Different Joint Pain

[Albert122786]

This all started about one year ago...I had gone hiking a couple days before I noticed what I thought was the bullseye rash of a tick bite.  On this same day I also attempted to pickup a large television with a couple friends.  The first pain came about 3 days later in my left shoulder.  I had trouble lifting it above my head, so I figured it was a problem with my back or rotator cuff from lifting the tv.  Once I saw the rash I immediately went to the doctor, where he told me I had a rotator cuff problem, and an allergic reaction, so he gave me a prescription for steroids.  He told me he did not think I had lyme disease, so I left it at that.  I did not bother filling the prescription.  A couple days later new pain started to form in my elbows (hard time bending them), wrists (constant but tolerable pain in the joint), and in my right shoulder (same as my left).  Eventually, all the pain went away and I thought nothing more of it.  Over the past year I have gotten recurring pain in my left shoulder, a swollen left wrist ( a couple times), groin pain, and most recently a swollen left ankle, and a swollen left knee.  With all of these the pain subsides over a couple days and I feel normal for a couple weeks.  Right now the left knee is still a bit swollen but does not hurt anymore, my left shoulder pain has come back, and my middle and ring fingers in my left hand have pain where they meet the hand.  Could this be lyme disease, a pinched nerve somewhere in my back from lifting the television, or something entirely different?

[aldunn72023]

I had a close friend who had these same symptoms and was ate up with lyme disease.  By the time he finally got to the hospital, it was so bad that they had to do surgery and scrape his knee caps, because the lyme disease had built up so bad.  They were not sure he was going to make it.

My advice to you, either get back to your doctor or get to an emergency room.  DEMAND to be tested for lyme disease and rocky mountain spotted tick fever.  Please do not accept the allergic reaction diagnosis.  And the only way to diagnose a rotator cuff problem is by CT or MRI because it does not show up on an Xray.  Please go back and see your doctor.  This is nothing to mess around with.

[thyroidian]

Albert you need some blood testing here, firstly for lyme, and rocky mountain.

Then also some rheumatiod factor, and full bone profile, and a ESR to check for inflammation in the body.

Good luck
Nicola

[jcantu831]

There is 2 options based on the description of your rash it clearly sounds like Lyme dz, you might also ask your physician about rocky mountain spotted fever which is also very painful and cause by the same Ioxides Tick