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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Severe pain in joints
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Severe pain in joints
by Shakeyme, Sep 15, 1999 12:00AM
I am a 55 year old male.I was diagnosed with Parkinsons three years ago. It started with a severe tremor in my left arm and hand when I was in the doctors office with my wife. Her doctor thought it was a nervous reaction because of her serious condition. The tremor has never relented. I now have tremor in my left leg, short term memory loss, lack of concentration, and slight tremor starting in right side. The most debilatating symptom is severe pain in all my joints which started when the tremor had gotten a little better with the medication. I have to take Tylenol three to combat the pain. I cannot seem to do anything physical eg:Gardening which I love,without initiating the pain. I had my left hip replaced several years ago because of osteoarthritis and suspect that the osteo is probably aggravated by the tremor. The pain is sometimes transient. One day it is in my shoulder, the next day in my hip or knees. Then sometimes all over. I also have a very stiff neck most of the time. I believe that I have a very good neuroligist and he is willing to try anything to help. He has tried all the latest medications to supplement the Sinemet that I am taking, but they all caused severe GI problems. Tasmar seemed to help, but the government has banned it until further study, because of the liver deaths. Do you think one of the operations that are available might help? If so, which one? I realize this is a complicated case and you cannot diagnose, but hopefully you can give some information on the different operations and what I could expect. My present medications are:Sinemet CR 200/50 mg 1 1/2 tablets four times daily, Rantidine 150mg 2 tabs twice daily, Trihexyphenidyl 2mg 3 times daily, clonzepam.5 mg 3 times daily, Celexa, one daily and Tylenol extra stength four times daily. Thanks in advance, Shakeyme
Doctor's Answer
I doubt if this pain is primarily related to Parkinsons, and it is very unlikely that surgery would help. I think you need to be evaluated by a rheumatologist in addition to a neurologist since Parkinsons disease alone does not cause pain. For this reason I do not believe that surgery would be useful in your case, at least for this symptom. As regards surgery for your Parkinsons disease, this is useful for a small minority of patients and would require a detailed personal assessment to decide if you would be a good candidate. In general surgery is useful for tremor but not for the stiffness associated with parkinsons disease. Since this does not seem to be your main problem, at least from the information you provide I do not see a surgical option in your case.