Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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Hip pain advice

PW39
PW39
Looking to get some guidance and advice. I have just been recently diagnosed at the end of august 2014 for a quick reminder for the people that dont remember me since im new to the board. I have had relentless hip pain for the last 36 hours on my right side. All this came on in a matter of about a two hour span and the pain has leveled off and became a consistant horrible. Have had this before but just not on this scale for this duration. It hurts on the inside where my leg meets my groin. This time seems different like it has moved over to the left even further than before. It hurts into my lower stomach/pubic area. Even hurts down there to cough. I have a really hard time just rolling over in bed to where if i make a wrong move its really painful. I often use my hands to help move my leg around as much as possible. I have used ice and heat and everything i can think of to help. I have just began my 15mg mtx treatment 4 wks ago along with the folic acid and 400mg Etodolac twice daily for pain. The MTX gave me one nasty mouth sore which is starting to heal pretty well and a couple quick trips to the bathroom on the first week but seems to be tolerating it pretty well. It doesnt seem to have helped any yet but then again its just my 4th week today. The pain med has been a joke the last couple days and of course everything always hit harder on the weekend when you cant get to see your dr or even get them on the phone. If this doesnt get any better i might just have to hit the ER for some relief or call my dr to get some advice. Main thing im asking is does this type of symptoms and hip pain sound typical or could i be having complications with something else going on? Kinda has me scared up to where its been hurting so bad and getting the pain over into my lower stomach some. Feels better in my stomach kinda bent over slightly than being stretched out. My left wrist and hand is hurting along with my left foot but my hip pain on my right legs is getting all of the attention. About took as much as i can handle. Ra is no joke.
racerunner
racerunner
I dont know your complete history or what u do for work or play. Yoy dont have a hernia do you. Just a thought
bcatz
bcatz
Assuming it's the RA, call your rheumatologist. She/he can prescribe a short round or a low dose longer round of prednisone or similar. Additionally, you could get a steroid injection that might just alleviate the pain for months/until the dmards start to work. That's what I would do.
stephgas
stephgas
i have horrible hip pain; it was probably the first symptom i showed looking back. i mentioned it to my GP about 18 months before my diagnosis when it wasn't too bad, just a little annoying. he thought it could be my weight, so i worked to lose a few pounds but it didn't go away - i just got used to it.

this weekend and today my hips are particularly bad. my left side always seems to hurt more than my right side, no idea why. my hips make it hard to sit down, get up, get into bed, get out of bed, and particularly roll over in bed. i have a desk job so i sit a lot and it hurts. a lot. my rheumy wants me taking 400mg ibuprofen twice a day (i keep forgetting to but i'm doing better). i won't take prednisone for my swelling but i think if i was offered a steroid shot to the area i'd try that.

i've found that gentle yoga stretches that focus on the hips and lower back sometimes help the pain.
PW39
PW39
Thanks for the quick responses. Racerunner- Far as i know i havent had any hernia trouble, and hardly any pain in my lower stomach area ever. That kinda why i just believe the inflammation and pain might just be protruding over somewhat from the hip. I have always been active and always healty person up until a few months back. I was working a physical 40hr work week until all this came about a few months back. Have had long standing trouble with gout over the years but thats about it as far as my med history. Alot of minor illnesses that have came and went but nothing that serious until now. Bcatz The funny thing you mention about the prednisone. My rheumy actually prescribed the 10 mg pred and its in the cabinet about ten feet from where i am sitting right now. Me being the tough guy that i am. l decided that i didnt want to start the MTX and Pred both at the same time cause i was weary about the side effects. I also figured that if i wasnt on the pred then i would for sure be able to notice any difference the mtx was making. Bad thing is the MTX needs some time to get working. Most of my days are pretty managable with care and taking it easy and this is why i decided not to take the pred and go this route. I didnt count on having the monster hip flare of all time. Called my rheumy a couple weeks ago and let him know i hadnt started the pred yet and he said that was fine and i could just continue back on the Etodlac if it was working and i agreed. I think i was just bombarded with the bad news and all the meds at one time and it was to much for me to take in. Stephgas sound like you are through it with your hips. It hurts on the outside hip pain but the inside is the worst for me. You guys have a great day. Im gonna go soak in the tub for a bit since it seems to help some.
bcatz
bcatz
Since you have the prednisone, try only taking 1/2 the amt he prescribed per day...or even just 1/4 of it. consider 5mg for a couple of days to see if it's magically getting a bit better. That's what happens to me. And then I go down to half that for another couple of days. Just enough to make it doable.

My doctor prescribed etodolac too. It's good, just so short term acting. My doctor wrote Mobic for me. (meloxicam) and it was much better and way longer acting than the etodolac.

Best wishes to you!
carrottop50
carrottop50
RA is a lot to take in and then add all the meds we have to try to get it under control. If you have read much on here... you know or will find out we all have a Love/Hate thing going for prednisone. I get glaucoma from prednisone if I take a larger dose (10mg) for a few months but if I am having lots of pain and can't take it much longer then I will take it in a small dose 5 mg for a few weeks then stop it. If nothing else it takes the edge off of the pain which does help. I just make sure I see my ophthalmologists 2 to 3 times a year. I have the hip pain too...mine is off and on now that I finally have found a good medicine combo. My pain is getting better with Humira, Mtx, Plaquenil and folic acid. I hope you can get your pain under control... because it can be so very hard to live with.
depotblue
depotblue
working backwards from the pain, diagnosis can sometimes take a while, could be your hips, could be degeneraive, could be RA, could be bursa radiating, could be degenerative spine, could be herniations, could be S1. will take some work with your RA and maybe an ortho and i would think some pictures? MRI? x/ray rule out bones?

in the meantime it would be nice if one of the docs could help with immediate fire!

thoughts

Depot
Emerald22
Emerald22
Mine hit me literally in the middle of the night. My rheumy used to say when it's in my "real" hip joint I'd know it. Yep I thought someone was stabbing me with a red hot poker in my sleep. That was last December and its been a constant companion since.

My right hip is usually worse than my left but sometimes they double-team. If you're taking an NSAID anti-inflammatory sometimes adding tylenol to it can help it work better. Meloxicam works pretty well for my inflammatory pain. It's a COX-2 inhibitor.

I'm not a fan of prednisone, but when you're suffering it is the best thing for inflammatory pain there is. And it works fast which is a blessing. It just depends on what you're comfortable with. Keep in mind that the RA meds aren't necessarily pain relievers. The theory is to slow the disease which means inflammation. But it doesn't always make the pain disappear.

You should get an mri to see what's going on. It should show everything they need to see. Mine showed edema in my upper thigh/groin muscles was contributing.

Like depot said, it could be a few things. Unfortunately I don't have any quick cures for you. Given the location & the number of muscles, tendons and joints involved there's not an easy remedy. Control the pain if you can and see if you can find a position that's comfortable. Epsom salt lotion can be helpful given the tricky location. $6 @ drugstores. My recliner & heating pad along with pain meds are my best friends on bad days. Sitting, standing and laying all hurt, but elevating my legs in the recliner takes the pressure off. When you're feeling better stretch out the muscles as much as possible because that just makes things worse.

Nope, RA is no joke.

Take care,
Emerald
lady3jane
lady3jane
Based on your description of the current pain, it sounds like it could be appendicitis. The appendix is very low on your right side..I think you should go to a doctor just in case.
PW39
PW39
Thanks for the comments and advice. Im still kinda in the same position except now the pain is to where i can actually get comfortable as long as i dont move to much. I hope to goodness its not my appendix. I havent had a fever,nausea, or vomiting that comes with appendicitis but its possible that it could be just mildly affected right now. If im no better by morning i will probably see the dr just to make sure everything is ok.
PW39
PW39
Well my stomach pain has left along with most of the hip pain. I have got around so much better with less pain today. My hip was straight up doing some hurting for almost 2 days straight. Guess whats happening now? Yep thats right, the other side has begun. I have this pattern often for some reason. Wish this MTX would hurry itself up if it going to.