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Provisional dysautonomia d/x, but what's really wrong?
I have a provision dx of dysautonomia based on an understanding PCP's observance of an episode of bradycardia in his office (good luck), but feel that there is a bigger underlying health issue.
Symptoms started suddenly ten months' ago after a couple of nights' drinking (pretty typical dysautonomia stuff: dizziness, tinnitus, presyncope, but also included strange muscle twitches and jerks).
Sx have at times gotten a little better but come back with a vengeance every few months - particularly after drinking alcohol (after the correlation became obvious I quit).
I have some symptoms that don't fit completely into the dysautonomia picture so was seeing if anyone else might have experienced these: left leg weakness and shakiness when going down stairs, itchiness (although some say that is a symptom) and a few little red dots on my arms (although based on google images and my doctor's opinion these good be totally normal).
RF is positive (56 IU) but ESR and CRP consistently normal. Creatinine kinase very slightly elevated (less than 2x reference range) but I'm also fairly well built.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (mild, concentric) on echo.
Everything else (white blood count, chest xray, brain cervical and thoracic MRIs) normal.
Any ideas?
Symptoms started suddenly ten months' ago after a couple of nights' drinking (pretty typical dysautonomia stuff: dizziness, tinnitus, presyncope, but also included strange muscle twitches and jerks).
Sx have at times gotten a little better but come back with a vengeance every few months - particularly after drinking alcohol (after the correlation became obvious I quit).
I have some symptoms that don't fit completely into the dysautonomia picture so was seeing if anyone else might have experienced these: left leg weakness and shakiness when going down stairs, itchiness (although some say that is a symptom) and a few little red dots on my arms (although based on google images and my doctor's opinion these good be totally normal).
RF is positive (56 IU) but ESR and CRP consistently normal. Creatinine kinase very slightly elevated (less than 2x reference range) but I'm also fairly well built.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (mild, concentric) on echo.
Everything else (white blood count, chest xray, brain cervical and thoracic MRIs) normal.
Any ideas?
Hey,
Thanks so much for all that interesting information.
There's also the possibility that the leg weakness and the other stuff are two completely separate problems -- one started about four months before the other and I've been struggling to tie them together (as have doctors).
I already have a referral to an electro-cardiologist so we'll see what that turns out.
Thanks so much for all that interesting information.
There's also the possibility that the leg weakness and the other stuff are two completely separate problems -- one started about four months before the other and I've been struggling to tie them together (as have doctors).
I already have a referral to an electro-cardiologist so we'll see what that turns out.
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Dysautonomia can range from a minor inconvenience to completely incapacitating. That's not to say that you shouldn't be looking for something "more," but not because dysautonomia doesn't fully account for your symptoms. What you want to do know is find a specialist (usually electrophysiologist cardiologist or neuromuscular doc) who can continue testing to definitively prove the dysautonomia diagnosis and then answer the question of whether it's a primary autonomic disorder or a secondary one; if it's secondary, your task is to figure out what's causing it. That can be a daunting question, but working with the right specialists, it's certainly possible to eventually get the answer.