Diagnosis Unsolved | Rheumatologist

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Going After Lyme This Time

By swollenmystery On April 6, 2011 · Add Comment

Loss of sleep each night due to new symptoms: 7 out of 10. Pain and inflammation levels last month: 8 out of 10. Frustration with taking Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine for a year with no results: 10 out of 10. It’s been a year since finding a new rheumatologist. Last week was my latest 3 month appointment and I was dreading it. It’s been a month since I tapered completely off Prednisone and a few weeks after having a tongue biopsy due to ulcers I believe were side effects from the medications. While the biopsy results came back negative I closed the door on another dead end. Meanwhile, my symptoms grew worse. I started experiencing things I hadn’t felt during the entire time I’ve been stickered with inflammatory arthritis. Every night I began waking up every hour or two, finding my knees and my entire back in so much pain it was hard to roll over. Sleeping on my side wasn’t even an option anymore. Mild fevers each night and chills all day became the norm. Headaches behind my eyes, neck stiffness, flu-like aches all over, night sweats, constipation, muscle twitches, extreme fatigue, muscle weakness and jaw pain also became a regular occurrence. I was at a crossroads. I was about to set up an appointment with my primary care doctor but had an upcoming visit with the rheumatologist in only a week so it seemed logical to wait and see what he had to say. That same week, [...]

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Am I Asking My Doctor the Right Questions?

By swollenmystery On September 10, 2010 · 2 Comments

After making the trip to see my rheumatologist this week for a 3 month return visit, I kept asking myself whether I asked all the right questions. Maybe it’s because my doctor is 2 hours away and it’s more difficult to make a last minute appointment. Or it could be that I tend to worry more than I should. Regardless of either, I choose to take autoimmune problems seriously. Especially when it comes to medicine. Over the past few months my knee swelling has slightly elevated while the pain has not. I went to my last appointment thinking overall my inflammatory arthritis has improved. But has it? My legs feel stronger. I can literally see more muscle growth in my upper legs and my workouts have progressed. But the flare ups continue with significant effusions above both knees. At the same time I continue to taper my dosage of Prednisone 1mg each month. While talking with my doctor, he mentioned the possibility that my inflammatory spondyloarthropy may still progress and if the current medicines do not work he will consider stronger methods like TNF blockers. I fear biologics like the plague. And I’ll admit, I’m pretty skeptical of any medicine when there may be potentially harmful, long term side effects. Since I still have no hard evidence of exactly what my condition is yet, it’s difficult to feel like I’ve made much progress in finding a correct diagnosis. Furthermore, each time I visit my rheumatologist I wonder whether [...]

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Healthy Returns

By swollenmystery On July 15, 2010 · Add Comment

It’s been awhile since the last post. Because it’s summer? Because I’ve been out of town almost every weekend for the past few months? Or maybe I’m just tired. Excuses aside, there is one big reason. My recurring knee inflammation has improved significantly. Sure they do still swell up from time to time, but I’ve finally found some relief. Last week I finally finished 6 months of physical and aqua therapy with the reassurance that I’ve gained strength in my legs for every test. I couldn’t be more excited. While I still can’t run or fully flex my legs (sitting on the floor cross-legged is completely out of the question), I can move around more freely, get outside and wash the car, walk up and down stairs normally, and though it may sound crazy, get up out of a chair or off the sofa without using my arms. Indeed, it has been a tough journey getting to this point. I feel much more energy and have gained a few much need pounds again. My rheumatologist in Iowa City has been extremely helpful, courteous and caring. While I continue my search for a complete diagnosis, all the docs will say at this point is “inflammatory arthritis”. Could it be early signs of ankylosing spondylitis or something more serious? It’s possible. At least I now know that with a little help from some medication with less side effects I can exercise enough to gain some strength once again. For now [...]

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Time to Get Rid of These Melons!

By swollenmystery On March 29, 2010 · 2 Comments

For the longest time I’ve had so much fluid on top of each of my knees it felt like I was storing large melons under my skin. Nothing had been working so I decided to search out a new physician. Last weekend I had the chance to meet with a rheumatologist at the University of Iowa clinics. Armored with a stack of medical records and labs an inch thick, complete spreadsheet of my medical history, daily log of every food I’ve consumed, daily pain and inflammation notes for the past 8 months, and a few x-rays and MRI results, my wife and I set off on a new journey to find some answers. I can’t thank my loving wife enough for organizing all my records and documenting so diligently. To my surprise we had a great experience with the specialists at the University of Iowa. Both our resident and rhuematologist took special care to study my records and history beforehand and genuinely took an interest in my puzzling case. They spent 3 hours with us, testing, asking questions and analyzing fluid from my knees during the visit. Over the next several months I will be trying a few new prescriptions (sulfasalazine, low-dose predinsone, hydroxychloroquine), thankfully with less severe side effects to see if my swelling will subside. After draining the fluid from my effusions, the docs gave me a cortisone injection in both knees. Needless to say they’ve felt so much better ever since. My right knee is [...]

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Septic Arthritis or Reactive Arthritis?

By swollenmystery On March 5, 2010 · Add Comment

After a recent blood test to rule out Lyme disease and heavy metal toxicity, I asked my family doctor about bacteria and whether it could be a cause of my chronic knee inflammation. He did a few blood tests and I did test high for Strep B. Since I’m on hold for a few weeks to see a new rheumatologist I decided to do a little googling to see whether there is any correlation. To my surprise, septic arthritis has the exact same symptoms I’ve had for the past 2 years! According to Mayo Clinic’s definition of Septic Arthritis, germs infiltrate your joint — usually just one — and damage it, causing severe pain. Bacteria most commonly target your knee, though other joints can be affected. This sounds a lot like my condition, which is almost exclusively located in my knees. The symptoms for septic arthritis include fever, shaking chills, pain when bending the joint, swelling and warmth of the affected joint. Last spring I went through several weeks with a low grade fever and chills almost nightly. I no longer have the fevers or chills but the pain and swelling has remained. Furthermore, septic arthritis can be caused by bacteria, including strep bacteria, which starts with an infection somewhere else in the body and eventually works it’s way into and attacking the joint. More than just a few pieces of this puzzle fit together. The only thing I’m not sure about is that both my knees [...]

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About Me

I'm a freelance web designer with a background in graphic design. I'm also a part-time nutrition student. When I'm not creating or designing, I'm studying nutrition. When I'm not doing either of those I'm usually eating or talking about food. I've been interested in health and fitness for a long time but it wasn't until I became seriously ill with a mysterious chronic autoimmune condition in my early 30s that I realized how intricate and complex the human body is.

Along my journey to healing from chronic illness and Lyme disease, I discovered that eating healthier has improved my life the most. This blog is not just a journal of my progress but is also intended to help anyone that might be suffering from an autoimmune illness. My goal is to learn how to support the body's natural healing process holistically so that it has the resources to fight off illness the way it was designed. As I learn more every day, I write about my journey here at Diagnosis Unsolved. Read more about how all this started and my story here.
-Brad Linberg-
Now Reading
Planned books:
- The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food by Kaayla T. Daniel
- Recipes for Repair: A Lyme Disease Cookbook by Gail Piazza, Laura Piazza
Current books:
- Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price
- Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin
- The Salt/C Plus Protocol for Lyme Infection by M. Fett
- Seamus Mullen’s Hero Food: How Cooking with Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better by Seamus Mullen
- The Candida Cure: Yeast, Fungus by Ann Boroch
Recent books:
- The World’s Healthiest Foods, Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating by George Mateljan
- Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dict by Sally Fallon, Mary Enig
- Accidental Cure: Extraordinary Medicine for Extraordinary Patients by Simon Yu
- Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic by Pamela Weintraub
- The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments: Defeat Lyme Disease with the Best of Conventional and Alternativ by Bryan Rosner
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Going After Lyme This Time

Am I Asking My Doctor the Right Questions?

Healthy Returns

Time to Get Rid of These Melons!

Septic Arthritis or Reactive Arthritis?

Categories

Archives

Good Sites about Health, Lyme and Living

About Me

Now Reading

Planned books:

Current books:

Recent books:

Lime Disease – Story of Recovery

Going After Lyme This Time

Am I Asking My Doctor the Right Questions?

Healthy Returns

Time to Get Rid of These Melons!

Septic Arthritis or Reactive Arthritis?

Tags

Categories

Archives

Good Sites about Health, Lyme and Living

About Me

Now Reading

Planned books:

Current books:

Recent books:

Lime Disease – Story of Recovery