly got worse over the months & now I can't open jars/bottles & I am struggling to use scissors when I cut more than a few sheets of paper

Should I go back, last time they just told me to get on with it

[alypaly]

Have u bin 2 ure Gp with it? has he /she done a blood test. How swollen are they and how old are u. Sorry all the questions.Have u been ill recently?

[alypaly]

Do you have children or are you in contact with children ( sorry just noticed you have been like this since last summer)

Start again...last summer were u in contact with any young children who had 'slapped cheek syndrome'?

[alypaly]

Seven years ago i had the same thing and my hands ached and my fingers and toes felt like little puffy sausages. My hips ached aswell.I felt tired,weepy and just generally under the weather.
All test that GP did came back normal until I asked him to do a test for parvo virus and lo and behold it came back positive. So i then had treatment for one week in hospital and it has never come back...no sore joint on feet or hands and now i have my energy back.

[alypaly]

Katymac

You dont have to accept that from any GP.No one has to be in pain and they are swollen for a reason or do they just feel swollen?

[Katymac]

Thanks - sorry I went to bed

Yes I am in contact with children - lots of them all under 5

Sometimes they are actually swollen, sometimes they feel swollen & sometimes the veins are very sore & prominent

I guess I just put it down to getting older (I'm 41) until I couldn't do things because of it

& it is intermittent which makes it worse

[alypaly]

Katymac
Hi
I was 46 when mine started and I was in contact with lots of children at my sons primary school. They had an outbreak of parvo virus where nearly all the 5-7 year olds ended up with slapped cheek, including my own son.
Probably about 3 weeks later i came down with a hot rash on my face,sore joints,itchy scalp and just generally feeling yuk.( not everyone has all the symptoms).and a bit low spirited. Didnt know why? Like you just put up with it for a long time and the joints were good one day and then really bad for the next few days and my hips and pelvis felt heavy. It had sort of flares and remissions. I thought it was the start of rheumatoid arthritis or as u say just age.It was only my insistence with my GP on this test for parvo B19 virus ( which can cause symptoms of ME) that got me to where i am now. I had treatment with immunoglobulins and within 10 days i had no joint pain,no lethargy and i felt like a young 49 year old again. Honestly check it out, there is no harm in getting the blood test especially if u r in contact with alot of young children.
It wasnt my age or my imagination as the doctor initially made out.
Are u a teacher? Parvo virus is the 5th most common childhood disease and adults can get it and it causes symptoms like arthritis.

[Katymac]

I'm a childminder but I have had ME since '95

Hmm - maybe a chat with the GP is worth it

[choppychopster]

Sounds like the symptoms that I have with rheumatoid arthritis, although as some others suggest parvo virus sounds a distinct possibility if you have contact with small children.

I'd see your GP and ask for blood tests. I was then also sent for an MRI scan on my hand before RA was diagnosed.

[mears]

Definitely go back to GP and ask for blood tests for arthritis. Your symptoms are similar to those my DH had prior to being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

[alypaly]

Were u working with children in 94/95.
When all this was going on for me... my GP said he thought i had ME ( Yuppy flu for the GPs that cant be bothered to diagnose it properly or ...'just a post viral infection'
Actually a severe viral infection can cause post viral symptoms very similar to ME.
Then you get ignored, treated like a hypochondriac as all the test for RA, ESR, CRP etc all come back normal.
Parvo is not one they wud normally test for,but if u have a good GP, ask for the test as it still shows up when they test for the actual virus. Dont let them just do test for Igg or Igm it has to be 4 the specific vrus and it normally takes about 2 weeks 4 the results to come back.

[alypaly]

ME and Chronic fatigue syndrome which Gps also label yuppy flu have really similar symptoms and are equally as distressing but doctors often write them off as psychological....

[Katymac]

I wasn't working or seeing children much

My GP was very supportive & had be diagnosed within 7 months of my first symptoms

But I will get something done as my hands & feet are sore all the time now

[alypaly]

still worth a shot about parvob19....you get a bit desperate when the docs dont come up with any answers and it doesnt seem to be getting better dont you. its really frustrating.Just cos u werent around children doesnt mean u cant get it. Its everywhere..its just more preavlent in groups of children. How did he diagnose ME as it doesnt have any characteristics or markers in blood samples for a definitive diagnosis

[Katymac]

She diagnosed Post viral fatigue then sent me to see the top guy in the country at the time (we lived in London & I think she knew him)

[alypaly]

PVF ,CF and ,ME all come on after a virus of some sort.Flu, glandular fevertec

In my own experience none of the blood tests actually show up any thing that can bring them to any conclusive diagnosis other than one of these three. I had consultants lookig at all my bllod tests before parvo wa diagnosed and every one came up with one of the 3 of the above. Its a good answer when they are unsure as it it gives the patient a name of an ailment and it helps to pacify some