Severe joint pain

NurseStacey143, ADN, RN · Jul 16, 2003

I forgot to add she has a rash on her body. She describes it as looking like hives.

squareface · Jul 16, 2003

My daughter went through the same thing in mid-june. She had hives and severe joint pain in her legs. I took her to the ER and they treated her for Rocky Mountian Tick Fever.

passing thru · Jul 16, 2003

Yeah, and there is another one where ticks cause it and it causes a rash and joint pain...can't think of the name.

Send her to a rheumatologist, so they can start the auto-immune labs... anti- nuclear (ANA), etc.

MomNRN, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2003

Were you thinking of Lyme disease? I didn't think Lyme disease had a full-body rash, but joint pain is common.

zacarias, ASN, RN · Jul 17, 2003

Agree with passingthru, it's an autoimmune thing and it sounds like prednisone would be good for her, but of course they need to find out what's going on.

happystudent, RN · Jul 17, 2003

ummm, maybe some form of gout...allergic rx to something.......shellfish?......rheum. arth?.......... does she have a hx of joint pain?

NurseStacey143, ADN, RN · Aug 1, 2003

no h/o joint pain and they said it isn't gout. ITs been a good month now with no relief. To top it off, her house was robbed last week and her "vacation" time is out, but she cant work. She is a social worker in Vegas. I hope they figure it out soon

NurseStacey143, ADN, RN · Aug 1, 2003

now theyre saying its from gallstones????

imenid37 · Aug 1, 2003

how about aconsult w/ a rheumatologist? my daughter had many of the same sx's w/ a high fever in the evenings only 7 years ago. she has still's disease (a systemic form of jra-but also seen rarely in adults) and sufferred for many weeks before a dx was made. now she's 15 and she has been in remission for about 1.5 years. she's been tx w/ steroids, nsaids, and methotrexate along w/ tons of other meds we tried that just didn't work. a delay in dx and tx can mean permanent joint damage. it doesn't sound EXACTLY the same as my daughter, but has many of the same features. my daughter's illness started w/ what seemed like a normal bout of strep throat. i hope your aunt has answers and feels better soon.

NurseStacey143, ADN, RN · Aug 1, 2003

Thanks for the info. ill pass it on and check it out for her. She has seen a rhematolgist....but he doesnt seem to be taking her pain very seriously at all. told her to come back in a month to see if shes better....whatever! how can you do that when you can hardly move due to pain?

Stacey

mattsmom81 · Aug 1, 2003

Poor lady...I would guess her docs are hoping this is due to a post viral/infectious process and will resolve. Her rheumatology lab: ANA, RA etc must be normal.

Gallstones can cause liver dysfunction/blockage; her liver enzymes could be elevated due to some viral attack or dysfunction, the resultant GI strain can cause leaky gut symptoms( inadequate liver/GI function) and THAT process can sure cause systemic response such as hers. Has she been to see a GI doc?

Has she been exposed to any toxic chemical she is aware of? Had surgeries/ meds/ antibiotics recently?

I felt similar to her once....following 2 surgeries, lots of drugs and antibiotics....the rash and achiness was due to imbalance of GI flora and 'leaky gut' (collected excess toxins in the system due to inadequate clearance). I responded to probiotics and special diet and supplements. I too went to a rheumatologist due to the diffuse aching and just felt awful.

Just some random thoughts... by no means diagnostic, there are lots of possible culprits here. Hope she is seeing a good internal medicine/diagnostician, who may have to become a bit of a detective to find the cause and cure.

Hope she feels better real soon. I can relate that she probably just wants to go to bed, (I did too, LOL) but she really should get to the bottom of this ASAP if symptoms continues. Good for you for caring. :)