35 and feeling like I'm 85
I started having pain in my feet, ankles, and lower back about 2 years ago. I was also starting to gain weight so I attributed the pain to weight gain. I started a new job where I stand on a false bottom floor. A year and a half ago I had multiple stress fractures in my left foot and then 6 months later my right foot. I have had surgery on them both now. The pain in my feet never subsided. I started getting terrible pains in my knees. Worse than the initial pains I was having 2 years ago. By the end of my eight-hour work day my feet were crippling me with pain and still are. It is the same for my knees now hips and sometimes my lower back. My GP did a full lab work on me me in March 2016. My wbc come back slightly elevated, but that was all. ESR was fine so was my CRP and RF negative. A new GP (I switched out of frustration because of no answers) ran same lab work at the end of 2016. My ESR is a 36 and should be less than 20 per lab. CRP is 6.8 should be less than .5 per lab. WBC is high, absolute eosophinils high, eosophinils high, rdw high, neutrophils and absolute neutrophils high, uric acid is high too. I am being referred to a rheumatologist and was able to get in on June 20 as opposed to the original Aug 22 appointment, thank goodness. By the way, I came back negative for the RF test but just asked the other day for the anti ccp blood test and will probably get results this coming Monday. I am guessing I have RA. My toes are starting to curl forward and last 3 on each foot are bright red and have sharp shooting pains in the. On each small toe I have a nodule or something forming. I don't really have an arch in my feet anymore. I'm scared because my job is physical and am on my feet all day. By the end of the day they not only cripple me but burn up and are numb. I'm guessing that's some sort of neuropathy from swelling. I can't fit in any of my shoes except work shoes which I have stretched and modified to the max. I'm really scared. The other day the joints at the site of my elbows hurt when I tried to fully extend them. My GP put me on 5 days of 20mg prednisone until I see the rheumatologist. It made the new pain in my arms go away but nothing else improved. I'm a real jerk too because prior to this I really believed people with arthritis were attention seekers and taking small pain and making it extreme for attention. Because of that I don't tell anyone about my pain except my mom and a close friend. I feel terrible now that I thought like that. Any how, I am looking for some friends who can relate to anything I have written. I scared and feel alone. Any help is appreciated!
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