Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Jo,
I'm sorry to hear to bad your feeling at the moment!
I have SLE and like others I do not get swellings, but I do get immense pain and stiffness in joints!
One point to note is how is GP diagnosing these illnesses (Polyarthritis and even the prior diagnoses of Lupus). I hope he/she is not just randomly guessing without the back-up of proper expert knowledge. My GP would not diagnose me with serious problems without the relevant tests and I certainly would not take meds first without the knowledge that whatever I may have being investigated properley.
Not sure, but are there not scans/x-rays that can be done to see if arthritis is present!
You need to work with your GP to see if you can get referred to another specialist. You may not be able to get a referral to another Rhuemie whilst still under the care of one, as there is apparently no 2nd opinion option now in UK. There are of course other specialists that can access you like orthapeadic, physio, neurological ones, perhaps your GP can go this route on top of your current Rhuemi.
Then of course the other option is to go private if you can afford it!
Good luck with whatever you choose, but I do think more investigation is required!
Love Lesley
I'm sorry to hear to bad your feeling at the moment!
I have SLE and like others I do not get swellings, but I do get immense pain and stiffness in joints!
One point to note is how is GP diagnosing these illnesses (Polyarthritis and even the prior diagnoses of Lupus). I hope he/she is not just randomly guessing without the back-up of proper expert knowledge. My GP would not diagnose me with serious problems without the relevant tests and I certainly would not take meds first without the knowledge that whatever I may have being investigated properley.
Not sure, but are there not scans/x-rays that can be done to see if arthritis is present!
You need to work with your GP to see if you can get referred to another specialist. You may not be able to get a referral to another Rhuemie whilst still under the care of one, as there is apparently no 2nd opinion option now in UK. There are of course other specialists that can access you like orthapeadic, physio, neurological ones, perhaps your GP can go this route on top of your current Rhuemi.
Then of course the other option is to go private if you can afford it!
Good luck with whatever you choose, but I do think more investigation is required!
Love Lesley
