I am having very serious joint pain ... mostly in my lower back, and I know some could be attributed to an ovarian mass... but my entire right side hurts quite frequently... back, hip, knee...

Any relation to the iron/blood issues?

Thanks for any of your advice/experience!

I have had joint pain now for a year, and after several doctors, don't have a definative answer. In October I found out I have Hashimoto's, & was started on Synthroid, thought that would help, it has not, saw a rheumatologist in January, she can't figure it out, lupus tests are all negative. She did send me to a hematologist due to a chronic low WBC count who ordered a bunch more tests and told me today that everything is normal, but my Ferritin level is 5 (which apparantly is very low, should be around 50) and he told me to take iron..... my B12 level is on the low side of normal at 320 so I am also taking a B complex,,,,,,,, still feel like crap.... I always feel like I have a low grade fever and am coming down with something. Every joint in my body aches.... I am also Vitamin D deficient,,,,, so basically I need every vitamin there is..... I am just going to stick to my rheumatologist and endocrinologist to try and get to the bottom of all of this... I hope someone can help you, I know so far, nothing has helped me yet..... I don't feel HORRIBLE, I just don't feel GOOD.

Yes, terrible joint pain! I too, saw a rheumatologist who found nothing, no thyroid problems, nothing. I did have a high CRP tests which might suggest RA, but nothing so extreme that they dxed me. All I have right now is hemolytic anemia and low ferritin = 9. Very high platelets, but that is partly due to me having no spleen.

My joint pain does respond to Pred, usually, although right now, the burning pain in my hip is not going away, despite 40mg of PRed. I'm starting to worry.

My hematologist thinks its an inflammation response to my body with the AIHA - she thinks its all related. She thinks I'm in some kind of flare. I agree with her, but I do worry about taking so much Pred, because of the bone problems it can cause.

Without the Pred, right now, I'd probably be crying. I know the pain is there for me when I taper off - I'm not looking forward to it.

I know when my B12 levels get low, the pain does seem to be worse.

Take care,
Jill

I suffer extremely bad joint and muscle pain, actually that is what prompted me to go to the dr. in the first place. They did all the tests for back pain, xrays, mri etc..., didn't really check out the blood until recently. I was told that the muscles were deteriorating, because the lack of healthy blood. I was told also that this will reverse if I get my blood back to healthy levels, and to expect that to take at least 6 months, so all of my bone marrow will have time to regenerate new cells. Any damage that has been done due to my b12 deficiency will not reverse though, as that is nuerological.

I hope everyone feels better today!

Thanks so much!

I keep telling my husband that I think my pain is in my back and not from the ovarian mass that they found...

Guess the back pain is a combination of the pain from the mass and the blood problems ... only time will tell, I guess.

I appreciate you sharing!!

You know...there is something called ankylosing spondylitis which is an inflammatory arthritis of the spine. The definitive diagnosis comes from xray changes in the sacrum. Unfortunately, those changes can take about 10 years to show up, especially in women.

The arthritis can affect other joints as well. I have AS. I also have iron-deficient anemia that is gettng worse. I am having a transfusion Tuesday if all things go well.

There is a test they they can do for a gene marker called HLA-B27. Lots and lots of people have it. Having it doesn't mean you have AS; however, 90% of the people with AS have the B27 marker. There are also cases where you can have AS and NOT have the B27 marker. AS is also called seronegative arthritis....meaning not RA. Psoriasis and Reiter's fall under the spondylarthropathy umbrella.

Low back pain can come from many causes, but if you are having inflammatory reactions, it might well be worth pursuing.

Thank you for this information. I am definately going to ask to be checked for this, as my back hurts all the time. I am hoping getting the anemia under control helps with this, right now I am just looking forward to getting some more energy back. You know what the say..baby steps...