Rheumatoid Arthritis: Symptoms And Signs

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a serious autoimmune disease that attacks the joints and other body parts.

But RA can be tough to diagnose. Symptoms can mimic other illnesses, or they may flare, then fade, only to flare again somewhere else. Lab tests aren't perfect -- you can test negative for RA factors and still have it. And X-rays don't show signs until later on.

Here are some tricky rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and hints that they're due to RA and not some other condition.

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Hard To Heal Injuries

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It's possible to think you have an injury -- such as a sprained ankle that doesn't seem to heal -- when the symptoms are actually due to RA. This is more common in younger people, says Lisa A. Mandl, M.D., M.P.H., assistant attending rheumatologist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. One day a patient is playing soccer and the next day her knee is swollen, she says. "I have seen people who have had two arthroscopic surgeries and extensive physical therapy in their knee and they have rheumatoid arthritis." More from Health.com: How RA Affects the Body 10 Ways to Ease Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain How Rheumatoid Arthritis Differs From Osteoarthritis

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It's possible to think you have an injury -- such as a sprained ankle that doesn't seem to heal -- when the symptoms are actually due to RA.

This is more common in younger people, says Lisa A. Mandl, M.D., M.P.H., assistant attending rheumatologist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

One day a patient is playing soccer and the next day her knee is swollen, she says. "I have seen people who have had two arthroscopic surgeries and extensive physical therapy in their knee and they have rheumatoid arthritis."

More from Health.com:
How RA Affects the Body
10 Ways to Ease Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain
How Rheumatoid Arthritis Differs From Osteoarthritis

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Comments

[stargazer13]

11:36 PM on 02/15/2011

I can not eat potatoes for it flares up bad the aches the pain to bend

uuhhhgg!

[notmytime]

10:23 PM on 02/15/2011

yep.... it don't matter how you paint it, RA sucks.

[mrman]

03:23 PM on 02/13/2011

Yeah, I got 6 out of 9 of the above...dealing with it....
"$hlt falling so fast I need a hard hat....

[smschico]

12:15 PM on 02/13/2011

At 28,after an "inconclusive" meniscus surgery,other joints of mine randomly began to swell and ache. (slowly over a period of months). I had the fluid drained from both knees 4x, cortisone shots etc.

My records were forwarded to a Rheumatologist who insisted that I stop taking birth control, which I had been on for at least 6 years (From the ages of 15 to 28, I had likely had about 30 periods total, all about 2 weeks long and unbearably painful with other effects, as well.) I stopped taking it and felt much much better in about 48 hours. I was able to walk to the mailbox on my own.

During visit with the Rheumatologist--I was having an autoimmune reaction to the birth control, that I would have reactions to other medications in the future and that this was exceedingly rare.

Approx 6 months later, I was still not completely better (very slight joint swelling and aches) and decided to join my (then) boyfriend (diagnosed celiac) on his gluten-free diet, w/ Dr permission, to support his change.

A week after going gluten-free, I got my first "normal" period and have had them like clockwork since Dec 2010. My joint swelling is completely resolved.

If this helps someone, then great. But also know that if you go on a crazy, expensive diet, quit drugs that were helping you, be under the care of a good Dr. and have DRASTIC change in health that justifies it.

[GraniteSkyline]

07:29 PM on 02/14/2011

Thanks for sharing your story!

[valeskas]

07:45 AM on 02/13/2011

I have 5 of the symptoms and knew beforehand that I have it. My hands wake me up every night, because of the tinglings.

[sweetums]

02:43 AM on 02/20/2011

I had the same experience -- could not sleep because of numbness/tingling in my hands. Please try the diet below -- I have known many others having success with cutting out these foods. I would also check into heavy metal toxicity.

[sweetums]

01:36 AM on 02/13/2011

I was diagnosed with RA in 1992. I could barely walk and had extreme carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. I read the book Conquering Arthritis and Prescription for Nutritional Healing. I cut out potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, wheat/gluten, red meat, milk products, I ate 50 - 75% raw fruits and veggies, and increased my sardines, mackerel, and salmon. My pain and numbness and exhaustion went completely away after one month and has not been back since. Found out much later that my very high heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, antimonium) probably had more to do with my auto-immune issues (see Mark Hyman, MD articles) in the first place and am currently being treated for this.

[Sharon Hanson]

09:59 AM on 02/13/2011

I also have heavy metal toxicity from gadolinium based contrasting agents GBCAs. One of these days we will understand the heavy metal connection to autoimmune disorders such as RA and now the new man-made disease Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis that is teaching us what heavy metals do to the body.

[shthar]

08:29 PM on 02/12/2011

Sorry, my arthritis is too bad to be clicking thru slideshows.

[Last Gasp]

08:29 PM on 02/12/2011

you can clear up autoimmune problems if you do a water-only fast beyond 10 days. I did 14 days and my autoimmune thyroiditis improved, verified by blood tests. find joel fuhrman fasting and eating for health. ignore the part about vegetarianism though-thats wrong.

[RaceCondition]

11:31 PM on 02/12/2011

I wouldn't recommend anyone try this.

[sabelmouse]

10:09 AM on 02/13/2011

why ?what's wrong with fasting once in a while unless you have a known problem with it?

[cruzgirl47]

01:06 PM on 02/13/2011

I agree. Ironically, I was preliminarily diagnosed just this past week with RA by a Rheumatologist. One thing he stated was that there are going to be a lot of people giving me advice on how to treat this chronic disease. He said everyone seems to think that they have the answer. Don't go by anecdotal evidence......research, research, research. Get second opinions from SPECIALISTS. This disease can become debilitating, so treat it seriously.