Inflammatory markers are high. Left wrist and ankle has decreased range of movement.

Hello.

Following a flu like virus I had in November I began to experience joint and muscle pains in random places. Blood test confirm I have high inflammatory markers.

From what I've read this can be symptoms of chronic fatigue and other things. When I first started getting wrist pain I stopped all pressing exercises for 6 weeks with no improvements. I have been taking iburprofen for about 8 weeks now and it has improved slightly but I still can't put my left wrist into a pushup position. However when I keep it in a straight plan it doesn't hurt at all. I keep my left wrist wrapped when doing press and bench press.

I am also experiencing fatique but doing my workouts none the less. Just wondering if anyone has experienced these type of symptoms and how long they lasted for? In total the wrist inflammation has been present about 12 weeks now.

What medications did you take when you were sick? What is your diet like?

could it be reactive arthritis due to a prior bacterial infection? are you sure you had the flu?

+1 on What Julius said. Could be reiters syndrome, I ended up with that after I had dysentery.

Thanks for the replies. The doctor told me it was a post-viral arthritis. I had flu like symptoms but it felt much worse and I feel like I've never fully recovered from it. That was in November. I have had fatige and weight lose but I am still eating a calorie surplus and training 3x a week to the best of my ability.

I have been taking ibuprofen for several months now 3x a day as advised by the doctor. At Luckyman did you get treatment for it and how long did it take to go away?

Did you get tested for the Epstein-Barr virus?

I'm not sure about my inflammatory markers, but I had similar symptoms when I had mononucleosis.

Probably because I refused to quit training, I had fatigue issues for at least 18 months after my diagnosis.

Also, if you drink alcohol, it's probably a good time to stop. And cut down on caffeine if you partake.

I don't drink alcohol or anything with caffeine in it. Even after 9 hours sleep I'm still yawning. I also refuse to quit training as I don't see how allowing myself to become weaker will help me at all. Also the phsycological effect of that would make me miserable.

I have another doctor appointment on Tuesday and I'll ask for more tests as this is going on longer than I thought.

Yeah, I got treatment. I was pretty bad for a long time, and they had me on methotrexate (to try and knock down the immune system over-reaction) and naproxyn (same as Aleve, to treat the inflammation symptoms). It didn't totally clear up until I changed my diet--essentially to Paleo. Ate lots of meat and veggies, eliminated wheat, have potatoes and white rice only in moderation. That made a huge difference for me, you should consider giving it a try for a month. If you do, I recommend being strict with the "no wheat/gluten" for the whole month. And if that doesn't work, I'd get a referral to go see a rheumatologist.

IMO your doctor's treatment of just ibuprofen for several months is weak. That is only treating the symptoms, has no hope of treating the underlying problem, which is an immune response that is not constructive. BTW, I think I had that same virus in November. I was worried it was going to cause a flare-up of my condition, but everything turned out fine.

This may not be the reason but have you considered that food allergies may at least be contributing or exacerbating the inflammation? You haven't said any thing about your diet. LuckyMan just gave the advice I was going to give - paleo diet eliminating grains, dairy, and legumes for 30 days. Check out Robb Wolf's website for much more info.

Are you taking fish oil? It has a strong antiinflammatory effect. Too much omega six oil is inflammatory. The omega threes in fish oil counteract that. I had some crippling wrist pain i cured by doubling up on fish oil at every meal.