Are there any other conditions that could be mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis?

Question

My mom was hospitalized in January with pneumonia, upon her stay at the hospital she contracted a staph infection. Within a few weeks of leaving the hospital she began having pain all through her body. About a month later when she finally got into the doctor, they ran some tests and discovered that she has rheumatoid arthritis. It just seems strange that she never had symptoms prior to being at the hospital, and now she's hurting all over every day. I'm afraid that it could've been a misdiagnosis, as she is cared for by the VA and they missed my stepdads non hodgekins lymphoma (which thank god was caught at another hospital, thanks to his persistance ) I'm just curious if there are any other conditions that could have been overlooked, or If there are any treatments herbal remedies or anything she can try. I feel so bad for her cause shes active and can't do things that she wants to do. She also is experiencing anxiety attacks from the stress. Any help would be awesome! Thanks!

Answer 1

Could be tons of things: lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis for just a few examples.

You know, all doctors miss things - it's not just the VA. It took a year-and-a-half to diagnosis the chronic illness I have. I've known people with lupus or MS where it took 5 years to get a diagnosis. It's unfortunately very common.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

No. Rheumatoid Arthritis only shows up when the doctor orders a titer and you actively have this titer in your body. This type of arthritis also goes in and out of remission too. When he's in remission, there's no way it can show up. There are also times when this just looks like ordinary arthritis and is often mistaken for it too. Much is still left to be learned about it. The consistency you might be talking about refers to the body joints that are effected when it's active. Supposedly the same joints on one side are effected one time and the next time is the other side, but I've never experienced that either. I'venever experienced the heart pain you refer to though. This might be a different problem that he needs to get checked out asap. Please make sure he does. Good luck and God Bless

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDCA4

Answer 4

Check here a very effective sciatica natural treatment http://cure-sciatica.info
Normally, I would not answer a question like this as my expertise is generally in medication but I had severe sciatica while I was pregnant with my 3rd child (after having had twins) and I had sciatica so bad that I was finding it difficult to walk. I tried massage therapy and physical therapy and could not take medication
I went to the chiropractor and the pain was instantly relieved. My hips and lower back were out of alignment because I had carried twins the year before. On occasion a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) can also work but they usually only work on one joint at a time - the chiropractor will do your whole back which works faster. Anyone who does not believe in chiropractors will tell you they are quacks - don't listen.
I don't necessarily believe that chiropractors can cure things like diabetes but they can definitely relieve some types of back pain especially if a pinched nerve is involved which is usually the cause of sciatica.

Answer 5

Well, to begin with, if she was diagnosed with one blood test, called a rheumatoid factor, then YES she most definitely could be mis-diagnosed. The rheumatoid factor blood screen has an extremely high rate of "false positive" tests. ?With rheumatoid arthritis, folks are generally stiff in their joints in the morning time and will oftentimes have "growths" on their bones or deformities that are easily seen on x-ray. I would most certainly take her to a different specialist, a non-VA rheumatologist. Take all the blood work and tests that have been done already. She may have developed fibromyalgia, or a thyroid condition, or a hormone imbalance, or other such thing. Rheumatoid arthritis is rarely an "overnight" condition where it just happens. It is progressive. Best of luck to you.

Answer 6

Imagine for a moment your arthritis completely vanishing right now.

If, in a moment, your pain and stiffness melted away. And your joints all of a sudden functioned like a well-oiled machine.

Like a magic wand was waived, you'd be able to jump up from your chair and run around the room like a kid.

And imagine that you'd never have to suffer as much as a pinch of arthritis stiffness or pain ever again.

I know this sounds impossible right now, but bear with me, because sometimes miracles happen.

It was a gift from a woman on the other side of the world. From the kindness of her heart, she took pity on my suffering and taught me how to completely reverse my arthritis.

Today, I want to do the same for you!

Answer 7

I was recently diagnosed with RA this Monday after all my blood work came back. I also have fibromyalgia for roughly 10 years now. What I find ironic is that I had a terrible reaction to Cephlaxin I took it after my bladder surgery. I had some of my symptoms for well over a year but I will start with the ones that lasted less then two weeks and progress to the one's I am still dealing with. My reaction started with nausea, fatigue & diarrhea (they thought I was having a reaction to Percocet and made me stop taking it after the first day following my surgery.)After I stopped the Percocet things got worse my symptoms progressed rapidly during the two weeks I was on this antibiotic, it wasn't until my intubation that someone finally put the pieces together and realized what was going on. Four days into taking the antibiotic I started to develop red skin lesions with itching, I have a scar from one of them on my arm, I had them on my face, chest, neck and arms, they came and went for 24 hours. Then I started to have joint pain and swelling, dysphagia that lead to anaphylaxis and multiple attempts to get a size 8, then a 7 and finally with a few attempts with the size 6 ETT they finally got it in. I woke up from all of this thanking god I did not get a tracheostomy cause that would have been the only way to provide an airway had they not got a breathing tube in. I never stopped having the joint pain and inflammation and I will continue to believe that my reaction to the antibiotic lead to this autoimmune dz. It wasn't until a few months after words but I also had thinning and hair loss and brittle nails that are just starting to resolve after being on 5000mcg of biotin for 5 months. Joint pain is listed as a possible reaction to this antibiotic, however it doesn't say may cause autoimmune dz. I now read all drug labels and I will never let something like this happen to me again. The sad thing is during all this my son had his graduation ceremony and party. I was not able to decorate or set anything up for the party due to my stiff painful joints thank god I had a big group of ppl who rallied in support and my son's party was perfect I sat in a chair most of the time directing everyone. I nearly cried though when I had to go up and down the bleachers for his graduation. I had to have assistance because it was the worst pain I had ever been in and it took everything to lift my legs to get up the steps I looked like a 90 year old woman.

Answer 8

rheumatoid arthritis is verified thru blood tests because there are specific protien markers that show up only when rheumatoid arthritis is present. The onset can be caused by illness, so what happened to your mom is not uncommon. It is an inflammatory process, so she could help herself somewhat by drinking alot of green tea, it has antioxidants that reduce the inflammatory response.

Answer 9

Hi,
Sciatica is a pain that results from irritation of one of sciatic nerves. This is a lower back pain that goes down to hip and then to both legs extending to feet and toes in some cases. Sciatica nerve is the largest nerve in our body. Running down the spine through the hip, sciatic nerve goes down to knee and ankle. Any damage or pressure on this nerve results in debilitating sciatica pain that needs thorough investigation of probable causes on the basis of symptoms to provide relief to the patient on a permanent basis.


For details visit: http://curesciatica.toptips.org
Good Bye

Answer 10

RA is not predictable. It is assumed it is genetic.. my mother and younger sister have it.. i have tested negative, but have early symptoms..

It can hit you late in life or catch you in your teens. After accidents or periods of illness, when your body and immune system is weakened is when flare-ups normally occur.

There are lots of treatments.. my doctor said if i start getting achy and have swelling..to take Double Strength: Glucosamine 500mg/Chondroitin 400mg. check with the doctor if she is on other meds and before starting anything new..