Self diagnosed tendinitis. Talk me down. Been googling.

[acrabadabra]

I have had very sore heels and ankles for a while now. Maybe 3 months. When I wake in the morning and come downstairs I do so one at a time as it is as though my muscles are tight and won't flex enough.

I also recently (6 months ago) had tennis elbow which got better after a course of Naproxen. I have a sore wrist sometimes too and my grip is terrible. Can't open a jar if dh has been near it first.

I had not put all these things together until consulting dr Google. It suggests rheumatoid arthritis which my mum suffered with and made her life miserable for years. I have 2 dc's. Eldest is only 3.5. I am worried.

I have a gp app in a fortnight for a totally unrelated issue which will definitely take up my whole 8 minutes . Should I mention it then anyway?

I had those symptoms and was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Ask your Gp to refer you to a Rheumatologist. It needs to be ASAP so they can give you meds to slow down its progress

It does sound like there may be an underlying issue. Do you have psoriasis?

Your symptoms do sound like RA or could be that you have doing more crouching with your LO, which could make your muscles stiff, but as you are young, that normally wears off as your muscles get stronger with the extra exercise.
I never could get any top off bottles or jars .
I would try and quickly mention it at your appt. and the fact that your DM had it.

Good luck

Or it could just be tendinitis?

Couldn't it?

Shit. Even more worried now.

Do you think I should try to get an app sooner than 2 weeks. Would've ignored it all together except I noticed my ankle a bit swollen last night. Dh suggested it was just the heat but it was so sore yesterday.

Im not quite 40 yet. My mum was dx when she was in her 40's.

I am quite a lot overweight so assumed that was the main problem. I know it won't be helping.

I don't have psoriasis.

Yes Beer, it does bloody hurt. At work, I'm on my feet for 8 hours. Including this whole weekend. Must look out some ibuprofen.

I am a total hypochondriac though so hope it's not RA.

It could well be tendonitis - I get the same at the backs of my ankles first thing and after sitting. It started last year after I did a longish walk and is definitely made worse by wearing very flat shoes.

I also find I often have low- grade pain in my wrists if I'm washing the floors/weeding/ironing. Have done for years and hasn't got any worse. I think it's probably slight RSI.

Are you small and slight? I sometimes think that must be a predisposing factor.

God no. II'm tall and heavy. My mum was a wee womanthough.

It could just be coincidence but its worth getting checked out as the most important thing with inflammatory arthritis is early diagnosis and treatment to prevent joint damage.
Just to let you know though, the blood test for RA isn't 100%. If its positive you've got it but if its negative you could still have it. Tell your gp everything, especially that your mum has RA and he should refer you to at least get checked over.

It could well be tendonitis, with or without an underlying cause - hypermobility, arthritis, a small injury that's being aggravated.

I have similar symptoms and got recently diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome, which is funny as I'm not hypermobile at all but the consultant showed me how my joints do bend too far where my muscles don't stop them.

Physio is really helping my tendonitis - but it's taken months for major improvement.

Thanks everyone. Just mentioned to dh that im worried and I got a one shoulder shrug.

Told you I'm a hypochondriac. No sympathy whatsoever.

Off to pop some pills.

Abracadabra, I think that's just men lol! Even after diagnosis my dh still just shrugs! To be honest it might be and it might not be arthritis but even if it is its not the end of the world. There's far worse things out there and the advances they've made recently are fab so please don't worry too much. You'll be fine either way :)

My neighbour's DM is 79 this year and has RA for many years. She is more energetic than I am. Goes out all day, smokes, and looks years younger. She is also a petite woman.

I get this sort of pain where you describe, nothing showed up when went to rheumatologist, just have to y and control it with physio etc, tablets. So it might not be arthritis, miners linked to slightly hypermobile joints apparently, and RSI. My arms and wrists are the worst.

If it's any consolation RA generally follows a pattern. It tends to start in the small joints of the hands and feet and classically is associated with morning stiffness and signs of inflammation (swelling, heat, redness).

My Mum was also crippled by RA (diagnosed in her 30s) and every joint pain i have ever bothered to mentioned to my GP ends up with a blood test (all negative). I also have intermittent wrist pain related to lax ligaments. I cannot get lids off most jars and bottles to the extent I actually have a gadget in my kitchen drawer for this very task. I just live with my wrist. I know when you've been close to someone who has suffered RA joint pains are all very scary. Also remember, IF it was RA management has come on leaps and bounds in recent years

Thanks for all your thoughts and sharing your experiences. I think I will phone gp on Monday to see if I can get an earlier app. Glad to know that others have similar pains that are explained by things other than RA.

Dr Google is not my friend.