Reactive Arthritis Q & A

My 78 year old mother has Lyme Disease and has developed rheumatoid arthritis that is debilitating. She lives in Pensacola, Florida and would like to find the best doctor to treat this problem. Her current rheumatologist initially administered steroid injections which we have later learned is contraindicated with Lyme. She has since developed steroid induced glaucoma so we do not want her to have any further steroid treatment. She is seeing a Lyme specialist but would like to more specifically address the very painful arthritis symptoms that are not improving with IV antibiotics. Will you kindly recommend a specialist in the area of Northwest Florida/South Alabama area? Thank you!

Do women get Ryder’s syndrome

My husband has reiters syndrome – why is it that I can never find information on it.

I am a 38 year old female with fibromyalgia managed w/ rest, yoga, Cataflam (50 mg bid) and Celexa. One year ago I developed asymmetric joint & soft tissue pain, swelling & redness that was preceded by a GI infection. I also exhibited a low grade fever that would spike 2 times a day up to 101-102. The fever, pain & stiffness were unbearable. My family MD prescribed prednisone which helped immensely & sent me to a gastro to rule out Crohn’s. One month later my scope & biopsy returned no findings of Crohn’s. I was then referred to a rheumatologist to rule out reactive arthritis/AS. It took 2 months to see him & my symptoms had almost completely subsided by then. According to him, my tests were not indicative of a rheumatic process, HLA-B27 was negative & no involvement of the SI joints. He basically shrugged his shoulders, looked at me like I was crazy and gave a generic diagnosis of “poly-arthralgia”. He said it may have been reactive arthritis, but since my HLA-B27 was negative, it appeared to have resolved spontaneously & would likely not return. Now one year later, my fever, joint pain & swelling have returned in similar asymmetric pattern to previously affected & new joints. I recently moved across country, have a new family MD who has my history & records but is re-doing all tests and “watching to see what happens”. Meanwhile I am miserable and feel like my bad dream is back. What should I do? I do not want this to progress to how it was a year ago. Could I have RA or reactive?

What is Ryder’s Syndrome, and where can I find detailed information on its symptoms, treatment, genetic pre-disposition, etc.?

Can Reactive Arthritis form from a sexually transmitted disease like genital warts.