I have no diagnosis, but have suffered with digestive/ bowel related problems for around 30 years. Swing between constipation and diarrhoea, loads of gas and bloating, urgency for the loo.
Over the past year the joints on the right hand side of my body have become stiff and often painful. Mobility has decreased but I've just sort of coped with it (which has probably made things worse). My shoulder now grinds, pops and pings and is painful. It's now also starting on the left hand side - a bruised feeling where my thumb meets my hand, a general ache in the top half of my left arm.
I've had a satisfactory FIT and blood test results, so asked for a call because symptoms remain so something is going on. The nurse practitioner who called was very abrupt and I got the impression she thought I was time wasting. I'm not one of those who is always at the GP. I said that although I was prompted to get tests due to change in bowel habits (loads more constipation), I'm wondering if all the symptoms are linked. She said bloods were fine, and the last ones I did about 6 months ago (for the joint related issues) showed no RA. She said the bowel issues are likely due to diet. She reluctantly agreed to do an inflammation FIT test to look at IBS. I know I've got bloody IBS, I've lived with it long enough without formal diagnosis and tried to control it myself!
How on earth do i get them to listen and act about all the joint related issues? I feel about 15 years older than my actual 46 years and have begun to limp. Yes, I'm overweight and taking steps to try to address that (I already swim 3km a week) but I'm not huge and I just feel fobbed off.