Many other diseases mimic the symptoms of arthritis. In addition, it might be hard to determine exactly which type of arthritis you have. Depending on the situation, it may be difficult to determine if arthritis of the ankle is caused by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, infectious, gout, or other types of arthritis.
There is also the possibility of having more than one type of arthritis, for example: you might have osteoarthritis of the knee and gout in your big toe.
People who suffer from arthritis - especially the types of arthritis that are autoimmune - can experience a wide range of other conditions, including:
- Overall muscle weakness
- Fatigue or tiredness
- Infection-like symptoms such as fever and swollen lymph nodes
- Hair loss
- Chest Pain
- Skin rashes
- Dry eyes and dry mouth (called sicca syndrome)
- Night sweats
- Weight loss
People with arthritis often have more trouble losing weight and tend toward being overweight or obese. This is often owing to the difficulty of exercising with painful joints.
Depression is another common side-effect of chronic arthritis, as the pain and lack of exercise contribute to depression.
And importantly, many other types of diseases may present with painful joints and muscles, such as lupus, fibromyalgia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Lyme disease, osteoporosis, and others.
