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Date: 03.05.2011
From: Sue

Subject: Rheumatoid Arthritis triggered by car accident, anyone else had this?

Minutes after having a car accident I developed fatigue like never before. I had whip lash too and pains in my wrists. The doctor put it all down to whiplash and shock.

Several weeks later, still feeling exhausted I started having flare ups in my hands and ankles. My feet became really sore too and the arthritis settled in. I was told I had allsorts from the GP, from tendonitis, carpel tunel to Raynauds syndrome.

The GP didn't know what was wrong with me so sent me to Rheumatology who confirmed I had Pallendromic arthritis which has now progressed to Rheumatoid.

I am persuing a Personal Injury claim as the man who drove into me did so as he went through a red light doing approx 50 mph. He was given 3 points and fined £150 and I'm left in constant pain on Methotraxate and constantly exhausted and my quality of life is nothing like it was before the accident.

My solicitor is finding it difficult to put a value to my claim as there are no previous law cases linking car accidents to causing RA. Only two case studies have been carried out where they show stress as a factor for triggering arthritis.

The £800 per hour consultant who saw me this year went through my doctors notes and has linked my bouts of flu in my younger years to the start of the arthritis along with an eye infection (which was for wearing my contact lenses for too long). His verdict is that due to this I would have developed it anyway. I have strongly disagreed with this arguing that people get the flu and the flu goes after 5-10 days. My flu like symptoms have been with me since the accident.

I feel so p'd off that all of this was not my fault and I'm left with this horrible condition and I'm struggling to get the compensation I feel I deserve and that yet again the professionals don't want to risk their reputations and have to stand up in a court of law and defend their medical reports so they play it safe.

Has anyone else gone through the same as me re: car accidents triggering arthritis???
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Date: 03.05.2011
From: cookie

Subject: Re: Rheumatoid Arthritis triggered by car accident, anyone else had this?

i think the issue is that somthing triggers these things off you may have the genetics to pre dispose but so do others that never develop the disease
i put mine to a very stressful breakup with a much loved partner. i developed ra just a few weeks later, the rheumatologis kept asking if id had an infection etc which i had not. the rality is that you may have had the genetics there but the rta has ? set off a set of events that have resulted in the disease. the fact that you may have a predisposition to this should not alter the fact that you have suffered following the accident
hope you get it sorted hon
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Date: 04.05.2011
From: Maz

Subject: Re: Rheumatoid Arthritis triggered by car accident, anyone else had this?

The rheumies I saw here in Oz all said that for some unknown reason Palindromic syndrome usually follows some sort of severe physical trauma, such as breakages, severe infections etc, however,proving that in a court of law would be virtually impossible.

I will be all ears to hear your progress.

Good luck,
Maz
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Date: 04.05.2011
From: Sue

Subject: Re: Rheumatoid Arthritis triggered by car accident, anyone else had this?

Thanks Maz, I'll let you know, the court case has been going on for just over two years so far so don't hold your breath !!!
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Date: 31.05.2011
From: Sharon Benson

Subject: Re: Rheumatoid Arthritis triggered by car accident, anyone else had this?

In 2008 I was rear-ended. I have NEVER been the same since.Might have had RA all along without a diagnosis but I use to be able to walk my dog. I use to be able to shop till I dropped. I use to be able to make plans and keep them. I use to be able to sleep 7 hours and feel good. I use to be able to work hard and never get a fever. I use to be able to go with my husband shopping to all 3 stores. I use to be able to help at my church. So you see my friends, that accident changed my life. My Rheumy's assistant answered the million dollar question.....Can a car accident be a trigger for RA. Her answer was YES!!!!! Why world do you acknowledge so many other trivial things but not one that has been so life changing? Why Doctors will you not stand up for all of us that is suffering so much now since we had our car accidents? A true Doctor of Medicine would not put up with these Ins.Companies. They studied hard, worked hard all their lives but are caught up in something that is so unfair to people like myself!!!!!!! Sharon
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Date: 05.06.2011
From: Val G.

Subject: Re: Rheumatoid Arthritis triggered by car accident, anyone else had this?

Hi everybody - I'm new on here but I've kept having a look at the forum since diagnosed with RA on Nov. 8 2008 - a date I'll never ever forget when my R.A. Consultant sat me down and told me what was wrong with me. I can sympathise with everybody who has responded to this thread and indeed everybody who uses this forum. I was told by my RA Spec. Nurse that any out of the ordinary event can trigger the disease - in my case it was a total horrible family breakup which resulted in a mental breakdown for me. I was backwards and forwards to my GP for months with very painful knees, ankles and feet before he asked the question "has anybody sent you to see a Rheumatologist"? Given it was him who is my GP he would surely have known that the answer to that was NO!! So he made the referral and here I am. like the previous answering person I used to walk miles with my dog and be able to get up and do all sorts with no problems at all. Now I can't walk up the lane with my dog never mind a 3 mile hike, walking round the supermarket is a major struggle and I'm forever tired. My medicines have been upgraded to 10 methotrexate weekly and 1 hydroxychlorquine daily because I've had a recent flare up and I feel totally terrible.
I agree with the thought that medics and anybody associated with a medical insurance claim would certainly "cover their backs" unless a previous similar case had been dealt with in court and answers to claimant's questions had been officially proved correct. They would not want to create a blot on their c.v.
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