Hello everyone,
I had an episode that I will never forget on March 7, 2006. That is when my health started to go down. I sneezed and had a sharp pain in my right brain area. I heard a sound of pressure being released (if that makes sense). A few minutes later the pain went away and I went to work. Later at work I started to feel numbness on my right face and right arm. I panicked and went to the ER. They took a CT scan, nothing showed up. After all the tests that was done in the months that followed, nothing showed up as being a case for the numbness. Maybe an odd incident I thought.
I went to my family doctor and mentioned what happened, he looked at my tests and said that it looks like I am in the early stages of Arthritis. He didn't mention the type or give any specifics on it but just said he wanted to run more blood tests. After the results came in, he said everything was ok. However, I have symptoms of arthritis like loss of strength in both my hands and arms, stiffness in my body when I wake up, occassional twitching of the muscles, mild headache and fatigue. I don't know if my event was the cause of my symptoms or if they just happened to have started at the same time but I know that I am not the same. All the tests that they ran show that I am very healthy and that the doctors that I have met so far have been unhelpful in finding out why I feel this way.
So my question is, does this sound like Arthritis to you? or am I just jumping to conclusions? I guess prior to my primary doctor mentioning early signs of arthritis, I thought my symptoms were something more seious like ALS or MLS of some kind.
I am scared and want everything to be back to normal.
Wow. I think you need to be a royal pain in your Drs butt until you get some more solid answers. That's always my solution though, bug people until you're happy. LoL As for the sneezing thing....all they did was a CT scan? I'd be screaming for an MRI. And screaming bloody murder at that. There's a lot you can see on an MRI that you can't on CT.
Sure, at a very base level it could be and does sound like arthritis. However you have such minimal symptoms, I think it needs further looking into. I'm curious as to what tests the Dr looked at? A lot of times there isn't anything that you can "test" for with RA. I show up negative on EVERYTHING, but I most def. have RA. It's a little screwy, I admit.
I think now is the time for you to start getting agressive. If this has really cause a rip in your lifestyle, you need to be asking thousands of questions. "What does that mean?" "what does that stand for?" "what should I be feeling?" "what other symptoms should i have?" etc etc ANYTHING that seems relevant, or even not!
Best of luck to you, and let us know more! :)
arriscolwell,
I had lots of tests done over the months that followed the incident including an MRI, MRA of my brain and a MRI of my neck. They drew my blood 3 different times, not sure what they checked for but everything came back normal. They also did a Electromyography and Nerve condition study which all showed normal.
Should I be pushing my Primary Doctor to send me to a RA Doctor? I know my symptoms are mild compared to others here but I would like to try to prevent any further damage/symptoms if at all possible.
I would have him push you to see a neurologist, RA/Internal Med Doc, and possibly Ear/Nose/Throat Doc - depeding on your history with headaces,sinus problems, ear infections etc. Your inner ear can mess with alot. It may seem a little silly to be jumping all over, but when nerves are involved there's just so many things it COULD be. I'd just really want to make sure you covered your bases. These are just my thoughts:
The sneeze & pop thing...could very well have affected nerves in your face for LOTS of reasons. I won't even begin a list there are SO many. Rest assured I have more sinus/inner ear issues than a grown woman should have to deal with. There are many a strange side effects it could give. Numbness being just one.
The general pain could be HUNDREDS of things, most commonly and most likely arthritis. I'd still say you need to see RA/Internal Med just to be sure.
The twitches make me nervous, only because of the mention of the poping noise when you sneezed-that could be a few scarier thing. Yes, I twitch randomly and wildly with the RA, but once again, that is somethig that can have so many causes.
What it all boils down to, in my opinion, is that you have more than one thing going on here. Don't lump it all up. I see NO correlation between the sudden feelings of pain after the sneeze and arthritis. But every correlation with your general complaints of pain and arthritis. Does that make any sense?
Be sure to let your Dr know your family history of illness, no matter how random and far fetched it may seem. I wish I knew a few more things about the sneeze: Were you sick at the time? Do you get sinus infections regularly? What kind of, if any, sinus issues have you had? Were you prone to ear infections as a child? Let me know!
Katie
Hi Katie,
Thanks for the detailed explaination and of course for caring enough to reply. :-)
I don't have any family history of any diseases as far as I know. I dont get sick that often. Never had a sinus, nose, ear, throat infection and I didn't have a cold at the time. I did have a belly button infection as a new born. The day I sneezed was a cold day and I returned from swimming at the gym. I just stepped out of the shower with my hair still wet is when it happened.
Through my ordeal I realized that modern medicine still has a long way to go to diagnose and cure many diseases.
Ah-HA! But you gave me enough info for a pertty good idea as to your popping noise! You had just returned from swimming! I bet you since they did the CT and MRI and came back with nothing that you popped your eardrum. Not hard enough to be a burst, like you would have with an ear infection, but strong enough not only to hear it, but to have a rush of fluids. Your eardrum holds back fluids that your ear NEEDS, if you pop your eardrum too hard, it can cause an imbalance in those fluids and mess up alllllll kindsa stuff. It can cause funny feelings in your face, neck, ears, throat, and lips. Funny feelings such as, tingling, heat sensation, and numbness. I GET IT AAALLLLL THE TIME! LoL But that's good. It isn't something that's real common, unless you have an inner ear imbalance, like I do.
That makes me a lot more comfortable with the pains that you are having. Once again, I'd like a little more discription :) What time of day, whats it feel like, what areas are affected...etc etc. But Yeah, it pretty much seems that if your Dr thinks it too, you're probably in the early stages. Which really is a great place to catch it. I would be pushy about seeing RA/Internal Med because you are absol. right about treating it early. Stop it before it gets bad! You have the right idea :)
Let me know!
Ha ha! Katie, I love your enthusiasm!
I hope your right but I might have not mentioned about what this SHARP pain that I got in my head felt like. It was a feeling as if I took a pen and stabbed hard at the side of my head. The area where I felt this was about 1" above my right ear. I know what popping of the ear feels like. Maybe this was something as you described (I sure hope it's that simple). But the numbness and tingling feeling that I got on the right side of my face and arm convinced me (at the time) that I was having a stroke. I also felt like my equilibrium was out of balance at the time and I had a mild headache for 2 weeks. My symptoms have changed since then as the numbness and tingling went away. Instead I have loss of strength in both hands and arms and the other things mentioned at the begining post.
The event happened at 8AM.
You seem so knowledgeable at your young age. I had no clue about RA until I had this experience. I thought I MAY get something like that when I would get much older. :-(
LoL Thanks..I like to take life by the balls and ask it for money. LoL
What you're describing still sounds to me like a hardcore eardrum pop. It also sounds like without you knowing it, you may have had some extra fluid build up, so it was an extreme rush. Your (im going to mess this spelling up) eustatian tube - the tube down the side of your neck where your ear drains into your throat - gross eh? - lies riiigghhhttt along a pretty serious nerve. If you rushed it that quickly, it could easily explain the numbess, and even the lasting effects of it. I've had so many issues with mine my nerves are hyper sensative, I can tell you when my ears drain. Most people can't feel it, its just so common. Until you have TOO much fluid. It's like trying to pour 40 gallons of jello through a tube sock. The tube sock bows out where it can. Well so does your eustatian tube, but when it does it pushes on nerves. As for the sharp pain, I think everyone reacts differently. I've had it pop and I just feel warm, and I've had it pop and I wanted to DIE it hurt so bad. Oh, and your eustation tube lies right along your um..artery? that's in your neck, so that could easily explain the arm pain. It really just sounds to me like you popped it REALLY good. What may have happened is that you got pool water built up behind your ear drum, on top of an already increased level of fluid (which is normal from time to time and you may not have noticed) when you sneezed, well...you got rid of it all, just...a little fast. Lol
You say you have loss of strength in your hands and arms. Is it JUST in your hands and arms? That would seem only slightly odd for RA. Really it can affect anywhere, so that wouldn't be supprising. But describing it as a loss of strength makes me question it. If its accompanied by general pain and stiffness, then it would seem you've got a winner. Or a loser, however you wanna look at it. LoL
As far as my medical knowledge...I dunno. WebMD is my friend and I don't have a single non-sick family member or friend. All I know is illness! Lol It facinates me.
Hi Katie, I was viewing your message to oceam view,As far as your sinuses go...I hate to say it but I've never found anyone Dr or otherwise that had a good cure for it. It's pretty much a cronic thing. and you either have it or you don't. It's all very strange to me. But you DEF DEF DEF need to keep up on it, and I'll tell you why. If you are having severe sinus problems, infections pollyps, etc...they actually eat away at the bone and lining between your sinus cavity and your brain. It can kill you if left untreated. I don't want to make you freak out but....well...if that's what it takes to make you keep on top of it, so be it.
If you're a cronic sinus suffer-er-er.....hmm like I am, you need to make sure you vaccum often, and NEVER dump the vaccum in the house, always dump it outside, and lean away! Use allergen reducing febreeze EVERYWHERE and wash your bedsheets and towels at least twice a week. the more irritating things you inhale, the more infections and what not you'll get. you need to try to see an allergist(sp??) you may need to go on allegra or zyrtek.
Just something to look out for too....if you ever feel that they just keep giving you anti-biotics and it just NEVER works....make sure you tell them that...tell them that over and over and over, and try to demand a different anti-biotic each time. I was having HOOORRRIIBBBLLLEEE problems and I actually had a LUMP stuck in my eustatian tube! The doc got so fed up with me he put me on an anti-biotic so strong they usually only give it to people who have drank water outside the country! LoL but you know what? In three days, I felt PERFECT. Wish I knew what that anti-biotic was called.
It all relates back to the RA though, ultimately, its your immune system malfunctioning. When you flare, your white blood cells are so busy doing the wrong thing, that your body is left open to all kinds of other oddities. Some people are just prone to certian things.
Oceanview, after reading all this what concerns me most is your continuing to worry about it and that other symptoms have not been relieved. I believe a person instinctly knows when something is wrong, especially when you have been a really healthy person in the past.
My first thoughts were a complete workup up a neurologist and a ear/nose specialist.
I did have something similar happen when I first started having symptoms, and then later as well. When I first had problems, I got extreme headaches that seemed like the top half of my brain was cold. Scare my doctor, really. He thought I had temporal arteritis. Now, this is something that only people in the 70s get. It can cause you to lose your vision. They did all the tests and a biopsy and it came back ok except I still have an vein near my left eye that causes bad pain. I am wondering if these symptoms are why your doc thinks you are in the early stages of RA. 80 mg of prednisone is an extremely high dosage. In the accute stage of my problem, they had me at 60. So, it sounds like your doctor took it very serious.
During the next year, I had another incident where my eyes started bleeding, like out of horror movie. That's when they sent me to the ear/nose throat specialist and also my opthamologist. They were looking for Wegener's. It is another autoimmune disease that can affect the sinuses, actually causing deformity in the sinus cavities. He did some additional tests and decided that it was more allergy induced.
It's never happened as bad since, although I do have wicked nose bleeds at times.
The numbness needs to be addressed. And, if you have early RA, the standard of treatment now is to be more aggressive with medications like MTX and prednisone (at much more lower doses--not nearly so bad). I definitely think you need a consult with a good Rheumy and that if your problems continue you need to be aggressive with your doctors.
Also, if this kind of pain happens again, still go to the ER. Any sudden head pain needs to be evaluated right away. And, you are better off going to the ER because they will do the CT scan/MRI tests immediately instead of waiting for authorizations etc. from your primary.
Do listen to what instincts tell you.
wow WOW *WOW* Deanna. I've never heard of that! Did you end up with pollpys or anything in your sinuses??? I've been to many people for my ears and my sinuses and I'm always just told that well....that's just how I am. And that having the RA, puts me at a higher risk, since my body wants to use white blood cells for OTHER things. Lil bastard....lolKatie, no, as a matter of fact, I have very little problems of late with my sinuses. I certainly had more problems with them as a kid growing up on a farm than I do now.
Here's the problem when you have inflammatory autoimmune diseases. You can have inflammation in almost any part of your body, not just your joints. We think next of our heart, lung and eyes (all of which are affected with me). But you can have inflammation in the veins of your body and that includes your head. You can also have inflammation in your digestive system.
It is very important that you tell any medical practioner that you see that you have RA. It often means more tests. But there can be so many sides to this.
Sjogren's dries out all the mucus in your body, nose, sinuses, throat and sexual moisture (can't think of proper way of saying that) which may be why some people have so much pain with sexual intercourse. My Sjogren's mostly effects my eyes and sometimes my mouth and throat. It is secondary to RA. It is kept under control best by keeping the RA under control.
That is one example. I also have vasculitis, which is the inflammation of the veins. I have recurrent skin lesions from this (another system that can be affected), they've done a colonscopy/endoscopy to make sure that nothing is happening inside and the bilateral temporal biopsy was to check the veins in my head. The tests came back clear, but the symptoms remain. I got the diagnosis of vasculitis before getting a RA diagnosis.
So you are right that RA puts you at a higher risk. The best thing to do is find a ear/nose/throat specialist that is familar with complications caused by RA. My Rheumy recommended my ENT doc and I was very happy with his treatment. One of the things that he did have me do on a regular basis is use the Saline nose sprays so that the membranes don't dry out. It is a very cheap solution and helps ward off problems. Also, when I am having a lot of problems with nose bleeds, I'll use vasoline and something like Afrin or Nasonex which doesn't interfere with my other meds. I also understand that MTX can cause nose bleeds so taking enough Folic Acid is important.
Oh WOW. I love learning new things. :) I'm pertty sure I don't have any of that, but can you just get random dry sinuses and dry mouth and dry eyes just because of having RA? I get those all the freaking time, and its just aggrivating. I've always chalked it up to allergies, or dehydration. (Me and water just don't get along) I've always always ALWAYS had sinus and ear problems. And lung as well. I'd go from having just a runny nose to a full blown sinus infection on top of bronchitis and pneumonia overnight. Year after YEAR when I was younger. I'm doin pretty good now as it's been about 2-3 years since I've had a sinus infection and about 6-7 years for any lung problems. But I've learned the value of tissues and saline nose spray and tylenol sinus pills. LoL The only thing that I've just always wondered about is that I CONSTANTLY have a draining nose. - this is gross I warn you - I've always got mucus down the back of my throat, but that doesn't mean I have anything in my nose at all! On a day that the flow is heavy, if I go too long without eating, it even makes me nauseous(sp) All my docs have always just gone "you have allergies" I've been on allegra and claratin and zyrtek and they seem to work for about a week...and then nothing. Heh. Oh well?Hi Katie & Deanna, I am having problems with my blood presure this last few days . I feel under the weather. I am so tired this past few days to. But there is always tommorow. Maybe it will be better. I can tell you something that I was on a antibolic for 8 months straight sinuses big time. I should say once a month for 8 months That is my weakness. Plus my feet are burning on top like crazy this last few days to. I don't know if I got nerve damage or not on my feet. I take 800mg Ibuprofen 4 times a day for my RA. CanNot take MTX got very ill from it. My hands are hard to open in the morning they are very swollen. Tell me how the doctor found out you had RA I had blood test 8 tubes in fact The one that was moderate Positive was called Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Ab, IgG it was 47
Joan, blood work is just one criteria for RA. There's like 7 different ones. They should be looking at your daily symptoms, your pain in your hands, other joints, etc. If it shows up in your blood, that just makes the diagnosis easier. MTX is not the only medication that they can give you. Plaquenil is often given and the biologics. What you need to do is get back with the doctor and insist on trying something else. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right mix of medications. But don't give up. Keep pushing for answers.
Some doctors only want to look at blood work as a criteria for treating you. You don't want that. They need to look at the fatigue and the pain in your hands. Insist on treatment and not wait and see. I don't know what the specific meanings of blood work mean.