Joint Pain and Rash

[milly]

I thought that my muscle pains and joint pains were due to my age - I'm in my mid 30's, and I thought it was natural to get stiffness and aches and pains, but then I noticed that my friends, some of them older than me, don't need to be helped out of chairs, don't cry out in pain when they try to stand upright after sitting down and don't need to work themselves up to movement after any period of sitting down and it made me think it's not normal how much aches and pains I have.

It's been like this for about 2 years, but the last few months have been particularly bad and I can't even get out of a chair now without someone to hold my arms and lift me up. About a month ago I got this really strange rash on my thighs. It's like a load of red circles, slightly itchy, and the same time the rash appeared my aching joints seemed so much worse so that now I can't even pick things up off the floor or pick my toddler up.

My hips, knees, upper back, neck and wrists and fingers are the most painful. My elbows are fine, they're the only joints that I can move freely and I don't feel any pain from them.

I can't make a cup of tea anymore as my thumb and finger won't bear the weight of the cup. I am feeling worried about this and would appreciate any advice.
thanks
M
x

[Kiera]

http://www.arthritis-treatment-and-r...with-rash.html

Might be of some help?

[Sylvan]

Hi Milly,
I've experienced arthritis on and off since i was in my early twenties, as well as occasional rashes. A few years ago, a few months after giving birth to my second son, I got a really strong bout of arthritis that made it difficult to do anything, as well as bad rashes. Since I was (only) 40 years old, I decided the extra pain and rashes might have to do with allergies. So I took a comprehensive food intolerance test/environmental allergy test. To my great dismay, I found out that I am extremely intolerant to cow dairy (the lactose is difficult to break down), gluten (the protein in wheat which is hard for the stomach to break down), eggs, corn, etc. I ignored the results at first b/c I have always eaten what I considered to be healthy food, especially (cow) dairy foods and pasta. But I stopped the pasta, and some of the pain eased in my hands. Then I totally stopped all cow dairy, and all the pain went away. Now I use other milks for tea and coffee, such as rice (carb/calcium enriched) or almond (protein/calcium) milk. Please get a food intolerance/allergy test. You might be disappointed about changing your diet, but then again you may be grateful to have your good health back under your control. Good luck to you.

[milly]

Thank you Kiera, there's quite a bit to read through there that I think will help.

I actually went to my GP about this and she said that the chest pains (which are more like painful muscle spasms) were heartburn!

I've been pregnant - I think I know what heartburn feels like!

I was thinking that it might be some form of arthritis, but my husband and I are thinking of emigrating and I'd prefer not to be diagnosed with a chronic condition beforehand as it may affect our visa application. It's not being dishonest, as my husband can earn enough to support the family so we wouldn't need to claim any benefits or welfare anyway whether I was working outside of the home or not but unless it's strictly necessary I'd rather not get officially diagnosed with a chronic condition at this point.

Thanks again, I'll just go and have another read through that information now, while my toddler is sleeping!


edited to add:

I forgot to mention that I've recently quit smoking and that I've also got acne on my face for the first time ever. Even when I was a teenager I never got spots but now in my 30's I keep getting spots on my face. In the last couple of months I've had terrible muscle pains and joint pains, weakness and stiffness in my muscles (especially my hips and upper back and chest) and the last couple of weeks my thumbs and the fingers next to them are so weak and aching that I can hardly grip anything without a lot of pain. Also this really strange rash on my outer thighs is like a load of red discs that look a bit psoriatic (sp?) though I've never had psoriasis. Also I'm a strict vegetarian but I make sure I get my B12 from Marmite and soya milk and couldn't possibly be lacking in B12.

thanks again
xx

[Kiera]

Milly, If it does turn out to be psoriasis, then that would explain the joint problems. Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease where the immune system plays an important role in the development of the disease. Symptoms are usualy a combination of skin and joint inflammation. People with psoriatic arthritis may experience nail lesions, inflammation and swelling in and around the joints commonly affecting the hands, feet, wrists, ankles, knees, and lower back. Psoriatic arthritis usually develops between the ages of 30-50; however, it can appear at any age. In most cases, the psoriasis symptoms develop first. It is not at all unusual for as many as 10 years to pass before joint symptoms set in, however this condition doesn't follow a standard course. In fact many people develop symptoms of psoriatic arthritis before their psoriasis is diagnosed.

The chest pain could be cause by arthritis, since inflammation in and around tendons is part of it all.

Kiera

[milly]

I did think about psoriatic arthritis when I googled the symptoms but I thought that in that case, the psoriasis came first and the arthritis came later? In my case the first symptom was my hip, which can't seem to bear my weight and seems like it's too 'weak' to support me. when I put weight on my hip (by standing or walking) then it feels like it might break, as if it can't support my weight. I don't think I'm that overweight, I'm 6 foot tall (female) and nearly 11 stone.

The skin rash only appeared recently.

It's affecting me as a mother because my thumb and finger don't have much strength and if my toddler suddenly runs, then I can't always hold onto him. I worry that he might run into the road (he's 2) if I accidentally let go of him when I'm getting him out of the car.

He's so fast and he runs away from me when I want to change his nappy or wash his face and it's a game to him but it hurts like heck when I have to run after him and lean over to pick him up or take his wrist to bring him somewhere.

I thought that with psoriatic arthritis that the psoriasis came first? But my rash is really mild and the joint pains and weakness are very strong. I don't know....

thanks again, anyway

x

[milly]

Hi Sylvan,
sorry I missed your post - having just read it now, I realised that I wonder if it is something to do with my diet as I've been trying to go Vegan for a few months now and I wonder if that's something to do with it?

I'm 97% vegan but I'm not quite there yet, though it was a change in my diet. I wonder if it's the fact that I quit milk, cheese and eggs but occasionally eat them accidentally in other products? As if my body stops making the necessary enzymes and then gets upset when they're needed again?

thanks for the advice -food for thought! *winks* (I'll get my coat!)

xs

[Kiera]

Hi hun,

The rash can most certainly come a long time after the rash. Just as people like me with Crohns. Joint pain can come prior to any intestinal problems.

Try googling it and you should find alot of reliable sources that will tell you the same thing. My advice is to see a dermatologist/ rhumey and get to the bottom of it. If it is the cause of your problems, it can be controlled!

Kiera

[milly]

Hi hun,

The rash can most certainly come a long time after the rash. Just as people like me with Crohns. Joint pain can come prior to any intestinal problems.

Try googling it and you should find alot of reliable sources that will tell you the same thing. My advice is to see a dermatologist/ rhumey and get to the bottom of it. If it is the cause of your problems, it can be controlled!

Kiera

I really appreciate your advice Kiera. I'm sorry to hear about your Crohns too. I hope it's under control?

Actually I think the rash looks exactly like ringworm, but it's on my thighs and I've been married for 5 years and I trust my husband completely.

It started not long after we moved into our new house, and there was a blanket in the airing cupboard that I thought was ours but later realised that it had been left behind by the previous occupants of the house.

Anyway, my husband snores and so sometimes I've had to get up in the middle of the night and sleep on the sofa and when I did, I used to wrap myself in this blanket - before I realised that it wasn't ours.

I don't know if you can catch ringworm from a blanket, but we know the people we rent the house from and they're clean and nice, normal people, but they do have 2 toddlers and having a 2 year old myself, I know what toddlers are like for picking up and spreading infections!

Well that's all I can think of I guess... I go to the gym every day and swimming every day but the rash started before that, though I feel like my back is getting stronger since I started working out on a daily basis.

I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself - can't get up from a chair without support but can do an hour in the gym, but I'm ok in the gym. There are no sudden movements. I'm ok with slow, careful, deliberate movement but it's when my toddler slips from my grasp and runs towards a busy road or reaches for a hot cup of tea that I don't have time to move carefully and slowly, and I'll run or lunge or reach out too quickly to be aware of how much strain I'm putting on my joints as I do it and then something will give way and I'll fall down.

Also, my husband hit me with the car 8 months ago - the bugger! He accidentally reversed back and squished me against a wall and ran over my ankle. But that was about 6 months before my hip pains started in earnest.

Anyway, sorry, I've probably written a novel here, but I'm kind of thinking aloud (or at least thinking and typing!) and trying to work out what this is all about. I wish I could work out why this is happening.

Thanks again for your advice. I appreciate it.

xxx

[acuann]

Please don't think that just because you eat marmite and drink soy milk that you are not B12 deficient...these are very poorly assimilated forms of B12. Also, a deficiency in vitamin D can cause joint pain and fibromyalgia symptoms.

If your rash appeared after introducing more soy products in your life due to your aspiring veganism, then it is possible you may have a soy allergy. Does your rash come and go or is it constant? Does it itch? Does it bleed?

I suggest getting a blood test for B12 and D. This is easy to do and is a simple blood test. If your B12 is less than 500 and your D is less than 20 (I think that is right but am not positive on the D testing)...you should be supplementing. Both B12 and D deficiency can cause a lot of your symptoms, and it is becoming increasingly common. I think this would be a good idea to just rule out.

Best wishes
DOM