Aa
Seems I am a lost cause with my pain
I have been to a Rheumatologist, Orthoepic dr, and general physician. My blood work for Lupus, RA, muscle disease all came back normal as well as an xray.
The problem is I am 32 with crippling bilateral knee pain. I want to cry when I bend over, stand up, kneel down or straighten my legs after being bent. This started in January 2010 and keeps getting worse, I can also feel the pain in my hands at times but not nearly as bad. I am also having a lot of involuntary muscle twitches in my jaw area causing my speech to stutter, and also in my hands and legs. It started in the the jaw area a few years back, but was very minimal. In the last few weeks it has become increasingly worse to the point where it will now do it when i'm not even talking or moving. Even my tongue is twitching.
The dr's say something is definitely wrong but unsure of what it is. One suggested Fibromyalgia, but myself and the other dr both agree that I don't fit the mold for that. He did put me on Welbutrin to take with my Zoloft to see if it would help and rule out the Fibro and it hasn't touched the issues as they are getting worse.
If anyone can help me, I would sincerely appreciate it. When the dr's tell me they don't know what it is but something is wrong, I am a little worried, okay a lot worried and scared. Thanks so much.
The problem is I am 32 with crippling bilateral knee pain. I want to cry when I bend over, stand up, kneel down or straighten my legs after being bent. This started in January 2010 and keeps getting worse, I can also feel the pain in my hands at times but not nearly as bad. I am also having a lot of involuntary muscle twitches in my jaw area causing my speech to stutter, and also in my hands and legs. It started in the the jaw area a few years back, but was very minimal. In the last few weeks it has become increasingly worse to the point where it will now do it when i'm not even talking or moving. Even my tongue is twitching.
The dr's say something is definitely wrong but unsure of what it is. One suggested Fibromyalgia, but myself and the other dr both agree that I don't fit the mold for that. He did put me on Welbutrin to take with my Zoloft to see if it would help and rule out the Fibro and it hasn't touched the issues as they are getting worse.
If anyone can help me, I would sincerely appreciate it. When the dr's tell me they don't know what it is but something is wrong, I am a little worried, okay a lot worried and scared. Thanks so much.
Best Answer
I would ask to be referred to a neurologist.
Sounds like multiple sclerosis, jp. It sounds so much like it, in fact, that my guess is your doctors have already ruled it out for some reason. Have any of your doctors mentioned this possibility to you?
Best wishes.
Best wishes.
No, I don't recall taking any antibiotics in a very very long time. I'm usually not the sickly type. My dr just put me on Valium?? to see if that would help with the twitches, etc. I just took the first dose so we shall see. Not familiar with the medicine except that it is for nerves, according to the doc. Poor doc, I have only seen him twice and he knows me by name because i'm such a phenomenon so to speak, lol.
Thank you very much! I will definitely bring that up and have my dr check all those out. I don't drink coffee and I can't stand alcohol, so at least I know that isn't it. :)
Thanks again for your time
Jessica
Thanks again for your time
Jessica
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
I would suggest you get the blood levels of the following checked if they have not already been checked: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, vitamin B complex, or vitamins B1, B3, or B6 and Vitamin D. Generally deficiencies of any of the above can cause muscle twitching and spasms in localized or generalized areas of the body. Get your kidney function, parathyroid gland function and adrenal function tests done because these affect the electrolyte balance in the body. Stress, alcohol, caffeine and fatigue all cause similar symptoms. Hence if you take alcohol or coffee then cut this down. Sleep at regular hours and see if it helps. Certain sleep disorders and peripheral nerve disorders due to diabetes or hypothyroidism can also be the cause.
If alll are normal you will need MRI of knee joint.
Do discuss with your doctor. Take care!
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
I would suggest you get the blood levels of the following checked if they have not already been checked: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, vitamin B complex, or vitamins B1, B3, or B6 and Vitamin D. Generally deficiencies of any of the above can cause muscle twitching and spasms in localized or generalized areas of the body. Get your kidney function, parathyroid gland function and adrenal function tests done because these affect the electrolyte balance in the body. Stress, alcohol, caffeine and fatigue all cause similar symptoms. Hence if you take alcohol or coffee then cut this down. Sleep at regular hours and see if it helps. Certain sleep disorders and peripheral nerve disorders due to diabetes or hypothyroidism can also be the cause.
If alll are normal you will need MRI of knee joint.
Do discuss with your doctor. Take care!
Thank you so much for your help.
As far as what kind of tests, they did blood work to test for RA Factor, Iron levels, autoimmune disorder check, muscle disease check and there was also blood results for vitamin deficiency. All came back normal. They didn't check my thyroid aside from feeling my throat, but have been tested for it in the last year and it was normal.
I just feel like a phenomenon or something, lol. It is so humiliating when I am talking to someone and my jaw area twitches to the point where either my words all stutter or I can't talk at all for a second because I can't see to get words out.
I have not had any mri's, ct scans or anything of this nature. The only thing they have done is blood workups and an xray of my knees.
It's just frustrating, as I am writing this, my mouth is closed and still spazzing out. I forgot to mention these lightning bolt pains I get in my abdomen. They come without notice/warning and sometimes they hit so fast and so hard that I have actually fallen to the ground. My mom freaks when that happens, lol. It literally feels like someone is sticking a lighting bolt through my right side across my abdomen.
Anyway, thanks for all of the responses, I am not so much anxious about it as much as concerned that 3 different doctor's are puzzled and it continues to get worse.
As far as what kind of tests, they did blood work to test for RA Factor, Iron levels, autoimmune disorder check, muscle disease check and there was also blood results for vitamin deficiency. All came back normal. They didn't check my thyroid aside from feeling my throat, but have been tested for it in the last year and it was normal.
I just feel like a phenomenon or something, lol. It is so humiliating when I am talking to someone and my jaw area twitches to the point where either my words all stutter or I can't talk at all for a second because I can't see to get words out.
I have not had any mri's, ct scans or anything of this nature. The only thing they have done is blood workups and an xray of my knees.
It's just frustrating, as I am writing this, my mouth is closed and still spazzing out. I forgot to mention these lightning bolt pains I get in my abdomen. They come without notice/warning and sometimes they hit so fast and so hard that I have actually fallen to the ground. My mom freaks when that happens, lol. It literally feels like someone is sticking a lighting bolt through my right side across my abdomen.
Anyway, thanks for all of the responses, I am not so much anxious about it as much as concerned that 3 different doctor's are puzzled and it continues to get worse.
Have you had your thyroid levels tested? Low thyroid can cause knee and joint pain as well as nerve damage - and not all doctors realize that. Also, B vitamin deficiencies can cause nerve pain and damage, especially b-12 deficiency. You might want to supplement your diet with b-12 and b-complex.
It could be a deficit of vit d as was stated by pounce and I had similar symptoms
and had my vit d test and it was only 11 and I was put on a mega dose 1x a week
for 8 wks but I am sorry to say that it did not help the knees,hips and other areas
but it did help my breathing and cut down on some of my fatigue.Like you,there
were no definite sources for the pain found but possibilities.It seems that they have
given in and i did have a rheumatoid factor of 1 but my sister went on for 5 years
and finally she tested positive for Lupus and that was strange since she had had so many tests for that previously that had not been positive....they repeated the test
3 more times after and they all came back the same result.I hope you get an answer
because I know it is frustrating.
and had my vit d test and it was only 11 and I was put on a mega dose 1x a week
for 8 wks but I am sorry to say that it did not help the knees,hips and other areas
but it did help my breathing and cut down on some of my fatigue.Like you,there
were no definite sources for the pain found but possibilities.It seems that they have
given in and i did have a rheumatoid factor of 1 but my sister went on for 5 years
and finally she tested positive for Lupus and that was strange since she had had so many tests for that previously that had not been positive....they repeated the test
3 more times after and they all came back the same result.I hope you get an answer
because I know it is frustrating.
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Do you have issues swallowing or talking? Do you have any muscle weakness in addition to the twitching? Because you are young a lot of possibilities won't be considered by doctors. For instance, Lou Gehrig's disease (it's JUST an example, because what you're describing doesn't quite fit).
I would expect the doctor would want to do an EMG to see if your nerves are working properly. Nerve issues (PNS or CNS) can cause pain and muscle twitching. You didn't actually describe the tests you've already received. Did any of your doctor's order a CT or MRI?
Making sure you are wearing good, supportive shoes may help your knees (see a podiatrist to have inserts for your shoes, or sometimes high end shoes stores have people who can help). If not contraindicated by other meds or other conditions, NSAIDS may help reduce inflammation and pain in your knees.
Knee pain can also be related to patellar tendonitis, and considering how you've described it, there may be a correlation. Have you ever had a traumatic injury to your knees? Or did you play a lot of sports when you were younger? Particularly sports in which you jumped or ran a lot?
A vitamin D deficiency can cause bone and muscle pain. And vitamin D deficiences are commonly found with Calcium deficiencies. Clinical manifestations of hypocalcemia are twitches, spasms, parasethias in the fingers and toes. Anxiety is also extremely common with hypocalcemia.
Just to be sure, your doctor should check your serum levels for vitamin D and calcium. If either of those are decreased, they will have a better idea what to look for.
Good luck and keep us posted!