I hope you will all forgive me if I have been quiet or not quite seemed myself lately. You see, I am living with a pain attack. My doctor and I are in the process of figuring out what it is. So far, we have eliminated thyroid, blood sugar, infection, and cancer. Still potentially on the table is auto-immune disorders, though I would have to be what they call subclinical (that is, the blood tests do not show certain types of activities). My personal pet theory is Sjogren’s syndrome, which is a type of auto-immune disorder.
It hurts. I type in short bursts because it quickly becomes too painful for me to type. It makes me very grateful that I type extraordinarily quickly, else I fear I would never get a chance to say anything. My hands feel like someone stepped on them, or like I missed a nail and hit myself with the hammer, that kind of intense but dull aching. My feet are so tender that some nights, standing long enough to feed Hudson is a torment, with much the same kind of pain.. I am swollen and having pins-and-needles sensations in my hands and feet, and sometimes into the forearms and the lower legs. I think it is also attacking my bad knee and bad hip. My hip feels like there is a jagged shard of pain stabbed into me, and not only does it hurt where it is lodged, the pain is seeping into the general vicinity.
I am upset, and a little scared. There are other symptoms that may be related that started a little earlier. My memory is terribly interrupted, and I cannot remember things that I normally would remember with great clarity. My mouth and eyes are painfully dry, but my throat is full of thick mucus, which sometimes gives me a little trouble with breathing. I am having lower GI pain and other troubles that may be related to all of this.
In three weeks I see a rheumatologist. In the meantime, I will be talking to my doctor in the hopes of trying something like steroids in the short term to help with all of this pain.
I suppose what this all adds up to is that I feel lousy and I hope you will all keep me in your thoughts.
~Kali
Hate to see that you are in pain! I hope you find a solution soon. I hope you have plenty of people around you giving you strength.
When I hear or see someone in pain its all I can do to not want to console them or ease it and take it all away… but you’re just a presence on the internet. Its killing me that I can’t even offer a hug or a warm cup of tea or whatever that could help you feel at least a bit better in body or soul.
All I can suggest is rest, sleep (if its possible because at least then you don’t tend to feel the pain) and good music. Something soothing?
I hope you feel better soon! Thats all I can say really. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and wishes. And Ill keep sending you strength.
I’m so sorry you’re feeling so awful, Kali, but I’m glad that your doctor is doing all he/she can to discover what’s going on. Also glad you’ll be seeing a rheumatologist soon. Your discription of the pain you’re feeling seems a lot like RA pain. While they won’t alleviate the pain, damp-warm compresses on the afflicted joints might feel soothing.
I’m keeping you in my thoughts and sending warmth, comfort and patience your way. Take care.
Warmth on the joints seems to be the only thing I can find so far that helps at all! They ache the worst when I first get up, I think, though the way they hurt at the end of the day is pretty bad, too. Hopefully, I’ll be talking to my doctor tomorrow. He said he was open to giving me steroids if things got worse, and they have, so with any luck he will and they’ll help!
I am sorry to hear that you are in so much pain. I hope you have both an answer and a solution very soon.
I also am so sorry you are in so much pain. Melissa above said it all. I had tears pouring down my face which is unusual for me. as you described the pain I am going through almost identically at the moment. The tears were not for me and they were not pity for you. They were tears of frustration because I understand just what it is like to be in this situation. I sincerely hope that you find relief and answers soon. My thoughts and much empathy are with you.
Please accept a very gentle virtual hug.
Kali,
Just a thought, have you been tested for Celiac’s? Even if you have and your test has been negative, you may still have an issue. The tests on some people are incorrect.
Do some research on it. Just thought I’d toss this out there in case it may help. Gluten really seems to have some of the craziest effects on people.
The easiest way to find out if it will relieve the pain and issues is going completely GF at least for three months. Not advocating this at all for you but just sharing.
What ever is going on with you, I hope you find out a solution so you can be feeling better fast.
Tonja
When I first saw my GI, they did an upper and lower endoscopy, which is the gold standard for finding out if someone has Celiac’s. I had absolutely no inflammation anywhere, which rules it out with far better accuracy than the blood tests. I do appreciate the suggestion, however!