u/kakabk

Hello!

I started seeing a rheumatologist after my oral and maxillofacial surgeon diagnosed me with severe tmj arthritis. I’m 27 (F) this year.

All my bloods have been negative, but my dad has psoriasis and possible psoriatic arthritis. I’ve had jaw pain, shoulder pain, hand pain, and hip stiffness for as long as I can remember. Also had a completely swollen finger two months ago, which I suspect was dactylitis. I also had tendon pain in my right ankle maybe 2-3 weeks ago which had a sharp pain when bending my ankle forwards. As such, I’ve kind of suspected I have PsA.

My rheumatologist said it’s possible but he’s not entirely convinced, as he said it’s usually people who have severe skin arthritis that get PsA. He suggested a biopsy of my jaw joint to confirm or rule it out. (Edit: I’m also being trialed on sulfasalazine)

My jaw doctor instead got me to do a whole body bone scan. I got the results and it showed possible mild arthritis of bilateral shoulder joints and sacroillitic joints, as well as a brightened portion of my upper heel area on the right (Achilles area).

Has anyone had a diagnosis based on results like this? Or been taken more seriously based on nuclear bone scan findings? Or will I need an MRI?

I feel like surely it shows I do have pain in multiple joints. Hoping rheum will take it seriously at my next appointment on Monday. Really hoping it’s my breakthrough 🙏

Hello, I’m seeing a rheumatologist who is testing me for autoimmune conditions and they noticed when doing my bloods that I’m anemic.

My haemoglobin was around 8-9

He said it was pretty bad, and ordered more tests. He said it could be due to heavy menstrual bleeding but I’ve been on the pill for 2 years so I don’t have a period very often and when I do, it’s not heavy at all.

I got my ferratin and serum iron levels back today. Ferratin was 3 and serum iron 21. I don’t know if these help at all?

I’m new to it all and just confused. I started taking iron medicine a couple of days ago too. I guess the anemia explains why I always feel tired, I thought I was just lazy 😅 Hope to see some improvements.

Basically, are these levels normal for just a low iron diet? I thought being on birth control was supposed to help anemia.

Hi! I was referred to rheumatology from my oral and maxillofacial surgeon. I have severe destruction of my right tmj (bone resorption, disc destruction, fibrosis and high inflammation shown through arthroscopy) (left side also showed disc damage on MRI) which prompted this, as I’m only 26.

My other symptoms are joint pain, primarily in shoulders, upper back and hands. Dry eyes and fatigue. Headaches daily.

My dad has psoriasis and my maternal grandfather has celiac.

Other notable results were pretty bad anemia and my igA (allergy marker?) was 360+ instead of 0-100.

So basically, my bloods were all fine, except fluctuating CRP. It was pretty high in September and ok now. I also recently got a positive for ENA but negative for ANA which I’m confused by. I’ve done more blood tests but still waiting on results. Anyone else had this and later had a diagnosis? Or anyone know what this could mean?

Thanks for any advice 🙏