OA vs Rheumatoid arthritis

[Blackheartednurse]

Lately I have been curious regarding the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis I noticed that a lot of my patients are diagnosed with OA rarely anyone is thought to have RA, I noticed that symptoms are similar for OA and RA, a lot of my OA patient tells me their knees are swollen and painful, but redness and edema and pain is often a major symptom of RA, are they misdiagnosed or have both, how do you truly distinguish between those two different type of Arthtitis, it is mind bogging...

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Here is a very good article that explains the difference between OA & RA:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=127050&ref=128218

Fibromyalgia is not arthritis in any form, though some consider it to be an "arthritis related disorder" ( a controversial topic). It is a cluster of symptoms that often cannot be observed objectively and is usually a diagnosis of exclusion (Can't find anything else wrong). There are no definitive tests for fibromyalgia. The symptoms vary greatly between individuals but usually include widespread muscle pain, sleep disorders/disturbances, anxiety & depression, headaches, fatigue, and more. Most often fibromyalgia is treated with antidepressants and exercise.

the drugs used for RA (immune modulators, DMARDs, methotrexate, Enebrel, prednisone, NSAIDS, etc.) are NEVER used for fibromyalgia. RA is an autoimmune disease that causes bilateral joint degeneration (due to the destruction of the synovial lining of the joints) and can be diagnosed by certain blood tests (rheumatoid factor, CRP, ESR, ANA, and a few others), joint aspiration will show specific findings, x-ray and others. RA is progressive and incurable. RA causes painful joint deformities, often affecting the hands and small joints progressing to the major joints.

Osteoarthritis is a result of wear and tear on the joints and may be unilateral or bilateral. It is not autoimmune in nature. OA can be caused by trauma, overuse, misuse or simply a lifelong of weight bearing. OA is a breakdown of the cartilage in the joints. OA can be diagnosed by x-ray and history, sometimes by arthroscopy & joint aspiration. Usually OA is treated with NSAIDS and sometimes intra-articular injection medication. OA is 10 times more common than RA.

Technically there are over 100 types of arthritis, OA & RA are the most commonly discussed.

http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthritislearnthebasics/a/arthritis_facts.htm

http://arthritis.about.com/od/diseasesandconditions/a/Know-Your-Type-Of-Arthritis.htm

From arthritis.org What is RA what is OA

There are many resources that explain the difference between RA & OA.

http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/medicine/1995/a.c.e.de.blecourt/c12.pdf

http://www.unifesp.br/grupos/fibromialgia/pdf/Fadiga.and.fm.pdf

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

and then you have the famous third form of RA, such as fibromyalgia which I always thought more of as a "muscle" disease rather than a type of RA, which can affect the chest, low back, arms, hips, tighs and neck and which may require different type of treatment drugs

Quite simply, the generic term arthritis is from Greek roots and means joint inflammation. A fairly common "third" form is gout (gouty arthritis). Arthritis can also be caused by infection of a joint (septic arthritis). Although I sometimes hesitate to use wikipedia as a source, they do have a fairly comprehensive list of the types/causes of arthritis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthritis

[khotso mayelane]

RA is an autoimmune disorder affect mainly the joint usual bilateral starting with joints of hand and feet to big joints NSAID's are of choice for treatment

[lglavish]

I was diagnosed with severe sero positive Rheumatoid Arthritis in April of 2010. Although I started methotrexate the day I was diagnosed within 3 months I could not walk, stand, dress myself or even roll over in bed without assistance. The pain was unbelievable. I now take Enbrel, sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and low dose prednisone to keep this horrible disease controlled.

OA & RA are completely different and I found out (the hard way) how frustrating it is to have this disease of systemic inflammation downplayed in seriousness because of the word 'arthritis'.

The following article from The Rheumatologist helps explain what RA patients have to deal with.

http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1311755/An_Identity_Crisis_for_RA.html

[diva rn, BSN, RN]

I have been tested multiple times for RA because of the severe joint pain and extreme degeneration I have had at a relatively young age...the tests were usually inconclusive for RA, a high sed rate and high c reactive protein but a negative RA...I have subsequently had both hips and both knees replaced...I still have very severe joint but but I am on several NSAIDS. I have, however, also been diagnosed with another autoimmune disease which can affect the joints, Sarcoidosis. It runs the realm of so mild no one even knows it's there--to incapacitation...it can go into remission and exacerbation. It primarily affects the lungs but can affect every organ in the body...especially the kidneys, liver and the joints. I had to go on methotrexate about 6 years ago for about 1 year and it did go into remisson. So it is hard to tell on a daily basis if the pain I have is the OA or a return of the sarcoid....

and I also was diagnosed with fibromyaglia years and years ago...before it was the "in" diagnosis......I was on the original FDA trial study for Lyrica...phase 3....back in 1995 before they released it to the public....

To the OP....and NO...Fibromyalgia is NOT a form of rheumatoid arthritis.....it's thought to be more of a sleep disorder mixed with depression.....two of the popular treatments are Cymbalta and Savella. They are SNRIs (anti depressants) and are prescribed with a sleep medication. The Lyrica is pregabalin, it's related to Neurontin...more of an antiseizure med...none of these would be prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis.