Arthritis?

[fraggly]

Hi! I'm after a little advice. I've had a 'problem' knee for years now, it used to ache if I'd been stood up for a long time but now it hurts all the time. It makes a crunching noise whenever I stand up, kneel down or move it at all really. DH says he can hear it over the TV when I walk upstairs . To be honest the bloody thing throbs ALL the time now! Over the last 6 months lots of my other joints hurt too. I wake up really stiff and wooden and have to move my position constantly when I'm sleeping because I hurt all over. I have periods where I feel quite poorly as if I'm sickening for a stinking cold. I'm always tired and feel run down.

I did see a doctor this week who dismissed most of my symptoms apart from the obvious knee. She didn't check any other joints and generally made me feel like a drama queen. I very rarely go the the doctors and plucked up the courage to go after much nagging from my DH. The aches and pains can leave me feeling really teary. (sorry bit of a grumble)

So I'm only 30 and although a little overweight nothing drastic...could it be arthritis?

What did the GP say about your knee? If you rarely bother the doctor did you downplay or make light of these issues? It's affecting your mobility and already impairing your sleep pattern. She may say your weight is affecting you but if you feel drained and can't exercise you can't very well improve fitness.

Give the surgery a ring in the morning and fix another appointment. Ask for a double slot so she can't shuffle you out fast. If your doctor is a general practitioner it's lucky dip if you happen to have something she's clued up on. Presumably her speciality isn't joints. Maybe request a different doctor if there's more than one at the practice. Exhaustion at 30 isn't normal. In the meantime start taking something you can buy over the counter like Glucosamine for joints.

Hi donkey...thanks for the reply. The doctor said my knee was very 'crunchy' and sent me for an x ray and results would be a few weeks. She asked if I used to do extreme sports as it was unusual for my age. She was very nice but just didn't really say anything. She recommended that I start taking paracetamol 3 times a day to establish a pain barrier.

I think I'm a little worried because my gran had crippling rheumatoid arthritis but I know very little about it as she died when I was a baby.

It may not be arthritis at all OP so let's not jump the gun, follow the doctor's advice. I'm not medical but don't think 30 is when you expect to be getting this kind of tiredness and discomfort so it's worth investigating. Did you mention to your GP your granny had rheumatoid arthritis?

In my case I didn't have my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed when I first went to the doctor aged 43 with aches and tiredness. I felt I got fobbed off tbh. After several months I began noticing I couldn't unfurl fingers after a night's sleep. Within a few weeks I had trouble with stairs and even getting on and off the loo. I had a blood test which confirmed I had it and now take daily prescribed medication. I get flare ups which are tough but generally it's under control. I'm contemplating acupuncture but so far haven't had physio.

Thanks for your advice. I'm going to wait for the x ray results before I worry too much. My knee is my main cause of pain and then my other joints hurt randomly really. I'm finding my left wrist and fingers ache but not really on my right.

I'm probably completely wrong but does Rheumatoid arthritis usually present in the hands and feet first rather than the bigger joints like my knee?

I'm no expert fraggly I thought my aches and pains and tiredness were flu then muscular strain but deep heat cream and paracetamol or stronger stuff like ibuprofen only temporarily alleviated pain. For me my fingers were the initial sign. I did go to a podiatrist while because walking hurt and I now wear insoles for a condition but whether that was something connected I don't know.

Whatever else is going on it must be hard tolerating the original problem with your knee.