I'm hoping someone can help me. I've been seeng doctors for 10 months. 41 years old... female, post c-section 3 yers ago. developed right arm & wrist/ nerve type pain 3 years ago and swollen glands for 3 years now, swelling in hands and feet. DX: CTS in 8/06. Never got better. Saw a hand surgeon. Had a new EMG in 9/08. EMG showed "juxta neural inflammatory process. CTS mild. Hand surgeon wouldn't operate b/c he wasn't convinved CTS was causing the pain. MRI of cervical spine 9/08, 4 disc bulges but not touching any nerves. Neurologist said it was probably a virus. Blood work: high titers for EBV, Herpes Simplex 6 and reubella. Gave me antiviral meds and sent me to pain management. Started rehab.... strength training for 5 months 3x per week. Never missed. Still go once a week for the past 3 months. Was sent to a rheumatoligist, nothing wrong. MRI of brain, 1 lesion of gliosis, not enough for it to be MS.
while doing strength training, my right lower back and leg started to hurt. nerve pain down the legto the foot. Got worse and worse. MRI showed some arthritis and a small disc bulge at L5-S1 to the right encroaching on the thecal sac. DX: right side radiculopathy. EMG of right leg. NCS was normal, but EMG showed right lumbar radiculopathy. No response at popliteal fossa. Had 2 epidurals and a facet injection. Mild short term relief with epidurals but not with facet injection. Doing home exercises faithfully... stretching, walking. Both aggravate pain in my leg but do it anyway. Pain in leg is now disabling, excruciating. Pain meds not working, Norco.... Pain Mgt dr sent me to a back surgeon (ortho). He reviewed MRI report before he would see me. Just got a call from his office. Said to see a neurologist.
Big circle, back at square one. Pain is getting worse. It's all the way down my leg in my right foot. Right now, pins and needles in my rright heel and pain down the back of my leg. Leg feels weak. Right arm still hurts.... wrist and fingers, elbow, fingers on right hand swell.
Negative for rheumatoid arhtritis, sarcoidosis, lupus, lyme's disease, all autoimmune diseases. Rheumatoligist said it was fibromyaglia but it Can't be fibromyalgia b/c there are findings on the tests and swelling. Have EBV but that wouldn't cause a disc bulge, touching the nerve.... would it? Can't find a dr to treat EBV. Called all the infectious disease dr's on my health ins. None of them treat EBV...... ?????
Going to a psychiatrist, 5 years now with the same one, but on and off for anxiety disorder and panic attacks. I'm not depressed ( well, now I am b/c of the pain but in general, I was fine before this. Work very hard to manage my anxiety. I rarely have panic attacks anymore. Lost my job for missing too much work, even though I had dr's notes. Used up all my FMLA time in a year, intermittent disability and got fired