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[SarahT]

Sure Madeline

As I had a range of varying symptoms ( I have fibromyalgia too ) I was tested for many things, including looking at  auto immune flags from blood tests, all were negative. A gp examined me due to specific hip pain,then went me for an xray which confirmed osteoarthritis.

The  inflammatory arthritis ( think rheumatoid arthritis, these are auto immune  ) was trickier for me. Blood tests can show factors that indicate inflammatory arthritis in about 80% of sufferers. However, the remaining sufferers have what is called seronegative inflammatory arthritis. So we don't have the helpful markers from blood tests. Instead the rheumatologist  goes by symptoms and also  scans which can tell if  inflammation is present. So this is why mine was ' missed ' for so long, - I lack the usual markers.

If you are concerned do speak with a dr, it may be simple wear and tear but if a pain makes things hard to live with that's when I seek help.

[Shorty Pants]

Hi Madeline,
I feel your pain!  I've had exactly the same situation.  I do have osteoarthritis in my hips, but the joint pain in other areas of my body is very different.  Elbows and shoulders in particular, but basically general joint and some muscle pain.  It's hard to do it, I know, but I have found regular stretching through the day helps.  I'm very active with fell walking, gym, etc., but this doesn't seem to solve it.

One other thing that did help me was to look at my vitamin/nutrition levels.  I started on a multivit and iron supplements as I discovered my ferritin levels were low last year.  This had the most positive effect on my wellbeing of anything I'd done I believe.  Whilst GP's will say your ferritin is 'in range', NICE guidelines say anything below 30 is deficient.

Do beware Medichecks ferritin tests though.  I'm currently in discussion with them, as their test results consistently came out double those of my NHS ones, which masked the fact I'd been deficient for years!

If you don't have any NHS blood tests it might benefit you to try some iron and a multivit anyway.  (Be careful, as you can potentially overdose on iron).  Other supplements are available, but I took Solgar Gentle iron 20mg/day (or 40mg every other day) and Holland and Barrett 50+ A-Z daily.
Good luck! 

[bombsh3ll]

Just wanted to respond to the comment about a dexa scan - it's great that you had one but this is only to look for osteoporosis/osteopenia, NOT arthritis.

Btw, if you have osteopenia, this needs treatment in its own right if you aren't taking hormone therapy.

Regarding the joint pain, I would make a GP appointment and explain which joints are painful, when, how long, any swelling or other symptoms and any family history of arthritis.

They should examine your joints, arrange blood tests and possibly an x-ray.

This is to rule out things like rheumatoid arthritis which can get progressively worse if untreated.