Quote Originally Posted by Hes View Post
It would be worth getting a doctor to look at it whilst its red Adnan in case they can identify the rash.

My Lyme Disease test showed up as negative but we still don't know what's wrong with my knee. It swelled up massively coinciding with a load of insect bites and a bladder infection (could be coincidence or could be relevant as its a sign of reactive arthritis). It didn't hurt, just felt numb, and then about 36 hours later it was agony and I ended up in hospital. I haven't run for 4 weeks now as I can barely walk. The swelling has reduced a lot but the pain is still awful at times and it reduced me to tears when I tried to walk the dogs this morning which isn't like me, I'm normally pretty stoical. I'm controlling it with ibuprofen and paracetamol and am waiting for an MRI scan but my gp thinks its reactive arthritis (my consultant doesn't but he also lied about my blood tests so I don't trust him). I'm fed up but am going to try and get referred to a rheumatologist. It could still be due to Lyme as the tests sometimes come up as negative when they are positive but I haven't had any other symptoms (flu like , lack of energy etc) so its probably not.

I also think its really weird that Stolly and I have both ended up in hospital with inflammatory syndromes within a couple months of each other having been totally healthy for years. Its hard not to think they might be connected.
That sounds awful. Both of your conditions could be a co-incidence but there are also a lot of infections other than Lyme that can cause a reactive arthritis and pericarditis. Diagnosing these usually relies on casting a big net in terms of tests. One possible cause is a streptococcal infection which will probably have been checked for in one of your blood tests(it is called the ASO titre)- this can cause an arthritis of one or more large joints as well as pericarditis. There was a mini epidemic of it this summer - it causes scarlet fever in children. Did either/both have a sore throat in the weeks preceding your symptoms? Some of the bacteria that can cause badder infections can also cause reactive arthritis. All really frustrating for you though -I hope you get better and back to running soon!