hawker
Reged: 11/08/2007
Posts: 35
Loc: Central, a little to the side,...
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Anyone suffered from this?
I started with this four months ago, with an index finger becoming swollen and painful, then another finger, and thumb, then it developed symmetrically in the other hand. It progressed to affect my right ankle, right toes, wrist, and, worst of all, has now seriously aggravated some knee surgery that I had eighteen months ago. It also has made the sites of some previous other injuries painful, eg a torn thigh muscle, plus aggravated an on-going, unpleasant but bearable shoulder tendinitis (rotator cuff injury). It seems to trigger swollen tendons: eg a tendon in the palm of my hand swelled after using a "grip strengthener" exercise thingy, and my right shoulder swelled badly about six weeks ago or so after doing some lifting; this was so excrutiatingly painful and causing a fever of 103.5degF that I was taken to A&E.
The cause has been identitifed as a Human Parvovirus infection that occurred at least three months ago and is regarded as being quite common. The virus triggers inflammation in the joints and can cause anaemia (as it did with me - now improved it seems) and IIRC can attack the heart muscle (not in my case fortunately). The effects are supposed to wear off after three to six months but at the moment it is still slowly spreading joint by joint.
Treatment has been 1g paracetamol four times daily, NSAIDs like diclofenac initially but now Naproxen as it is safer for the stomach, plus Tramadol though that makes you dozy.
Bear in mind that the fever and swelling above was despite all those medications, and you can maybe understand the concern.
The rheumatologist urged me to have a long acting steroid injection instead of the NSAIDS; the GP agreed, as did the knee surgeon. So I had it, stopped the Naproxen, both a couple of days ago, and now the joints are a lot worse. Bugger. 
So that's my story of woe but the real PIA is that I've just taken delivery of my new Trek bike and can't ride it yet. Double bugger. 
Edited by hawker (06/07/2008 13:13)
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Sly
Reged: 07/02/2008
Posts: 730
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Sorry to hear about that - what a pain being restricted from doing what you want. Do any typical joint treatments have any effect (eg. cod liver oil, glucosamine, etc...)?
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bfergie
Reged: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1623
Loc: Wickerman land,Scotland
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Is paracetamol mainly a signal blocker, I never thought it actaully treats the problem of inflamation. Is ibuprofen or bog standard asprin of any benifit since they are anti-inflamitory but watch your stomach over long term, boosting iron intake may help also. It must feel like having the worse case of flu on your joints I really feel for you.
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VOTE PENGUIN!!!
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hubbub
Reged: 22/10/2007
Posts: 517
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I tried 2 Ibuprofen per day (see Knees thread) and it seemed to be working, but I had to drop it due to acid indigestion, so be aware if you take that route. I also know a workmate who took it for knee problems and ended up with short term liver damage.
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hawker
Reged: 11/08/2007
Posts: 35
Loc: Central, a little to the side,...
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I take a high dose of glucosamine, when I remember to, that is. Who knows whether it helps? The doctors certainly don't! Not tried CLO - yet.
Edit: re. paracetamol. I only take it for the pain-relief. I do know by now that the effects last about four hours, which is only helpful for half the night. I should try taking one tablet every four hours instead of the two tablets every six to see if that works better during the daytime at least.
Aspirin has worked well, a least when taken as part of Anadin, but unlike a lot of people (apparently) I find ibuprofen/Brufen gives me bad indigestion which is why I was put on Diclofenac initially. However, that is only supposed to be taken for one month otherwise side-effects become higher risk, and therefore I was switched to naproxen. Less effective I found, but safer. Ho-hum.
Overall though, all three doctors involved did recommend the long acting steroid injection as more effective and safer than continued use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like aspirin, brufen, diclofenac and naproxen. Just have to wait and see.
Edited by hawker (06/07/2008 16:58)
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Sly
Reged: 07/02/2008
Posts: 730
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CLO is a miracle cure to my knees. Tried Glucosamine but my knees felt old a creaky again after a few days, so back on the CLO.
Used to use the liquid form (www.healthspan.co.uk), but started taking too much and got stomach cramps! Now I use their capsules. I notice within a few days if I forget to take it - it's that good (for me).
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bfergie
Reged: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1623
Loc: Wickerman land,Scotland
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And you smell like a fish!!! Must admit it does work though!
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VOTE PENGUIN!!!
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Sly
Reged: 07/02/2008
Posts: 730
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I smell like roses and tropical fruits, I'll have you know!
The healthspan stuff is very clever - almost neutral in taste and smell.
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