Gimped, need moral support

[Spats]

I have contracted or developed some very strange form of arthritis.

Basically my hands started hurting a few months ago, and gradually got worse. Then it spread to my knees. I have become very good friends with aspirin and Aleve, and they made mountain biking possible this spring, but they can only do so much.

Anyway, it's to the point where I can't stand up for any length of time without pain. About all I can do for exercise is ride my bicycle slowly, and even that gets harder and harder.

It all seems to have been kicked off by a severe allergic reaction I had, but beyond that, neither my doctor nor the rheumatologist can figure out what's going on. They've run a bunch of blood tests, and between that and the physical signs (or lack thereof) we're pretty sure I don't have any of the obvious degenerative diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or fibromyalgia -- or even the less common autoimmune syndromes like Reiter's or Behcet's. We're in the dark.

(If you or anyone you know has any knowledge of things, no matter how bizarre, that could cause something that looks a lot like osteoarthritis but comes on more quickly, please tell me. Also if you know of potential treatments, drug, herbal, or otherwise, please tell me.)

This is tough for me. I've beaten severe injury before, but there's always been an obvious path to recovery. Now I'm sitting here and I'm in pain and can't get around and I don't know why or what to do.

Anyway, if you have some healing stoke to spare, please take a minute to send it my way.

Thanks.

[natty dread]

vibes to the man with the crazy pants.
hope you get this figured out.

[bklyn]

+ vibes
lyme?

[Millsie]

Do you have psoriasis? My father has arthritis that was caused by that and a freinds brother had the same thing. Friends brothers came on very quickly and he got to the point where he couldn't walk. My fathers came on more slowly, but he has both shoulder joints and a hip replaced. Knees hurt him so much he can hardly walk.

Jeff

[lemon boy]

+vibes, I was gonna say lyme's too.

[Trackhead]

Positive vibes++++

But let me tell you my opinion.......you don't have "fibromyalgia". You're the furthest thing from the profile of the typical fibro patient. Especially if normal, active exercise is a big part of your life.

[atomicboy]

damn that bites. +++++++vibes

[Mtn Man]

+ vibes
lyme?

This was the first thing that came to mind too. But I'm sure the doc tested you for that in the beginning. I have this test done every few years just because I'm always in the woods during the off season.

Good luck and posi vibes! +++++

B)

[Viva]

A severe allergic reaction to what, John?

[watersnowdirt]

Very sorry to hear that. Lots of good wishes your way.

[seanyob]

+++++++++++++ vibes man. I hope the docs can figure it out and it isn't anything serious.

[MarsB]

(If you or anyone you know has any knowledge of things, no matter how bizarre, that could cause something that looks a lot like osteoarthritis but comes on more quickly, please tell me. Also if you know of potential treatments, drug, herbal, or otherwise, please tell me.)

I'd give it a try. Hope you find some relief.
++++++++++++++vibes for sure

[MTT]

John as active as you are, this must be a very bad time for you.
Make sure the Doc has you tested for Lyme Disease. If you were back east thats the first thing they would have tested for. It has been spreading this way.


+++++Vibes+++++

I now see that others have suggested the same thing.

[Sinecure]

Splat, sorry to hear about the pain. I know how you feel, although my experience doesn't sound exactly like yours. Because of various injuries, I have arthritis in both knees, left hip, a couple of fingers and both shoulders. The knees are the worst, although it remains to be seen how things will progress as I age (I'm 42 now). There are a few things I've done that seem to help. I can't take nsaids (Aleve, Ibuprofen, onther anti-inflamatory drugs) so I've had to find other treatments.

Supplements I take:
1) Glucosamin Chondroitin - I take it twice a day
2) Sam-E - I used to take this but its kind of expensive and I'm not taking it now. It seemed to help a little.
3) Calcium with Magnesium - I use a generic from Costco, but there's a brand called sportlegs that is great too. Its more a muscular thing but it allows me to go hard for longer when riding a snowboard or a bike.
4) Vitamin E and Fish Oil - not sure how much these affect arthritis, but they are good for digestion and other stuff.

Pot. I've always been a supporter of legalizing marijuana, but until I tore my achilles I've always been a bit skeptical of the supposed medicinal benefits. Pot has other issues that make functioning in a business or social setting somewhat challenging for some people. Also, I'm not sure how advisable it is to be baked when you are about to drop into some super steep chute. I've found pot to be great for the pain in my joints (pun intended). Where I live it is pretty easy to find and very strong these days. When I mentioned it to my Orthopod, he said it is great for chronic pain (arthritis), and pretty good for acute pain (injury). Now if I could just get insurance to cover it. Now I'm completely convinced of the medicinal benefits and see even more reasons it should be legalized.

Synvisc (sp?). A couple seasons ago I tried this treatment for my knees. It was expensive and time consuming, but worked pretty well. Synvisc (and there's another brand that is similar) is synthetic viscous fluid just like in your knee joints. They make it from the combs of roosters. It is administered as a series of 3 shots in each knee once each week. It seems to last about 6 months (ski season). For me it wasn't so much a pain reliever/reducer as it was a way to accelerate recovery. Where before I'd be toast for a day if I skied hard for two days, on Synvisc I'd recover much more thoroughly overnight. I may try this treatment again in the future, especially if the cost comes down or insurance begins to cover it more.

Bike riding is especially good for keeping things lubed and working. Impact sports are not much of an option for me. The only impact sport I do is skiing/snowboarding. And then I avoid hucking unless there's tons of soft snow to hit on a very steep landing area.

When I've had back problems and gone to a chiropractor, routine chiropractic has helped not just my back, but some of the other joint issues as well.

Vicodin is helpful in small doses when the pain gets out of control. However, I don't take it unless I'm really hurt. If you can take ibuprofen, that helps but keep in mind that routine use in high doses can really do a number on your insides. I have ulcerative colitis that was initially triggered by me taking 600mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times/day during ski season. Now if I have even one ibuprofen, my colitis flares up and I spend the next few days going to the library urgently 6-10 times/day.

Your current situation sounds pretty serious. If you end up coming to the bay area to get checked out, let me know. I have a spare room if you need a place to stay. There's a specialist at the SOAR clinic in Redwood City named Dr. Elaine Lambert. She's the one I saw for the Synvisc shots back in '03 and specializes in arthritis. It might be worth a consult if you don't have the right person to see in Reno/Tahoe. Stanford probably has someone as well - I'd be happy to ask my orthopod for a reference if you want one.

Now stop reading TGR and go roll a phatty.


edit: oops. Just re-read original post. I read too fast sometimes. You are spat, not splat. Oh well, same shit applies. I was thinking splat since he was complaining of back pain during our Mammoth Mini-Mini over the weekend.

[Tippster]

So a friend of mine came down with a weird autoimmune disease 2 years ago that she's fighting with a whole cocktail of steroids. It's like Lupus, but different somehow. Basically her body decided to reject her cartilage - like it's allergic to it. She was no couch potato - a lifelong soccer player who played at the UNM and on club treams 'til her illness. If interested I can find out exactly what they're calling her condition these days and what treatments she's on.

The worst part for her is she cannot conceive a child while on the drugs, so she's being weaned currently so she can ovulate. Talk about pressure, and the pain must be unbelievable. Seeing her these days breaks my heart.

[PassTheDutchie]

My wife has a goofy auto-immune disease that she thought, initially, was arthritis. She was tentatively diagnosed with lupus, but there is no real "test"; just a broad spectrum analysis of blood work, etc., that fits within a set criteria. From what I understand/learned, there is tons of ambiguity and variation with these conditions. My wife is basically fine and asymptomatic most of the time (knock on wood). Basically, her symptoms come and go and she really hasn't had major issues in several years. Hope you feel better.

[CornFu]

Wow, that's a tough situation you find yourself in. Sorry to hear that.


++++Vibes++++

[Spats]

Yes, Lyme test was negative.

[ninjabirdman]

that's shitty man. it sucks to be hurting and feel helpless to make it better. best of luck figuring it out dude ++++++vibes+++++++

[Yeti]

You got it after an allergic reaction... do you have a fever? (Rheumatic fever? A long shot.)

I'm just a witch doctor, but rheumatoid arthritis sounds like a match... occurs most frequently in the 20-40 age group, focus on the hands, stiffness (worst in the morning?), arthritis and soft-tissue swelling of >3 of 14 joints/joint groups...

Fibromyalgia is a frustratingly soft, wishy-washy diagnosis, especially if you don't have it ... seems that some folks we consider malingerers can get docs to diagnose fibromyalgia. I suspect Trackhead is skeptical that you have fibromyalgia because you're not a fat, cubicle-bound, muumuu-wearing 45-year-old spinster cat-lady (my stereotypical fibromyalgic).

Vibes, and I'll consult a few witch doctor treatises to see what else I can come up with.

[Bodhi]

John, get better dood....

+++++++++++++++++++++ Vibes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

John I'm sorry to hear that. I think I recall one of the few days I skied with you this year that you were talking about your hands hurting a bit.

Have you tried/considered acupuncture? (I've never done it, but just throwing it out there...)

[BeanDip4All]

Spats,

Perhaps belting out some 80's ballads over cocktails in Chinatown will cheer you up?

Seriously, though, that sucks to hear you're in so much pain. My sister has had all kinds of sports arthritis... I know fish oil is supposed to help, and also GNC sells a product (of course I can't remember the name) that starts with a g that's just for cartilage. Might be glucagin? I'm sure if you went in and asked, they'd know. **edited to note that Sinecure beat me to this***

With all the typing and biking you do, it sounds causal. You mentioned you've had blood tests; have you had an MRI or a needle test to check for fluid yet? I'd say go see an orthopedist that specializes in sports medicine.

[bklyn]

Yes, Lyme test was negative.

My 4yo nephew came down with a bad case of strep but we didn't know it. No other symptoms initially, but a fast onset of joint pain, to the point where he couldn't walk. Seems joint pain is also a side effect of some bacterial infections. Were they all ruled out for you?

[yogachik]

John, so sorry to hear this.

If it is arthritis, I second Sinecure's supplement treatment. I have arthritis, not that severe, though, and the Glucosomin and Calcium/Magnesium help a LOT.

I hope it's nothing more severe, and hope you have an answer, soon. Have you called CDC? When I had an undiagnosible fatigue, I called the CDC and they gave me a list of supplements to take that totally cured me. Turned out, I had Chronic Fatigue before they called it Chronic Fatigue, but the CDC knew how to treat it.