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Sudden Swelling of Hands and Feet


drlove

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Two weeks ago I suddenly had swelling and pain in all joints of my extremities. Wrists, knuckles, fingers, ankles, feet, toes. Everything was normal before that. I was in Thailand, running and lap swimming and working out at a gym. You always have some pains when you run, but this is different.

 

It seemed to happen almost overnight. My hands and wrists were swollen so it isn’t from running. I went to an orthopedic doctor at a good hospital. He wasn’t especially interested and if you don’t know me I’m sure it’s not especially compelling - 64 year old man with swollen hands and feet.

 

He prescribed Arcoxia - 4 pills. I took two and saw no improvement. I don’t like taking drugs. I worry that the drug is more harmful than the condition. I stopped the drug and went back for a blood test. It didn’t show much. “Rheumatoid Factor Negative - less than 8IU/ml†Maybe that’s significant. He prescribed Celebrex which I took for a couple of days.

 

This is a few days later and this morning my hands were more swollen and painful than ever. I couldn’t twist the top off of a bottle of water.

 

This condition really worries me because it seems to be different from day to day and not improving. No one can give a cause or a prognosis. Can it develop into a real disability?

 

I went back to hospital, talked w younger more interest doctor. I accepted 10 days of Arcoxia and will be returning to USA soon to see if Kaiser can help.

 

Can arthritis develop almost overnight? Has anyone experienced such a condition.

 

Dr. Love

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Dr Love

 

I suffer very bad from gout, only my feet.

I take naproxcin 400mg twice a day.

even a very bad dose clears in two days.

you could try Ibuprofen same dosage works same but is a better imflamatory tablet.

take with food.

been doing this for 40 years

worth a try

hope you see some improvement

regardas peterpan

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If gout, should show elevated levels of uric acid in your blood.

I've follow the comments about gout and followed the link to MedicineNet.com, a very excellent site.

 

Classic symptom of gout is acute pain in big toe. I have not had that. My blood test showed

Uric Acid 4.4 mg/dL (norm 2.4 - 7.0)

0.26 mmo1/1 (norm 0.14 - 0.41)

 

So Uric acid not elevated.

 

I'm now following related links thru mednet looking at things that mimic gout. I feel very sorry for anyone who has gout.

 

Thanks for the comments. Would like to hear more.

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Were you exposed to ticks before you left? or since? Lyme disease can cause syptoms similar to Arthritis. Arthritis most likely would not hit your entire body at the same time.

 

Could be a blood clot(s) causing the swelling, or just being beaten up from the long flight over...have you tried a massage?

 

As for inflammation, Motrin works well for me, but it can cause liver issues, especially if you drink alcohol. My advice would be to see a doctor until you sort it out...maybe try to rule out blood clot/thrombosis type things BEFORE flying home.

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