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Arthritis (Expert Forum)
whats wrong with me?
Answered by
Kevin Pho, MD - Internal Medicine
Kevin Pho, MD
Boston - MA
This forum is for questions and support regarding arthritis issues such as: Arthritis, Autoimmune Disease, Bursitis, Fibromyalgia, Gout, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Myositis, Neuralgia, Osteoarthritis, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sciatica, Tendinitis, Vasculitis.
whats wrong with me?
by allatsea, Jun 09, 2006 12:00AM
Up until 4 months ago I was a healthy 55yr old male, today I am plagued by all manner of factual and other mysterious ailments.
Firstly a freak accident standing up from a computer caused my back/ right leg to seize up.
X rays then revealed a disc lesion in both my neck at A5/A6 and in my back at L4/L5, neither deemed serious at this time.In the case of my back tho,I am suffering violent cramping of my right leg muscles, pain in the sciatic nerve near the knee & thigh and have trouble sitting down with the muscle spasming inwards.
I also recently had to have cystoscopy, which revealed only a smaller capacity bladder and a BPH of the middle lobe.My PSA test was 0.5 and CEA 1.04 Other recent blood work had a low RBC @4.16,PLT @135, HT@38% and HB 12.7
As well as all that various strange pains in my bones and muscles have begun to manifest themselves throughout the day, the most noticable/ consistant in my right forearm 3/4 inches before the elbow.
Other pains in my body were it seems atributable to excessive gas/ wind in my body.Yet last night I had a strong pain for several minutes in my right arm pit radiating from the upper ribs it seemed.I have also lost weight about 6 k, in the last 5 weeks < putting it at a 30 year low > ,
and I have had to take leave from my job < casino cashier > ,as the last time working my hands were unusable by the end of the shift, aching unable to support a bucket with 200 coins in it!Also the middle finger on my left hand had swollen appreciably and having felt it strange during the evening had removed the ring I always wear on it.
That has not been repeated ,but again strange pains come and go in my hands on the joints/bones.
All in all my life has gone to the dogs, as I am unable to settle , concentrate or work and must sleep with a pillow underneath my back.
My current doctor gave me a clean bill of health earlier in the week and when I asked to see him yesterday was surprised to see me.I told him that I still felt only about 60% of my best and that I was still urinating too much.I am supposed to be taking Detrusitol- tolterodine L-Tartrate but he told me stop taking it.He gave me a prescription and told me that it would take 10/12 days to work.At the chemist I was shocked when the assistant told me that its for depression and when I checked the main constituent on the net it is Fluoxetine 20mg.Isnt that Prozac by any other name?Am taking no other medication only something liquid to sooth my stomach before eating and Librax tablets to soothe my colon twice a day.
So I need to know what if possible is going? or is that I am getting some kind of warning about what the future holds for me healthwise?
Advice would be very much appreciated
Eric
Firstly a freak accident standing up from a computer caused my back/ right leg to seize up.
X rays then revealed a disc lesion in both my neck at A5/A6 and in my back at L4/L5, neither deemed serious at this time.In the case of my back tho,I am suffering violent cramping of my right leg muscles, pain in the sciatic nerve near the knee & thigh and have trouble sitting down with the muscle spasming inwards.
I also recently had to have cystoscopy, which revealed only a smaller capacity bladder and a BPH of the middle lobe.My PSA test was 0.5 and CEA 1.04 Other recent blood work had a low RBC @4.16,PLT @135, HT@38% and HB 12.7
As well as all that various strange pains in my bones and muscles have begun to manifest themselves throughout the day, the most noticable/ consistant in my right forearm 3/4 inches before the elbow.
Other pains in my body were it seems atributable to excessive gas/ wind in my body.Yet last night I had a strong pain for several minutes in my right arm pit radiating from the upper ribs it seemed.I have also lost weight about 6 k, in the last 5 weeks < putting it at a 30 year low > ,
and I have had to take leave from my job < casino cashier > ,as the last time working my hands were unusable by the end of the shift, aching unable to support a bucket with 200 coins in it!Also the middle finger on my left hand had swollen appreciably and having felt it strange during the evening had removed the ring I always wear on it.
That has not been repeated ,but again strange pains come and go in my hands on the joints/bones.
All in all my life has gone to the dogs, as I am unable to settle , concentrate or work and must sleep with a pillow underneath my back.
My current doctor gave me a clean bill of health earlier in the week and when I asked to see him yesterday was surprised to see me.I told him that I still felt only about 60% of my best and that I was still urinating too much.I am supposed to be taking Detrusitol- tolterodine L-Tartrate but he told me stop taking it.He gave me a prescription and told me that it would take 10/12 days to work.At the chemist I was shocked when the assistant told me that its for depression and when I checked the main constituent on the net it is Fluoxetine 20mg.Isnt that Prozac by any other name?Am taking no other medication only something liquid to sooth my stomach before eating and Librax tablets to soothe my colon twice a day.
So I need to know what if possible is going? or is that I am getting some kind of warning about what the future holds for me healthwise?
Advice would be very much appreciated
Eric
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Pho, MD, Jun 10, 2006 12:00AM
, Jun 10, 2006 12:00AM
Difficult to say without examination.
Fluoxetine is generic Prozac. It may help with any depression or anxiety symptoms that may be present.
Increased urinary frequency can be caused by infection, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, or an enlarged prostate. Checking the urine and blood tests for these disorders is recommended. A rectal exam can be done to evaluate the prostate size. Checking for diabetes and thyroid dysfunction can also evaluate the weight loss.
If there is suspicion of joint pain, a basic rheumatological panel can be considered - including ANA level, rheumatoid factor, blood count, and sedimentation rate.
These options can be discussed with your personal physician.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_
Fluoxetine is generic Prozac. It may help with any depression or anxiety symptoms that may be present.
Increased urinary frequency can be caused by infection, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, or an enlarged prostate. Checking the urine and blood tests for these disorders is recommended. A rectal exam can be done to evaluate the prostate size. Checking for diabetes and thyroid dysfunction can also evaluate the weight loss.
If there is suspicion of joint pain, a basic rheumatological panel can be considered - including ANA level, rheumatoid factor, blood count, and sedimentation rate.
These options can be discussed with your personal physician.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_
Havent considered those options yet as am very concerned about my fatigue levels, basic apathy and inability to work at the moment.Ultrasounds of all internal organs were good yet my stamina is severely depleted and need to take medication before and after eating, which cannot be a good thing.Last night had a terrible bout of wind in my system which took nearly 3 hours to pass, this gave strong pains in my chest.Asked myself what am I taking the medication for!
Dont actually know which direction to turn at the moment being surrounded by such conflicting symptoms.
appreciate very much input
thanks
E
Also, My doctor recommended Provigil and I find that taking it creates a significant reduction in my fatigue---it is actually a medicine used for ADD but helpful in RA. My regular weekly injections of Enbrel are the most helpful for the RA.
There is a good book entitled ThE HANDBOOK OF RheumaTOID aRTHRTIS
by Dr.Stephen A Paget--i found it to be helpful in understanding my symptoms.
And further it can affect the arms hands etc it all stems from the spine