My rheumatologist suspected fibromyalgia as well, but I don't have very many pressure points that hurt and I don't have touch issues either. Yet, sometimes, as you described it, I hurt everywhere, not just my joints.

I honestly think RA just does that sometimes. My knees were bothering me the other night, and the pain from the joints radiated up and down my legs. I put a heating pad on one knee and as the pain eased in the joint, the radiating pain completely disappeared. It makes complete sense for us to experience muscle aches and tendon issues, because it's all interconnected. If our joints are inflamed, then it's certainly going to press on nerves and pull on tendons and muscles. And then the whole flu-like symptoms we can have, that, too, would cause all over body aches and pains.

Kelly,
It will hurt everywhere or at least seem like it. Your joints feel like there is broken, jagged glass inside of them and all your tendons and muscles feel as though they are wrapped with broken glass. Oh yeah, I know. What I did to help stop the pain: cut out all processed sugar, all of it including alcohol; cut out all night shade foods (google it), keep in mind paprika from the red pepper is in oh my gosh so much so read all labels and if it says "natural spices" then it is a no go for consumption; cut out all unsaturated fats; no red meat; no shell fish; no fried foods. You sound like one heck of a good flare in progress in your lower extremities....now you have an idea of what gout feels like as well as RA. You got lots of the things stored in your fat cells and intestines that I mentioned to cut out so it will take a few days to maybe two weeks to cleanse your gut/body but it will be worth it. To get there all I ate was Romaine lettuce, pineapple, walnuts, tuna from the can without vegetable broth in it, bananas, apples, cherries, unseasoned baked chicken and fish, peanut butter and ritz crackers. If you eat breads then toast them. That is what I did, I do not know your allergies or tolerances so be careful. I am not a doctor. Oh, I also stopped taking calcium supplements (that's the broken glass) but do take very good multi-vitamins, flax seed oil for the omega 3's.

Don't know your meds or how long you've been on them. The anti-inflams are okay but not massively helpful immediately. Plaq and MTX both take months to build in the system to help any at all but will help some. The biologic Humira is amazing for me, truly amazing., To get to a biologic you have to go through a protocol (thanks so much you _ _ _ _ insurance companies) but get there and do not be afraid of the biologics.

Move as much as you can, as often as you can. Laying there totally consumed with the pain is not helpful. I do understand, oh yes I do but please move.

Wish you the best!

I know if I sit for a long time and get up I feel pain everywhere. But as soon as I start moving I'm good.

I'm in the early stages of RA and only have pain in my hands and feet right now.

Hope you figure it out.

When my meds are not working, the pain is pretty much everywhere for me, too!. When the meds start working, generally the big joints stop hurting. If the meds are working better then just hands, wrist and feet hurt.

Of course, there is that perfect state when nothing hurts. I had that for 4 years on a good combo. That is over 6 years ago now, and I'm still looking for the magic med mix.

I also have fibro, the pressure points do hurt. I've had it for 5 years, but I had my first and only "flare" a couple of weeks ago. It was in the muscles and the pain was really bad. The pain killers and Gabapentin did not help it. I hope I never have another fibro flare again.

I do have a question for you. Why is your rheumatologist not feeling your joints? I had one that literally never touched a joint in 14 years. The one I have now is very good. If I tell him I am in pain, he touches every single joint,, and makes a note of it on drawing of a skeleton. Plus he notes which joints are visibly flared. So you need to tell your RD to touch the joints himself. I find it very hard to know whether the joint is hurting, or if it is the joint I am using to touch. I should hope most RD's know that.

Marlene,

My Rheumatologist does feel my joints, and other than being a little sore they don't bother me as much as the wide spread body pain. It's like when you're coming down with something and your whole body aches. I feel like an RA fraud because my fingers don't really hurt and I don't have any deformity.

For me, it was my feet and my hands. Horrible pain. And, I had other areas that were painful & sore, but that was due to Osteo Arthritis

For some people, changing diets is a huge help, but it did not help me. I still do limit red meat, eat organically when possible, buy organic meat, eggs, etc.

I started on methotrexate, no hep there, then added a biologic after a few months. Then, I did start to feel much better! I take Celebrex as needed, I have only taken prednisone for one 2 week time frame, and during that time I was glad I had.

Kelly, I understand what you mean by feeling like an RA fraud. I swear, every single time that I see my Rheumatologist, my RA goes into hiding. I will hurt every day, see some mild swelling in my hands, ache all over, feel like I'm coming down with the flu, run fevers, you name it, outside of the doctor's office. But the minute I set foot in the exam room, it's like flipping a switch and it all turns off. She will squeeze my joints and nothing! It's so irritating. Thank god she believes me when I tell her all the gory details!

I'm getting the impression that I must have had a massive case of beginner's luck when I picked out my rheumatologist off the list on my insurance's website. I've brought my researched knowledge to the table and she never discounts it. In fact, she loves the fact that I do that and genuinely takes the time to consider my theories about why my blood work isn't correlating to my symptoms. I think if she ever threatens to move, I'll have to kidnap her! LOL

And yea, everything hurts. There's not an ache I have that I believe is not RA related.

go easy on yourself Kelly - you are just new to feeling like shit. brand new I presume. oh wait a minute your profile says a year new. yeah, well that's like almost brand new. at one year I was still resisting.

yeah, it does feel like the flu when you were a kid, remember? you hurt in your entire body and you wanted to escape your body remember? if you explain it that way, "you feel like you have the flu" but you don't have a fever or an infection and you have felt like this for (well you know fill in the blank, say weeks, months, seasons, or years, your choice) your rheumatologist will get it.

rheumie's like to do a check over of match joints just to see what joints are really restricted, limited, or blown up. that does not stop you from saying, additionally, you feel like you have the flu. he/she will get it. or bring an advocate that will say it for you. I said it for my friend the other day when we went to her rheumie. it doesn't hurt to mention the suffering factor. it also doesn't hurt to let the rheumie's know when medication is working and the suffering factor goes down. the script writers need to know when things work. :)

it's better to keep the synovial fluid as much of it as we all have in copious abundance moving as much or as little as it can, that' why when you keep moving it is not as bad as when you gell. right? don't worry - you are in the flu club now. I was such a bitch when I was a kid and got the flu. today, I wouldn't even know now if I had the flu - I would have to get a secondary infection (which of course happens with me anyway) to my lungs and sinus to alert me since the symptom of systemic body pain is meaningless to me now.

you are RA normal. hope that helps.

welcome

glad you are here

depot

Thank you everyone for all of your comments, and I can tell that I am not alone in how I feel because it seems like everyone else is experiencing the same thing. :o)

'ole blue's hair doesn't hurt ......... that's it


Be well
Bluedogs2

Yep every where. Some areas hurt more then others. Such as my hands & feet yet I'd need to bathe in a topical.
I'm the same way. If I remain sitting or stationary for to long the body rebels. Stiff to the point I have to help certain parts unbend. Same with the feet they do not want to bend when walking. Like in the morning.

I have the hide & seek on appointment days also.
Feel better backing up any severe swelling with pics because of this body I'm stuck in.

I agree 100% with Sally. Lazy medicine is great way to describe way to many doctors practice in this field.
I've spoke to patients who are clueless to the over all impacts of RA. Left to believe things like its depression causing the exhaustion or some other horrid problem yet to be found. It's sinful to allow patients to believe these things.
Although I want to stay in denial everything points to recent diagnosis of Fibro secondary to RA. Did not have it with the on set but just applying slight pressure to certain points can leave you gasping.
It's different then RA pain. Sure adds to the pain game.
There's so much to learn & it makes it extremely difficult unless your blessed with a doctor who acknowledges all the nasties that can tag a long with RA.
Hoping this changes in the future so patients can receive the education they deserve on this disease.
Sammy

You hurt everywhere. My hubby always want to rub a topical cream on the spots to help the pain. I told him he would have to dip me like they do cattle to get all the spots. Yes, you will feel like moving is impossible but you do it. Meds should help it.