Possible inflammatory arthritis

[Violet1984]

I’ve been struggling with stiffness in my feet/ ankles since my daughter was born 4 years ago. I was referred to a Rheumatologist at the time as I had weakly positive rheumatoid factor along with blood markers of low level inflammation. NHS rheumatologist saw me for 5 mins and said there was nothing wrong.
4 years later I still have issues. Achilles tendinitis in both feet that won’t go, visible swelling on one of them. Painful elbows and knees, stiff fingers and sometimes I get shooting pains in my fingers and toe joints. I’m generally stiff all over and always fatigued- no matter what I’m doing/ not doing.

I was referred to a private rheumatologist by my physio about a month ago and they thought there was probably more to it and ordered full bloods/ scans. Everything has come back normal except rheumatoid factor was again weakly positive. I’m still waiting for my scans etc. but am feeling a bit fed up. I wasn’t hoping for bad results obviously, but feel that if there’s nothing showing I’m just going to be stuck like this forever and it makes me miserable most days.
Sorry for the long post, if anyone could share any words of advice/ their experiences I’d appreciate it.

Go on the NRAS website for advice. I have rheumatoid arthritis and find the NRAS very informative, their helpline is invaluable. Good luck.

Look into taking a Proteolytic enzyme tablet

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/proteolytic-enzymes-arthritis

I struggled with the same things after my DS was born.

GP did some bloods and I had a weakly positive rheumatoid factor too.

Went to the consultant who did more bloods and referred me for an ultrasound on some joints and an MRI, both of which showed calcification in different joints, even though my Rh factor was weak so it’s definitely worth persisting in getting more checks.

I’ve been medicated for a few months and it has helped a bit, but I’m moving onto biologicals shortly which I’m hoping will help more.

I hope you feel better soon, joint pain is just so unrelenting and I don’t think people realise how much it impacts your day to day life.

@TheFamousMrEd
Thank you for your reply- that’s interesting to hear that you have had this too after having kids etc. I wondered if that was a trigger.
have you had a diagnosis? May I ask what it is? Psoriatic arthritis was mentioned to me by private rheumatologist. Can I also ask if you had any swelling or inflammation markers as I don’t it seems and that seems to be the stumbling block.

I have Psoriatic Arthritis and it doesn’t always show up on blood tests, a rheumatologist will know from where your pains are, what the pain is like in the mornings, will check to see if there’s any visible swelling on your joints- they know what they’re looking for.

I was diagnosed through my symptoms even though my RA factor was negative at the time, this was 17 years ago. I’m RA positive now and in remission on biologics. It can sometimes be a long journey to get the correct diagnosis and treatment that works for you. You can ask your GP to refer you to a different hospital.

Yes I’ve got Axial Spondyloarthritis. It’s weird as it originally started in my big toe and I was diagnosed with gout (despite not drinking and being a vegetarian).

It spread to my fingers and the GP originally said it was gout in my fingers too. When the pain didn’t settle I pushed them and they did bloods which they hadn’t bothered with before. Turns out the test for gout was negative so I’d struggled for 18months for no reason!

I also had really bad back pain, but though that was just life with a toddler. Turns out my back and hips are my worst affected areas 🤦‍♀️

I think it can be triggered by pregnancy, I certainly had no issues at all, but was struggling soon after I gave birth.

I had swelling in my big toe joint, little finger joint and my ankle. I can’t remember about my inflammatory markers though - sorry!

Inflammatory arthritis often doesn't show in blood tests. Mine was confirmed through scans.

Those of you with psorioritic (sp??) arthritis, did or do you have significant psoriasis along with or before your joint pain? Asking because I’m in so much morning pain in my back, my hips join in if I sit still and at night, but my x ray showed only normal age-related changes (I suspect severe for my age, but they’re not proceeding with any more tests for now, they want me to see the physios). Anyway, I’ve never had psoriasis or eczema, but a few months ago I thought I was developing a wart, but it’s just a hard scabby patch on one knuckle and the weird thing is that I have a mirrored patch on the other hand, like it’s a mirror image of the first. Just seems odd.

My sister had rheumatoid arthritis right after having her baby. She suffered so much, that this was the main factor of not having more children. Although, she was in constant pain, she refused medication and tried Elimination Diet. It worked. She still can not eat tomatoes, any sugars, wheat…the list goes on. I know of one other woman, who had arthritis right after having a baby- suspected the link, as pregnancy lowers your immune system and sometimes the body starts attacking itself.

Thinking about this and reading the replies, I know other women who had exactly these symptoms post partum (for a few months) and again during perimenopause.