osteo and hyperflexibility?

[doraluma]

hi
ive been having all sorts of health problems for the last 6 months. posted in a few forums.
ive had joint pains mostly knees and hips since i was about 13.
i am now 27.
just saw a rheumatologist for the first time today
he said i have osteoarthritis in both my knees.
i figured that much from the grating when i bend them! and clicking when i go upstairs! (not to mention the pain!)
but i have alot of other joint pains. fingers, toes, hips, wrists.
he couldnt find a reason for them. they arent swollen or clicky.
bloodtests are normal.
but
he did point out that all my joints are alot more flexible/greater range of motion than most people of my age. (even though i have osteo in my knees!)
some of my fingers i can virtually bend back against my hand!
he looked at that. and also how i can lay my thumbs flat against my wrist
he has ordered some bloodtests. but said there was nothing wrong with me other than my knees.

when i got home and chatted to some people they suggested hypermobility or something like (spelling???) ehlers-danos (?)
i looked it up on some sites
because i also had bouts of lots of bruising, bad bruising and my gp couldnt figure it out because my blood counts were all normal
also i swear (but no one believes me) there have been times i have been walking in town and i felt my skin split on my legs. and looked down and there were little scrath-like tears
once i leant over the coffee table to pick up a drink and i got two tears in my shin. i still have the scars!!!!
but of course my gp thought i was talking madness!
but since i looked up hypermobility syndrome stuff, alot of it rang bells.
fragile translucent skin (i have difficulty finding makeup the right skin tone. some days my skin looks grey! or green! but mostly because its so pale and you can just see the veins underneath)
bruising
joints that bend backwards
(i dont understand why the rheumy didnt say much more about that. he noticed it enough to say it was unusual and make me bend my fingers and thumbs back. but then said nothing more.)

and i swear i have a prolapse (down there) i thought that before i read all this stuff. of course gp said no way in someone my age who hasnt had kids.
but this bulge grew in my back passage and if i put a tampon in my vagina i can feel it across my rectum, the bulge there appears to be the top of my vagina! and my cervix has moved down my vagina. but no one notices that because it was extremely high up to begin with so now its just normal height, but its alot lower from what i used to be. (cervical smears were a nightmare. even with extra long speculum they often couldnt find my cervix!)

yaarrrrrrrgggggggggggh

ranting
dora
xx

[ferfyw]

Hi Dora,
I am a 37 y.o. woman with osteoarthritis in my hands and I also have hypermobile joints. My rheumatologist told me that people that are hyperflexible tend to get osteo at an earlier age than those who are not hypermobile. It was suggested that I might have ehlers danlos but that was ruled out. I take relafen for pain and I try not to overuse my hands. I also have minor carpal tunnel syndrome and I sleep with splints on. Exercise and heat also help the discomfort.
I don't have any of the other symptoms that you are experiencing. I hope you and you doctors can get to the bottom of what is causing all your problems.

[ferfyw]

double post

[Kissa]

It sounds more like the possibility of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome than OA or general hypermobile syndrome.

I have EDS type 3 with a cross of 1. It is a genetic disorder, meaning someone in your family history must have had it. Basically it is caused by defunct collagen. You will need to see a geneticist in order to get a proper diagnosis, it's not something any doctor can do since they do a skin biopsy. Most people are not properly diagnosed with EDS and most doctors are uneducated in the this field or area of medicine.

There are 6 types of EDS, 2 of which are fatal, the remainders are not. It is believed that it is possible to have cross types. It is characterized by soft velvety skin, easy bruising and tearing, inability to heal, hypermobile joints, elastic or very stretchy skin, severe scarring, poor wound healing and debilitating musculoskeletal pain. Other types such as vascular have issues with internal organs and mitral valve prolapse. Hip displaysia and scoliosis can be common in many at birth. Early onset of OA is very common due the sublexation and dislocation of joints. Each type of EDS also has their own set of different symptoms and finding out which type someone has is very important.

I had doctors tell me for years they didn't know what was wrong with me when I had the classical symptoms. It wasn't until I was 30 before I was proper diagnosed. There are a few other symdromes that do have hypermobility as a key symptom and a geneticist will be able to determine exactly what may be going on.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

Barbie