Could This Be What's Wrong?

For the last year I have been living in pain almost daily. I could probably count the number of completely pain free days on my fingers. Every time I have some new pain, I just tell people it is one of my "random pains".  I feel crazy; at least I feel like everyone else probably thinks I'm crazy. I've blogged about this before.

For the last three weeks I have been having consistent joint pain and stiffness every morning: neck, back, wrists and feet. My knees have also had stiffness and pain on and off for the last three weeks. It is so miserable getting up in the morning because it is almost impossible to walk because my feet hurt so bad.  Luckily, the pain is at its worst in the morning, and then mostly goes away by late morning.

This morning I finally decided to go on WebMD and look up why my feet might be hurting (seriously...I have lost almost 80 pounds, they should be feeling better, not worse). After dismissing almost every disease (including gout), I decided to look at Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Unfortunately RA covers almost every pain I have had in the last year. Shoulder pain (maybe that wasn't bursitis), all my joint pain (including my feet) and it can even cause carpal tunnel.  RA affects body symmetrically, and both my wrists hurt, both my knees, both my feet, etc.  The more I read about RA, the more it seemed like a possibility, so I went to the doctor this afternoon to finally do something about all my "random" pains. The doctor didn't think I was crazy for suggesting RA, so I go in for blood work on Thursday morning and will schedule an appointment with a Rheumatoidologist after the blood tests come back.

RA is life-long and debilitating, so I hope I don't have it. However, I really want to know what is wrong with me, especially now that I believe the pains aren't random, but are symptoms of a larger issue.

I just want everyone, myself included, to know I'm not crazy or trying to seek attention with all of my pain.

UPDATE: RA is what I have! Instead of being depressed with the diagnosis (as a log people are with RA), I have found the drug that works for me (Humira), and I have been pain free for about 2 years! I just had a check up today, and my doctor sees no inflammation!!