Date: 29.09.2010
From: Tilly
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Subject: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Does anyone have this excruciating pain in the muscles in upper arms. My shouldersa dont hurt but have been told the pain is from there. Or is there something else going on. Anyone got suggestions to allreviate the pain?
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Date: 29.09.2010
From: sally
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Yep, I've had that. It was my shoulder. It's excruciating as you say. The only thing that helped was an injection under ultrasound. Got it done quickly as I was in hospital at the time. You could ask for referral to a shoulder specialist but mine (supposed 'best in the country') wrongly diagnosed it and it was the consultant who did the scan and the injection who knew what he was doing. He told me "I wish I could get the consultants down here to see what I see" this in response to a second wrong diagnosis from him!!
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: karen
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Well the symtoms you are getting is what I first got this year, before my ra was diagnosed. I still get them sometimes, not as bad but I too was told the pain was coming from my shoulders although my shoulders didnt actually hurt. What drugs are you on? Sorry cant be much help but you are the first person Ive heard to say this & I sympathise fully! Karen x
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: Tilly
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Thank you sally. Ive been told its frozen shoulder but know its not. I had injections by rheummy in March but made no difference. Did your injection under ultrasound make a idfference@
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: Tilly
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Karen Im on methotrexate and sulphasalazene. Ive been lucky so far as I was diagnosed in 1997 but now seem to be attacked in different parts. Sunday was swollen knuckles and now both arms. The shoulder doesnt hurt all the pain is in the muscles. Very painful.
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: karen
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Tilly Do you take any anti inflammatorie? I take diclofenac & before was taking ibuprofen. I take paracetomol when I need it. Sorry to hear you are in pain, its horrible! Karen x
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: Shirley
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Tilly, glad you asked this question as I too have been getting this pain in my upper arms. My shoulders hurt when I'm lying down and are particularly stiff in the mornings but once I'm up they're ok and it's more as you say in the muscles of my upper arms also wrists and hands. I have RA and am taking Mtx and Diclofenac but have been wondering if there's anything else going on?
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: karen
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
I forgot to add, I have been suffering with tendonitis, the tensons can stretch over inflamed joints & cause lots of pain. I couldnt turn my lower arm for a couple of days last week, very awkward doing everything one handed! Karen x
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Date: 30.09.2010
From: Sally
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
hi Tilly, the first one didn't make any difference but the one under ultrasound improved it rapidly, felt some improvement a matter of hours later. I was in such pain I couldn't move my arm, dress myself, wash etc. They might well call it a frozen shoulder and my ultrasound guy said I had fluid in the joint which he could see and I'd had fluid in other joints as well. He said it was clear that I had a systemic inflammatory disease and this was part of it. (I hadn't been diagnosed with arthritis at this stage.) They call it a frozen shoulder because you can't move it. I didn't have any pain in the shoulder joint at all, it was all in my arm. The whole point of having it done under ultrasound is that they can see exactly where they are going and what your condition is. My guy said that the other consultants always get the diagnosis wrong! Mostly they are guessing until they get it right. The other thing is that a 'frozen shoulder' will, apparently, clear up on it's own accord within 18 months. 18 months!!! Who can suffer that long? Ask for an injection under ultrasound. Your rheumatologist can order it. My advice is to ring him up and insist!!
hope you get somewhere with it.
xx
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Date: 04.10.2010
From: Tilly
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Well the pain got so bad I couldnt hold it down even with painkillers so called GP in. She thinks this might be polymyalgia and I was thinking the same but hope it isnt as the treatment is long term steroids and I dont want that. Within two days pain has gone and my arm is now OK so still confused.
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Date: 04.10.2010
From: margaret edwards
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
hello tilly. i also hope it is not polymyalgia as well, i took 12 steroids a day, for some months with that, and slowly decreased them over a year, i started it wih giant cell artiritis to begin with. steroids cleared the pain up within hours of starting on them. so again i hope that is not what you have. margaret e.
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Date: 04.10.2010
From: Rose
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Tilly, Hope you dont mind me coming into your blog but I have just read about your pain in the muscles of the arms and felt I had to reply. I too have had exactly the same. I have RA. Exactly what Sally (above) said is the same for me. I too was told it was frozen shoulder but my Rheumy told me that was not right. He too said he wished the other Drs would look further into these things. I was in hospital too last year and my Rheumy gave me one steroid injection into the shoulder to try to ease the pain and trialled me with traction. That didnt work. He then sent me for injection by ultrasound. I had two injections each week on the same day for two weeks. The reason they use the ultrasound is to guide them with the needle into the synovial fluid that surrounds the vertebre. It doesnt actually go into the joint as such but between the spaces, or so I understand. Anyway after 12 months of very painful muscles and arms i felt relief after 3 days and now can use my arms quite well. I still have some numbness in my thumb and wrist but its much better than before. Hope this helps and hope you get the help you need. I too hope you dont have polymyalgia. Take Care Ros X
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Date: 07.10.2010
From: Tilly
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Thanks Rose. Well now Im having a bad leg day and one thing I have definitely discovered is that these flare ups always occur in times of stress. Im normally stress free and have been ambling along quite well but I have one troublesome issue at the moment and hey ho off it goes.
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Date: 10.10.2010
From: Rose
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Tilly,I am sorry you are having more problems and pain. Its awful isnt it that in times that we do have stress our joints seem to react as well. After a while, with each flare you become so confused you dont know whats what half the time. I dont think stress makes us flare or the RA worse as such but I think that because we are stressed the adrenalin is more in the body and we feel the pain more. Not sure if thats right but it seems to happen to me every time. I hope you are feeling better today and your pain eases. Please keep us posted. Rose X
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Date: 06.12.2010
From: vanessa struthers
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
i have pains in my upper arms and wrists and fingers.
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Date: 06.12.2010
From: kazzie
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
hi i have been havin these problems as well and was told by my rhumy nurses it was ra as i thought i had a frozen shoulder i have had steroid injections in them but no good i cant even yurn over in bed at night or pull the covers up its that painfull i have this bout 4 weeks now its bloody awfull cause i cant for the life of me lift my arms and if i go to reach something and forget the pain is horrondous .
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Date: 06.12.2010
From: Shirley
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Subject: Re: Pain in upper arms with R.A.
Hi Tilly, I suffered realy badly with this type of pain but after an injection in each shoulder (40mg Triamcinolone mixed with Lignocaine) its all gone. I still feel it sometimes as Kazzie says, if I stretch too far for something I get a dead arm like someone has punched me in the top of my arm so I have to careful to remember, but its such a relief not to have this all the time. I hope you find something that works for you.
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