July 17, after 6 months of a tender right elbow and surrounding muscles, the last 3 of those months steadily getting more inflamed and finally involving my hand, I went to the doc. His examination was thorough and painful. He ordered the full battery of tests including cbc, c reactive protein, and the inflammation panel.

Today his nurse called to say that he'd reviewed the results and that everything showed normal. My sed rate, which in similar instances in the past would have been between 50-60, was 4. I was excited; I was in fact elated. The entire right arm was becoming unusable and there was pain in my left arm, one knee and my back. I could see myself in the near future having a very real problem with being able to do normal, everyday activities because I was already becoming limited in what I could comfortably do.

When I saw my doc on the 17th, he put me on a pulse protocol of Celebrex/Piroxicam alternating every 5 days. The soft tissue swelling has gone down and the pain markedly decreased. I return to him Aug 3.

My question is this: I still have pain in the same places. Am I wrong to assume that I have no debilitating arthritic problems? I have read that it's possible to have normal bloodwork and still have significant problems. I don't want to stick my head in the sand; I want to be proactive.

This is not the first time I've dealt with inflammation issues. The first was when I was dx juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at 18. The second was when I was 40; the rheumy said that if something wasn't done, I'd be confined to a wheelchair within the year. I'm still a-walkin'. The third time was when I was 45, and was dx fibromyalgia. This is the fourth time with this kind of inflammation issue; I'm now 61.

What I want to suggest to my doc is for me to get on an exercise program that will strengthen my musculature and give me good range of motion, address any diet considerations that need to be undertaken(I'm already on a gluten,soy,corn,dairy,aspartate,nightshade-free diet), and make medications minimal use.

I would appreciate any insight anyone has on this topic as it relates to me. I thank anyone who took the time to read all this.
LJP