Swollen Extremities And Joint Pain?

[hapi2bgf]

I woke up Monday morning with hands and feet seriously swollen and serious joint pain. I can't get my rings off and it is causing concern. The swelling has not gone done - if anything it has gotten a little worse. My wrists, shoulders, and knees are killing me. I can't close my hands due to the swelling.

Is this a Celiac reaction to gluten?? Does anyone else get this? How do I make the swelling go down? It is painful and Tylenol is not helping much.

I ate nothing questionable so I am at a loss as to what is going on.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[Guest jhmom]

I have never heard of a reaction like that due to Celiac.

You need to call your doctor immediately!!!!!

[dana-g]

You do need to call your doctor, but I want to tell you that I had the same problem before I stopped eating gluten, especially after I was particularly active. It even happened if I used my hands a lot, like if I did an intensive art project or decorated a cake or something like that--my hands and wrists would balloon up and be very painful. I had to stop wearing my wedding ring. Please call your doctor, though, because it could be related to your blood pressure or some other problem and could be more serious than a gluten reaction. Let us know!

[plantime]

See your doctor as soon as possible. That kind of swelling is sometimes indicative of serious problems. The sooner you know what caused it, the sooner you can do something about it.

[angel-jd1]

CALL THE DOCTOR!! I agrree with everyone else. There are some serious conditions that have that symptom(Lupus, another autoimmune disease), and you really shouldn't be waiting around to see what happens. Get to the doctor as soon as you can. Swelling is your body's way of letting you know something is going on and you need to listen to your body.

-Jessica

[hapi2bgf]

Thanks for the quick replies. After spending so many years jumping to go to a doctor looking for an answer to my problems, Celiacs, I am now very hesitant to go to a doctor - feeling like I have become a hypochondriac

I did make it to the doctor yetserday. It seems we have Fifths Disease running around my area and the doctor thinks that is what I have. It is typically a disease you get during childhood, but very bad if you are pregnant. We checked and I am not pregnant. In theory, this should go away by the end of the week. If it does not, I will be getting all kinds of blood tests to find out what else it could be. You've mentioned a few good options like Lupus that I would prefer not to have thought about, but better to know the possibilities.

Thanks!

[lbaroosh]

Have you had your thyroid Checked?

You Should

[dempscd]

I too have swollen hands. Diagnosed Oct. '03 with celiac disease and have been on a gluten free diet. So far have had negative results from rheumatoid arthritis test. Also have gained a lot of weight but am not retaining water.

[hapi2bgf]

Dempscd,

Well I am over the Fifth's Disease thing. My daughter and every child and parent that we were in contact with got sick with Fifth's. Nasty little disease since you are contageous when you don't know you are sick.

My hands still swell up in the mornings, but nothing like when I was sick. And my hands still ache at times. I'm tempted to go back to the doctor to have him run a few tests, just to be sure. Turning on and off faucets nearly kills me, so I leave leaking fauctes all over the house - not good. This is all new since I got sick with Fifth's which makes me wonder if something else is going on too.

A lot of people seem to think the swelling could be signs of some other diseases, so you might want to get checked out further. Ticks are a serious problem around my area, one of the little buggers just gave me a painful bite the other day. So I think that is one of the things I will need checked.

Good luck and post if you find an answer to the swelling.