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Undiagnosed Chronic Pain
I was wondering if anyone could help me with this.
My Husband is now 28 years old and suffers from chronic pain in his left knee and hip. The pain started in February of 2007 and quickly became so bad he needs a cane to walk. He has weakness in his leg and it sometimes "gives out". He also will experience a pins and needles like tingling and a feeling like his leg is falling asleep while he walks if he's not taking his medication (Tramadol)
He's tried a variety of pills (a couple different steroids and NSAIDS, Cymbalta, Vicodin and Lyrica) The medications generally have no effect, except for the Lyrica and Vicodin. With those two the side effects are to much for him to deal with at his job. He's also been to physical therapy with no change except for some strengthening of the leg.
As far as Doctors go we've seen several. So far we've been to Two Neurologist, an Orthopedist, a Neurosurgeon, a Rhuemetologist, Podiatrist and a Doctor at John Hopkins' pain management center. None of them have given us any answers. We also tries herbal remedies and acupuncture, neither of which had any lasting effect on his pain (he would feel better for a day)
As far as tests go he's had a multitude of blood tests ruling out Lyme disease, drugs, hemochromitosis and lead poisoning among other things I can't remember. He had a five hour glucose tolerance test that did show he was mildly hypoglycemic. He's had an EMG which gave the doctors reason to look at his lower back. He had MRI's done of his lower back, knee, and hip that all revealed nothing. He had another EMG done a year and a half after the first and it showed no change. He's also had a full body bone scan which only revealed a small amount of arthritis in his other leg (his good knee).
It is definitely exacerbated by cold and humidity, and a heating pad relieves some pain. Walking, standing, and sitting all increase pain. It seems that only laying down or sitting on the bed with his legs straightened gives him any comfort.
We would be extremely grateful for any leads. Thanks!
My Husband is now 28 years old and suffers from chronic pain in his left knee and hip. The pain started in February of 2007 and quickly became so bad he needs a cane to walk. He has weakness in his leg and it sometimes "gives out". He also will experience a pins and needles like tingling and a feeling like his leg is falling asleep while he walks if he's not taking his medication (Tramadol)
He's tried a variety of pills (a couple different steroids and NSAIDS, Cymbalta, Vicodin and Lyrica) The medications generally have no effect, except for the Lyrica and Vicodin. With those two the side effects are to much for him to deal with at his job. He's also been to physical therapy with no change except for some strengthening of the leg.
As far as Doctors go we've seen several. So far we've been to Two Neurologist, an Orthopedist, a Neurosurgeon, a Rhuemetologist, Podiatrist and a Doctor at John Hopkins' pain management center. None of them have given us any answers. We also tries herbal remedies and acupuncture, neither of which had any lasting effect on his pain (he would feel better for a day)
As far as tests go he's had a multitude of blood tests ruling out Lyme disease, drugs, hemochromitosis and lead poisoning among other things I can't remember. He had a five hour glucose tolerance test that did show he was mildly hypoglycemic. He's had an EMG which gave the doctors reason to look at his lower back. He had MRI's done of his lower back, knee, and hip that all revealed nothing. He had another EMG done a year and a half after the first and it showed no change. He's also had a full body bone scan which only revealed a small amount of arthritis in his other leg (his good knee).
It is definitely exacerbated by cold and humidity, and a heating pad relieves some pain. Walking, standing, and sitting all increase pain. It seems that only laying down or sitting on the bed with his legs straightened gives him any comfort.
We would be extremely grateful for any leads. Thanks!
Normally a Pain Management Dr can find something like that. I found MRI's don't show everything. I have back problems most of the way down my spine. My back hurts, but I have a lot of problems with my hips because of it. They found mine by putting dye in the discs in my back, which is what causes my hips to hurt so bad. I got shots in my hip on the right side because that one started and he thought it was the hip itself. The shot would travel down my leg, I could feel it burn. The dye worked to tell him where the pain came from because it would apply pressure on those discs making them hurt. He charted where the pain was from the dye, then they did a C scan, or one of those type of x ray things, to look at everything. The dye procedure is a disco gram. It is a tough test, but worth it. Then he gave me shots in my discs. I would check out another pain management dr. If you have a dr that you go to that is trust worthy, he is a good person to give you a name. You may have a physcian referral phone service that is a good resource. They can give you info concerning education, time in practice, etc. If that doesn't pan out, try a surgeon and tell him what the problem is. If he can't help he can most likely refer you to someone that can help you. It is my back that causes my hips to hurt because the alignment of my spine to not be straight. Usually you can go to the American Medical Association on line to check out the dr. ( if you are in the U.S ) Keep me posted. RJ
Hello,
Have you tried a Chiropractor? Sometimes the combination of the Chiropractor and a Massage Therapists can accomplish what traditional physicians miss. I was talking with my Massage Therapist this past weekend and was told about a recent patient that had run the gammit with doctors with simular pain to find out it was caused by the patient sleeping only on one side.
I've also utilized Tramadol (Ultram) for pain. I never experienced the medication to have any effect on numbness.
Good Luck
Have you tried a Chiropractor? Sometimes the combination of the Chiropractor and a Massage Therapists can accomplish what traditional physicians miss. I was talking with my Massage Therapist this past weekend and was told about a recent patient that had run the gammit with doctors with simular pain to find out it was caused by the patient sleeping only on one side.
I've also utilized Tramadol (Ultram) for pain. I never experienced the medication to have any effect on numbness.
Good Luck
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