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82 questions found in this category:
Vaccines while Taking Prednisone and Plaquenil
Yes. Both vaccines are safe with your current medications. The flu shot and pneumonia vaccine are also safe....
Diagnosing Spondyloarthritis
The term spondyloarthritis refers to a group of inflammatory arthritis conditions that can as part of their disease courses involve the spinal joints, but this does not always occur. Some of ......
Humira and Sjogren's Syndrome
Sjogren\'s syndrome is a common problem in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and can also occur in people without RA. In this condition patients complain of dryness in the eyes and in ......
What is Inflammatory Arthritis?
The term inflammatory arthritis encompasses several different diseases, one of which is rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis is describing the mechanism of the arthritis (or joint symptoms) and is distinguishing the process ......
Enthesopathy
Enthesopathy describes a problem or process at the site of a tendon or ligament attachment to bone. It can be the result of an inflammatory process and an inflammatory arthritis, such ......
Joint pain but no swelling
HI Wendi, This is always a tough situation, when the patient sees swelling but the doctor doesn\'t. In this situation, as you mention, ultrasound or MRI can be used to determine ......
Seronegative arthritis
Seronegative arthritis refers to inflammatory arthritis in which antibodies that help us diagnose rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other rheumatic conditions are absent in the blood. So, it can look like rheumatoid ......
Joint Pains
HI Wendy, If you haven\'t see a rheumatologist yet, it would be a good idea to do so. There are many types of arthritis and some cannot be diagnosed by a ......
Arthritis -- too many questions
HI Jonah, It would take two weeks to answer all of your questions. However, if you browse through our site, I think you will find the answers to some of your ......
Vitamin D deficieincy
Great question. There is some evidence that low Vitamin D levels can be associated with fairly nondescript muscle and joint pain. Remember that kids with severe vitamin D deficiency are the ones ......
Hard to swallow big pills
Few people like to take medications. It\'s especially hard if you have trouble swallowing big pills. Some tricks -- break them into 2 or 3 pieces (you can buy a pill ......
Infections and Biologic Agents
Yes he should reschedule the infusion! Whenever patients who are taking any biologic agent (infused or injection) have a fever or any symptoms that could be an infection, we would advise ......
Bone Marrow Edema on MRI-- what does it mean??
Increasingly MRIs are used to evaluate joints of patients with arthritis. The MRI is a very sensitive technique that allows better visualization of the bones, cartilage, and joint tissue. An MRI ......
Coumadin and Joint Injections
Coumadin (warfarin) is a medication used to prevent the blood from clotting. It is often used in patients who have previously had a blood clot or in patients who have irregular ......
Hand Stiffness and Swelling
The symptoms you describe certainly suggest an arthritis is there. Depending on which joints are affected, there are many different causes of arthritis in the finger joints. When stiffness and swelling ......
Baker's Cysts and Fullness in the Back of the Knee
Swelling in the back of the knee can be caused by several different things. The one that we would worry about most is a blood clot in the vein. This would ......
Does methotrexate cause menstrual spotting ?
HI Susan, Generally these medications to do not cause gynecological signs or symptoms such as spotting and irregularity of the menstrual cycle. These symptoms are common however as women approach menopause. ......
Halting damage from arthritis
Hi Gabrielle, Absolutely !!! Well, let me qualify that. It depends upon the type of arthritis. Some of the most destructive types of arthritis - e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis ......
MRI and hip disease
Hi Mr. Megahd, These MRI findings indicate the need to see an orthopedist to evaluate the significance of the findings. I assume you had some symptoms in the hip....
Similarities between Spondyloarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA and spondyloarthritis are quite distinct. RA tends to affect the peripheral joints (small joints of the hands and feet) and dose not affect the spine. Spondyloarthritis tends to affect the ......
Can Erosive Arthritis Cause Problems in All Joints?
Are you receiving IV gammaglobulin for the condition called hypogammaglobulinemia? This is associated with arthritis and in some cases it is erosive. We can't give you any advice on treatment of ......
Cellcept as a treatment of Giant Cell Arteritis?
I don't know of any published clinical trials, or even case reports, of Cellcept in giant cell arteritis. Typically, either methotrexate or azathioprine are used as steroid sparing agents, although data ......
RA and early morning stiffness
While RA is a systemic illness with many extra-articular features, clinical RA does not typically occur in the absence of joint findings (i.e. stiffness and swelling)...
Hypothyroidism and Rheumatoid Arthritis
The symptom you describe is not commonly reported by RA patients, so it is difficult to ascribe directly to your RA. Hypothyroidism, which can lead to symptoms of coldness, is more ......
Foot swollen and inflammed
Unfortunately, it is impossible to give you a reliable answer without personally assessing your symptoms. We recommend visiting a local Rheumatologist for diagnosis....
CPK and Cholesterol Medications
Not all lipid lowering medications have the same potential to increase CPK levels. Consult with your father's primary care provider about other options. Although muscular pain associated with elevated CPK can ......
Elevated CPK from Excercise
There are some interesting inhereted enzyme defects that can result in elevated CPK. The most likely in this situation is carnitine palmitoyl transferase deficiency, in which CPK levels are normal or ......
Can carpal tunnel be caused by a heat source?
Handedness in carpal tunnel is typically related to which hand is dominant. It is unlikely that a heat source would contribute more to carpal tunnel symptoms over-and-above repetitive stress....
Could Levaquin cause Osteoporosis or Osteonecrosis?
Flouroquinolones, including levaquin, have been implicated in a painful tendinopathy syndrome that can affect the Achilles tendon and potentially make walking painful. The incidence of this syndrome is quite rare, but ......
Arthritis or no?
Unfortunately, although some of the findings you report appear to be abnormal, they are not specific enough to make a diagnosis. If your symptoms have persisted, an evaluation by a rheumatologist ......
Osteopenia treatment options?
There is little evidence into what defines osteopenia and osteoporosis in premenopausal women. It is fairly clear that the use of the T and Z score from a bone densitometry scan ......
Arthritis and Tanning?
There is no data to suggest that tanning has a beneficial effect on treating either arthritis pain or the underlying inflammatory cause of any arthritis. Psoriasis is sometimes treated with tanning--although ......
New Onset Arthritis
Nothing replaces an in person consultation with a rheumatologist. Virtually all types of arthritis are diagnosed clinically-- based on the history and physical exam. Bloodwork is ordered based on the clinical ......
26 years old with RA?
I agree that the RF is high is deserves a retest. But more importantly you need a rheumatology consultation. The key to your comments is the "all around slight body pain". ......
Rheumatoid Arthritis?
The joint symptoms certainly sound inflammatory in nature. The differential diagnosis remains very large but most prominently includes systemic lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It is hard to comment on the skin ......
Bone scan
Bone scans "light up" where there is increased metabolic activity in the bone. It can be positive in areas of healing fractures, certain tumors of the bone, metabolic bone diseases such ......
Marrow Edema in the Knee
This is an issue/terminology that has come about since the advent of MRI scanning of the joints. It is not exactly known what is going in the bone marrow, but it ......
Sensitive words?
Your question is perhaps better answered by patients rather than me. The most frequent comment I hear is not about a specific term or language, but rather comments about others' general ......
levaquin and arthritis: another question
Levaquin has been associated with soft tissue rheumatic problems particularly tendinitis. It is not associated with a true arthritis (joint specific inflammation). It is often difficult for patients and non-rheumatologist physicians ......
Palindromic Rheumatism & RA
Palindromic rheumatism is characterized by severe inflammation in the joints that is episodic-- each episode lasting from several hours to several days before resolving ccompletely. In between the episodes, the joints ......
Does my wife have Still's disease
You clearly need a rheuamtology consultation for a thorough evaluation and treatment plan. I cannot speak specifically to your wife's case, as I have not seen her. There are no specific ......
Re: bone marrow edema
Bone marrow edema is a finding seen on MRI scan. Bone marrow edema may be caused by trauma, osteoarthritis or inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment will vary depending on the ......
Septic arthritis
Your son's situation is highly unusual and I am afraid that I am not able to give much advice. I would be concerned that he suffers from a congenital immunodeficiency syndrome ......
RA and Carpal Tunnel Sydrome
Carpal tunnel in RA can be caused by soft tissue inflammation at the wrist compressing on the median nerve. Steroid injection into the wrist or into the carpal tunnel itself can ......
SED rate
A sedimentation rate (sed rate, ESR) is a very old test that is an indicator of inflammation. It is done by measuring how fast red blood cells fall in a column ......
Enbrel, Preganacy and Adult Onset Still's Disease
There is not enough good data to be definitive in answering your question. There are no tests (and there will never be any tests) of Enbrel during pregnancy. However the small ......
Losing Teeth with Sjogrens Syndrome
Sjogren's patients have an increase in periodontal disease which may have contributed to the loss of the teeth in the first place. I do not think this is problem when extracting ......
PVNS of knee joint in 72 year old female
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information on pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). Radiation has been tried but to my knowledge there are no controlled trials and results have been mixed. ......
Re: Can osteoarthritis be caused by auto accident?
Not seeing the x-ray, its diffcult to comment. Degenerative arthritis can occur following injury to a joint, but this takes a long period of time. Once it occurs, it does not ......
Hyalgan injection usage for AS
Hyalgan is approved only for osteoarthritis of the knee in the U.S.. I have seen studies showing its usefulness in inflammatory arthritis but I do not have any direct experience with ......
Arthritis in the jaw?
Its called TMJ or temporal mandibular joint disease....
TNF Blockers
The monoclonal antibodies against TNF (Remicade, Humira) appear to work much better for Crohn's disease compared with Enbrel, a soluble receptor that binds TNF. All three drugs clear TNF from the ......
Other Options Besides Aspirin to Treat Arthritis
This depends on why you cannot take aspirin and what type of arthritis that you have. You need to discuss further with your doctor....
Arthritis in the Hand
A picture is indeed worth a thousand words-- but your description seems like it could be arthritis. If these symptoms persist more than a few weeks, then a trip to a ......
Reddish-purple areas over joints
You need to have someone see them to make a diagnosis. It is hard to tell if you are describing nodules, skin rash or both. Both skin rashes and nodules are ......
Johns Hopkins Research Projects
Researchers first decide on the scientific question they would like to study and find the answer to. Sometimes it involves whether a drug or therapy will be effective for a certain ......
Why can't this infection be found?
Unfortunately, it is impossible for me to answer your questions regarding your sister's condition. In general, Sjogren's can cause fevers, but cannot directly cause infections. Immunosuppressive medications to treat Sjogren's such ......
Blue hands
Although difficult to tell without seeing, I think you are describing Raynaud's Disease. Briefly, this is a problem in which the arteries that carry blood to the fingers spasm (become twitchy) ......
Mixed Connective Tissue Disease & High CPK Levels
CPK is a muscle enzyme that is found inside muscle cells. If the muscle cells are damaged from any cause the CPK enzyme will be released into the blood and the ......
Adult Onset Stills Disease
I would make an appointment with the Johns Hopkins general rheumatology clinic at Good Samaritan Hospital. (info on this website). They can review your history and make appropriate recommendations. In the ......
How to convince GP to refer to rheumatologist
I can't make a diagnosis without seeing you, but your history sounds like you may have an inflammatory arthritis such as psoriatic arthritis. You describe ongoing symptoms and disability and thus ......
Do I don't I ? That is the question.
The symptoms you describe might be either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. I would look up OA and RA on this website and review the symptoms. If you have any of the ......
x-rays for RA
No offense to radiology technicians, but they are not trained to interpret the x-rays. Review the films and report with your doctor before worrying....
How common is uveitis in HLA B27 SpA
This is a difficult question to answer, because of the different variations in the disease. I am presuming your daughter is young and thus might also be labeled as juvenile rheumatoid ......
Arthritis and Ice Cream
If it were true, there would be a lot of unhappy people in the world....
Will travel vaccines effect my Sjogren's?
You raise an interesting theoretical possibility, but the antibody response against a vaccine is specific to vaccine antigens and there is usually not a systemic inflammatory response (although on occasion vaccine ......
Re: Shulman's research or support forums?
I am not aware of any support groups and there is very little research published on this topic. As you know, Hopkins claims Dr. Shulman as one of their own, before ......
Looking for a physician in Anaheim California
Visit the American College of Rheumatology website at www.rheumatology.org. You might also ask at your local Arthritis Foundation....
Difference between men and women in relation to arthritis
There are differences in the frequency of certain types of arthritis between men and women. For instance, gout is more frequent in men while rheumatoid arthritis is more frequent in women. ......
radiation exposure from fluoroscopy
The short answer is that I really don't know who would have the info in a form that a lay person would understand. You might try the government agency OSHA. They ......
Can Statin Drugs Cause Dermatomyositis
Statins can cause inflammation in the muscle called myositis. This is very different than the specific disease dermatomyositis. The myositis caused by statins is a direct toxic effect of the statins ......
What is Polyarthritis
It simply means arthritis in many joints. It is not a specific type of arthritis....
Accuracy of labs diagnosing various arthritis?
The visit with the rheumatologist is the next step and likely should have been done much earlier. The diagnosis of arthritis is not made on blood tests but on the history ......
Hereditary Hemachromatosis
Hereditary hemachromatosis is a genetic disorder that results in the increased absorption of iron from the intestine which results in iron overload in the body. About 3-5 per 1000 people of ......
Re: Shulman's research or support forums?
I am not aware of any clear, established environmental associations with Shulman's syndrome (eosinophlic fasciitis), although it certainly makes sense that there might be one and many investigators have looked....
Elevated CPK Levels
CPK is an enzyme that is found within muscle cells. When the muscle cells are damaged for any reason, the CPK is released into the blood and the test is elevated. ......
Re: Arthritis induced by taking Levaquin
It is unlikely that the antibiotics caused the Sjogren's Syndrome symptoms. Sjogren's Syndrome particularly the dry eyes and dry mouth is associated with rheumatoid arthritis....
Re: polymyalgia rheumatica
Celiac Disease and polymyalgia rheuamatica are not associated. If your aunt truly has polymyalgia rheumatica, then a gluten free diet will be of no benefit. However, many patients with celiac disease ......
Chronic Hives
Antihistamines and intermittent doses of steroids are the most common treatments. In addition to allergies, chronic hives can occasionally be part of rheuamtic, autoimmune diseases. Thus it is probably worth an ......
Tingling and Numbness in Fingers
It sounds like you might have a pinched nerve. This can occur at the neck, shoulder, elbow, or wrist. Depending on the location, arthritis might be the cause. A nerve conduction ......
USA Ranking for JHU Arthritis Care
In the latest US News ranking Johns Hopkins Rheumatology was number one! Thanks for asking....
