Hi Heather,

I have both! The pain I get in my hips is on the outside of my hips and apparently when you have RA in your hips it feels like a pain in your groin! The tendon on the outside of the hip stretches around the hip and into the legs so you not being able to life your legs may be a tendon problem but you'll have to see your rheumy nurse of consultant to diagnose it properly as it might be a different pain or tendon from mine. I'm not an expert on my own symptoms let alone anyone else's but it sounds very much like my Fibro pain.

The fluey feeling (in my opinion) sounds like a RA flare up. Fibro was explained to me to be a kind of secondary condition to RA. If you have been diagnosed with Fibro and nothing else then its unlikely that you'll develop RA. But if you have RA then Fibro can come along and hit you with another condition!

My Fibro was diagnosed because I have fatigue and even though my RA is under control I'm still in pain. Also when I looked it up on the internet I saw that many of my other problems (Migraines, tiredness and menstrual pain - I had a hysterectomy when I was 31) are all linked! The Fibromyalgia website is very informative as is NRAS.

Good luck - You are not alone!

Lxxx

Hi Heather, I have fibromyalgia too. As Lyn says its quite common to have both (unfortunately!!) and its hard to tell which is which.
Regarding the lifting legs problems, I have this too, but no idea of the cause of that.
You could as your rheumatologist when you see him/her next, they will check for the tender points. An overlap is quite common too, and thats why its hard to differentiate. The hip pain again can just be tendon problems etc. Apparantly I have something called a trachanter bursa and need physio.
I hope you feel better soon.

Hi all, thanks for the replies. Im seeing my rheummy nurse in a couple of weeks so will speak to her then. My GP thought it could be fibro but has ordered a blood test for vitamin b12 deficiency which apparently can cause similar symptoms.

Keep well all

Heather xxxx