It started last night, both arms starting in the backs of my arms behind the elbows are alternating between numbness and tingling but my right arm is the worst. The numbness is going all the way down into the heel of my hand. My wrist is getting stiff and i'm having to stretch it and it will pop. The knuckles on the back of my right hand is also hurting and feels like it's swelling but I see none but the fingers sure feel stiff and swollen.
All these years I always atributed it to arthritis because when the weather changes I hurt like this in the hands and for sure sometimes all over.
Since my dr says I do not have arthritis that I have Systemic Lupus with Fibro type symptoms I was wondering if weather affects Lupus?
This is very irritating. The numbness and tingling is very painfull, so what do all ya'll recommend for it?
Any suggestions would be very appreciated.
I am currently on Gabapentin, Ferrous Sulfate, Naproxen, Paxil and Ibuprophen
Last edited by txplowgirl; 12-24-2012 at 12:06 PM.
Reason: Forgot to add meds
Hi. I had a lot of neuro-like tingling when first dx'ed, when my B-12, Folate, etc. were low, yet it wasn't in same locations as my pain. (But that proves nothing, as people with lupus surely differ a lot in where they have pain.)
I'm sort of surprised your doctor says "not arthritis", because arthritis in lupus is extremely common. I think hands & wrist are at the very top of the list, with dominant hand typically being worse. My problem areas are shoulders, elbows, and feet, and long bones of shins/arms. My rheumatologist confirmed that barometric sensitivity is quite common. Personally I hurt the most the day before a low-pressure weather front arrives (snow, rain, etc.), sometimes so much I can't stand or walk.
I'd also ask my dr. about the possibility of carpal tunnel syndrome. I've seen illustrations of medial nerve compression, from which pain radiates right into the heel of the palm. Maybe your years of truckdriving put you at greater risk for carpal tunnel?
I hope others chip in on this. With my best wishes to you, Vee
Thank you Vee for that. That makes me feel a lot better because I also seem to hurt more just before a barometric front comes through and a lot of times all over and not just in my hands and arms.
I wish I could blame this on the truck driving but my wrists and hands have hurt long, long way before I started driving.
I've always thought I had Rhuematoid arthritis because my wrists are turned just a touch sideways and I have a couple of fingers bent into a claw type postion and when I try to put my fingers together on both hands my pinkie fingers will stick out in the oposite direction. Can't get them to close unless I manually grab them and hold them together.
I know the knuckles on the back of my hands swell and hurt a lot as well as the finger on my right hand beside my pointy finger will swell and hurt all by itself sometimes.
Maybe when the dr did the blood tests it came up negative for RA because I wasn't in a flare? Can that happen?
As far as my anemia, yes she is waiting to see if my Endo ablation will help with that.
Thanks for helping me figure this out.
Last edited by txplowgirl; 12-25-2012 at 02:40 AM.
Although I'm only a patient, I think you raise good questions about the possibility of RA. Have you read the 2010 RA criteria? Looks to me like "sliding" points are "awarded" for meeting the criteria, and total of 6 points should create the dx of RA, but ONLY when there's no other diagnosis that fits:
1. max of 5 points for the number of joints affected
2. up to 3 points for Rheumatoid Factors and/or ACPA (anti-citrullinated protein antibody)
3. one point for "acute phase reactants" = elevated ESR (sed rate) &/or elevated CRP (C-reactive protein)
4. one point for symptoms lasting 6 or more weeks
In your shoes, I'd first want the lupus diagnosis explained better. On what factors was it based?
And I'd want to know if RA had been considered & tested for. You said you were definitely tested for RF. But per above, ACPA, sed rate, and CRP are also cited in the RA criteria; so were you tested for those? Also, I think another thing that screams RA are X-rays showing what one author calls "mouse bites". (While lupus arthritis is almost always non-erosive, RA joint damage is typically erosive.) Therefore what you wrote about your pinkie misalignment is interesting.
Some people have aspects of both RA and lupus. There's even a "crossover" condition called "rhupus", for example.
Sorry, I don't know if RF can rise/fall as flares come/go. Maybe someone here knows? You could ask that same question on the Arthritis board.
Carpal tunnel is actually more common in people with RA, lupus, and some other autoimmunes; and in people who drive a lot, play piano, use pile drivers, etc. In my mind anyway, you actually could have multiple risk factors!
I forgot to ask, is your doctor a rheumatologist?
A reco: I borrowed library books instead of buying immediately, so I could see which were the most helpful. Books contain far more detail, I found.
Eek, your question list is growing, but I hope something above helps as you think thru all this. I really believe that asking good questions is the only way we can get our arms around what we're being told, and it's also the best way to tell if your doctor is up to the task. My 1st rheumatologist was hilarious (not in a good way, but oh how we laughed anyway); my 2nd rheumatologist was (and still is) a real pro who explains his reasoning. Hope you post more soon, bye for now, Vee
P.S. I just saw something you asked about: RF is positive *eventually* in 70% to 80% of people with RA. To me, this means that having a negative RF *never* rules out RA, and that having a negative RF early in the disease is probably pretty common.
Looks like a good point to add to list of things to discuss w/doctor. Bye, V.
