Fifths Disease In Adults (infections, dental, arm, muscles)

[lubby]

I had no Idea adults could get it. We had it as children my brother and I.

[suzy_q2010]

I am bumping this up to add a link:

CDC - Parvovirus B19 and Fifth Disease Home Page

[Kelly Paul]

I am a Preschool Director and several students at my preschool had Fifths Disease. In early January 2012, I started having severe hand paint, mostly in my right hand. Now it has spread to my left, and I have been in severe, almost debilitating at times, pain since January - it is now May 20, 2012. I was recently diagnosed with Rheumotoid Arthritis by a Rheumotologost. She said "Parvo doesn't last four months". It is interesting to read here that, in fact, it often does.
I am on my second round of steroids, have been treated for gout which I don't think I have ever had, have been told I have 'some kind of virus', which I was originally given prednisone for - since I am diabetic he said 'don't take it until you can't bear the pain any more'. After a week of sitting in the hospital during a surgery my Dad had and a six hour drive home at the end of the week, I could NOT bear the pain and got the prednisone - pain was gone by the next morning but came back the DAY AFTER the last dose (this was in February). Different doc in same practice said MAY BE parvo but also tested for about ten other things. Sed rate was 65 on a scale of 0 - 22 with 22 being HIGH... BUT my RA factor was negative. I am supposed to start Plaquinal and 60 MORE days of steroids after taking a week off from May 25 - June 1 from ALL medication related to this pain.
I went with her diagnosis of rhuematoid arthritis until I got back on this site tonight and read from some of you who HAVE had it more than 6 months. Am curious to hear more recent stories as a lot of those were back in 2006 - 2009.
Also, has anyone else developed Medial Epichondilitis from overcompensating with your arms because your hands are too painful or weak to do anything???

[Kelly Paul]

SOMEONE ASKED IF PREDNISONE HAS WORKED FOR ANYONE WITH SEVERE JOINT PAIN...

YES it works WONDERS while you are ON it, but once the day after I got off of it, my hands and wrists were killing me again! I am on another steroid now but this 30 days ends Thursday. After a week on nothing, on June 1, my new rheumotologist, who is convinced I have Rheumatoid Arthritis because 'parvo doesnt last four months" is starting me on Plaquinil and another 60 days of steroids... I plan to refer HER to this message board to show her that A LOT of people seem to have Parvo more than 4 months!! Best of luck to you!

[SandraM]

Originally Posted by Kelly Paul

SOMEONE ASKED IF PREDNISONE HAS WORKED FOR ANYONE WITH SEVERE JOINT PAIN...

YES it works WONDERS while you are ON it, but once the day after I got off of it, my hands and wrists were killing me again! I am on another steroid now but this 30 days ends Thursday. After a week on nothing, on June 1, my new rheumotologist, who is convinced I have Rheumatoid Arthritis because 'parvo doesnt last four months" is starting me on Plaquinil and another 60 days of steroids... I plan to refer HER to this message board to show her that A LOT of people seem to have Parvo more than 4 months!! Best of luck to you!

Absolutely! The effects of Parvo can linger for more than four months. Accept whatever treatment reduces your pain, and simply wait it out. My case too was assumed to be RA. However, after the pain subsided (completely after 18 months), I have not had a "Flare Up" in five years. That fact alone points to a condition other than RA.

[Lincolnian]

Originally Posted by SandraM

Absolutely! The effects of Parvo can linger for more than four months. Accept whatever treatment reduces your pain, and simply wait it out. My case too was assumed to be RA. However, after the pain subsided (completely after 18 months), I have not had a "Flare Up" in five years. That fact alone points to a condition other than RA.

I agree. My co-worker and I, both teachers, had an unexplained illness last spring. The nurse practitioner suspected fifths. I had many of the adult signs and tested positive as to having been exposed in "the past." It didn't show up as being active at the time but that was a couple of months after the symptoms began. My doctor dismissed her diagnosis but my GI doctor who had contracted it previously, and had done extensive research on it professionally, agreed that is what I probably had.

For me it started as fatigue followed by pins and needles in my hands and arms. Then came the rash. The pins and needles turned into migratory arthritic pain which lasted all summer and into the fall. It started to fade late in the fall but would return whenever I got overtired or rundown.

It's now much better one year later but my co-worker continues to suffer from some unexplained symptoms.

I read that the parvo virus is opportunistic and will hang out in your bone marrow. Other studies have stated that it is a possible trigger to auto-immune issues such as Lupus, CFS, or Fibromyalgia, especially in women.

What I found is that many doctors simply do not know a lot about this virus beyond what their patients have told them and the drugs they have prescribed that have worked for some in easing their pain.

[hippychick42]

I am new to the forum. Have been dealing with Fifths for several months.
I am wondering if any of you have found that vitamin D makes your symptoms worse?
My doctor said my vitamin D was low and put me on a supplement. Every time I take it I get a rash and my joints flare up. The same exact thing happens if I have too much sun exposure! Where do we get vitamin D? The sun!
I have not discussed my findings with the doctor yet (have an appointment in 2 weeks), but I know I am not crazy! Within one day of taking the supplement I break out in the rash. No supplement, no rash!

[jillweese]

I had 5th disease about 15 years ago, I was two years getting over the wrist and joint pain, I recently went on a family vacation and got mosquito bitten over 29 times on each leg, I at first attributed my pain to the bites causing me to have Rheumatoid arthritis, (I did go to my practioner and the RA test was slightly elevated) I somehow even said to my husband at one point that this reminds me of when I had 5th disease, I never had the rash on my hands or feet though but I had the light rash on my torso and the lacey rash later. I stumbled upon this site tonight and I now realize I have contracted it again, my associate director where I work had it right before school went out the last of may my vacation was the last of June, I now know what I have had. This time was much worse, I could not get up and down from a bending position because my knees hurt so bad, I had to physically use the furnature. It was about 2 years the time before, before I could tear up pizza boxes (w/o pain) to throw them in the trash........vacation was the last week of June, this is 3 weeks later, I still have knee joint pain at rest, my hands and feet joint feel swollen and painful-but the knees are unbelievable!!! mostly my larger joints but now I know that is why I have been so tired and exausted this last few weeks. I have an appointment with a Rhematologists Tuesday.

[avirett47]

I am sorry to hear about your illness. I had Fifths Disease in 2005 and the joint pain was so bad I missed two months of work. I was on prednisone and vicodin. The 4th doctor I visited diagnosed me in less than five minutes. The pain was unbelievable. I would walk and cry...cry and walk. Short stints in the whirlpool were my salvation during that time. Even after I returned to work I was on medications for several more months. Obviously, I never had the disease as a child since I was 58 when diagnosed. If you need to see more than one doctor...do it. There are ways to make you more comfortable. It will get better, I promise.

[Lincolnian]

Originally Posted by hippychick42

I am new to the forum. Have been dealing with Fifths for several months.
I am wondering if any of you have found that vitamin D makes your symptoms worse?
My doctor said my vitamin D was low and put me on a supplement. Every time I take it I get a rash and my joints flare up. The same exact thing happens if I have too much sun exposure! Where do we get vitamin D? The sun!
I have not discussed my findings with the doctor yet (have an appointment in 2 weeks), but I know I am not crazy! Within one day of taking the supplement I break out in the rash. No supplement, no rash!

When I contracted it last spring I had trouble in the sun all summer with fatigue, joint pain, and rashes.

I had extremely low Vitamin D last winter and started taking a supplement. I feel much better now and am no longer sensitive to the sun.

It took me over six months to start feeling back to normal. The first three or four months were very difficult and I had a lot of tests and visited many specialists.

The best advice I got was from my GI who had gone through it a couple of years ago. He instructed me to eat healthy food, hydrate and get plenty of rest. He said would re-emerge whenever he got run down. It was very good advice and I made the point to go to bed early for several months and the symptoms began to disappear.

Good luck. You will feel better as time goes on.