I really need some medical advice...

[Crystal in VA]

Starting January 2009, I started have pain in my right elbow. It started off with a lot of popping and cracking and then it would ache terribly and feel stiff.

 

Along that time, I broke out in a rash starting on the top of my head and behind my ears...very itchy, kind of like hives, but not actually hives. I then broke out on my chest and left ankle. It was not an allergic reaction or dandruff. I was also under a lot of stress at the time. Doctor put me on a steroid medication for the rash. It went away for a few months.

 

Then in March, after a walk, my left knee swelled up. It wasn't too painful, just very uncomfortable. I couldn't get the swelling to go away. After about a week, I went to the doctor. She had no clue what was going on. After another week of trying home remedy, she sent me to an orthopedic doc. He put me on prescription strength anti-inflammatory meds which did reduce swelling. Only had an xray done...went to PT...nothing seemed to make much difference. O.Doc finally did an MRI and the result was that I had cartilage that was deteriorating behind the kneecap. So he said there wasn't much to do at this time for it.

 

In Nov. I had an operation on my right elbow to move the nerve which by this point had become very painful all down my arm. While I don't have much nerve pain anymore, I still have very bad pain and stiffness in the joint. Never had an MRI on it.

 

I have since developed joint pain in both knees and both elbows. I get very fatigued some times. It seems to come and go. It's usually worse during times of stress. I just feel like my body is literally breaking down on my.

 

I have hypothyroidism but that is under control. I have had several labs done since this all began. I go back to my endocrinologist on my Monday.

 

I have also starting having of heart palpitations...a lot.

 

I don't know what to do. I really do not like my family doc. Very nice women but she doesn't seem to have a clue. One time while in her office, I was trying to make her understand the severity (at that time) of what I was feeling. I started to cry a little...she ask me if I was sure it wasn't depression causing all of this. I was a bit unhappy with that remark! I told her that yes...maybe I was a little depressed at that point because I felt as though my body was falling apart and no one seemed to be able to help me. I requested that she do labs to see if anything showed up...specifically to do an ANA test to see if I had an autoimmune disease...R.A or Lupus or something. When the results came back, she said that the results on the ANA were positive (1:80) but that they weren't high enough that an arthritis doctor would consider a disease (like R.A.).

 

I have searched all over the web trying to find something that fits what I feel. I just don't know. I tend to down-play a lot of what I feel which makes it hard to get a decent dx.

 

What is wrong with me?!?!?! Any ideas of a good place to start? I do intend to find a new family doctor. I'm dreading it. I hate the process of finding a new doc.

 

I am hoping that someone here maybe has some idea of what could be going on with me. I don't seem to fit a textbook definition of anything.

[Impish]

Definately start the process and find a new family Dr. You need one anyways, no better time than now to get one.

 

There's so many 'potential' dxs that I wouldn't self diagnose, or even attempt to.

 

Get thee to a Dr, poste-haste!

[ereks mom]

I am no doctor, but those symptoms sound similar to common symptoms for those ailments. If you've already been tested for an autoimmune disorder, maybe Lyme disease could be the culprit. But if it were me, I would also want to repeat the ANA test periodically to monitor the levels in case they change.

Edited May 6, 2010 by ereks mom

[Blessedfamily]

It sounds like an auto-immune disorder, but let me say one thing: I wasted a lot of time, $, and energy going to my sweet doctor who didn't have any answers. I HATE finding a new doctor, too, but you have to make yourself do it.

[Chris in VA]

I hate to diagnose--

but it sounds a lot like lupus to me. I hope it isn't.:grouphug:

Your symptoms could be unrelated--just coincidences.

Go find another dr, one who knows what they are doing.

[TravelingChris]

You need a new doctor and that doctor needs to send you to a rheumatologist. Deteriorating cartilage sounds like a type of arthritis to me. Many types of arthritis disease also include rashes, not just lupus. RA often has no high ANA titer but could have other markers. I would not stay with your primary.

[sbgrace]

:grouphug: My first thought was auto-immune (lupus came to mind). I'd want to see a specialist in that area as soon as I possibly could.

 

Check your 25 (OH) D levels too (vitamin D). They will likely be low unless you're supplementing high. Supplement D3 at 9,000 IU per day until you get above 50 on the test. I say this because vitamin D helped me w/pain including nerve and joint/bone, most people are low, and there is a link between low vitamin D and autoimmune and hopefully supplementing will help modify the course or prevent other things from occurring. I am not saying I think vitamin D is responsible for your issues, that part sounds auto-immune to me.

[Snickerdoodle]

Just a thought:

 

 

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/#symptoms

What are the symptoms of celiac disease?

 

Symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system or in other parts of the body. Digestive symptoms are more common in infants and young children and may include

 

* abdominal bloating and pain

* chronic diarrhea

* vomiting

* constipation

* pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool

* weight loss

 

Irritability is another common symptom in children. Malabsorption of nutrients during the years when nutrition is critical to a child’s normal growth and development can result in other problems such as failure to thrive in infants, delayed growth and short stature, delayed puberty, and dental enamel defects of the permanent teeth.

 

Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms and may instead have one or more of the following:

 

* unexplained iron-deficiency anemia

* fatigue

* bone or joint pain

* arthritis

* bone loss or osteoporosis

* depression or anxiety

* tingling numbness in the hands and feet

* seizures

* missed menstrual periods

* infertility or recurrent miscarriage

* canker sores inside the mouth

* an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis

[sbgrace]

Celiac! I hadn't thought of that but yes it is possible w/your symptoms. Oh, I hope it is the case OP! Get the D level test too. Celiac is also auto-immune and there is evidence (initial) of a vitamin D connection.

[Crystal in VA]

Thanks for the input. I would have never thought Celiac. My mom's dh has that. I'm not really sure what his symptoms are so maybe I can talk with him about it.

 

I will be finding a new doc. I thought that I would talk to my endocrinologist about that on Monday. Maybe she can recommend someone.

[Allearia]

I don't know what to do. I really do not like my family doc. Very nice women but she doesn't seem to have a clue. One time while in her office, I was trying to make her understand the severity (at that time) of what I was feeling. I started to cry a little...she ask me if I was sure it wasn't depression causing all of this. I was a bit unhappy with that remark! I told her that yes...maybe I was a little depressed at that point because I felt as though my body was falling apart and no one seemed to be able to help me.

 

:grouphug: I'm so sorry! I am in a bit of the same situation so have no advice just sympathy. Only whenever I start to cry they want to give me a prescription for a new allergy medication! I hope you can find another doctor who you feel listens to you.