5 Diseases with Similar Symptoms to Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is painful and debilitating to one’s health. Considering there are lots of other illnesses that exhibit the same symptoms, including lethargy, stiffness and aches, influenza, reoccurences and many others, it is important to know the differences to get an accurate diagnosis.

It is a common myth that rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that only affects the elderly. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth, and you might need medical attention early if you have this. You’ll also need to know how to differentiate between arthritis and other diseases that may have similar symptoms.

Lethargy

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that is known to make a patient easily fatigued and lethargic even with the lightest exertion. This should not be confused with other diseases like Lyme disease, which also decreases one’s energy and saps the stamina. Besides Lyme disease, fatigue can occur in a host of other illnesses and can last from days to months. Some of these illnesses include the common cold, Hepatitis C, fibromyalgia and bacterial attacks such as tuberculosis and mononucleosis, to mention a few. Multiple sclerosis is yet another example of a disease that can cause permanent fatigue.

Stiffness and aches

Joint pain and stiffness is a common symptom of rheumatoid arthritis and gets more pronounced as time passes and the body deteriorates. However, there are a lot of other diseases that can bring about joint stiffness and aches as well. Among these, osteoarthritis, Reiter’s Syndrome, viral arthritis and even gout all have joint ache and stiffness as a common symptom. Temporary pain and stiffness can also be brought on by an injury to the afflicted areas due to an accident, but this pain should go away after a recuperation period is over.

Influenza

Most patients complain of not feeling right or having symptoms very like the common cold or flu in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis. These symptoms can easily be confused with other diseases that feel influenze-like such as fibromyalgia and Lyme disease. Since the flu is a pretty common illness, doctors typically advise patients to take the routine course of medications and only treat a patient for rheumatoid arthritis if the symptoms persist despite treatment with the necessary medications. This is to eliminate the probability that the symptoms are brought on by another suspected diseases.

Reoccurrences

One of the most distinctive symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis is the fact that the sickness can cause a person to be perfectly fine one day, but totally out of it the following day. While this may make the disease easily differentiated from others, it cannot be overlooked that Lupus and Lyme disease are examples of other diseases that can manifest similar symptoms. Lupus is often associated with chronic swelling of the joints and muscle stiffness, while Lyme disease can render a patient totally sick one day and hearty and hale the next.

Others

There are a host of other rheumatoid arthritis symptoms that can cause confusion with other diseases. Patients having rheumatoid arthritis may show symptoms such as weight loss, loss of appetite, dry skin, and even depression. All of these symptoms can easily be found in illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer.

It is hard to differentiate between one illness and another if the symptoms of both are the same. Therefore, you should seek immediate medical treatment if you have one or any of these symptoms so you can beat the illness before it overcomes you.