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Q: Inflammatory disease ? ... joint and muscle pain , fever , i
asked by: DoctorQuestion on June 28th, 2007
Doctor Question
am a 26 year old female. I just had my second child three months ago via c-section which went perfectly, however since then my health has nosedived and nobody can pinpoint why. I have always been healthy, and not much runs in my family although my mother did have cervical cancer and my grandmother had breast cancer. here's whats happened: I've had constant itching- especially on my palms, horrible pain everywhere- my joints, muscles, sometimes it feels like in my bones, and my skin hurts, burns, all sorts of sensations. I've had a very low grade fever(mid 99's to 100) now constantly for two months. I am covered in bruises that don't make sense- I am not iron deficient. I get random searing pains throughout the day. my veins are incredibly prominent, and hurt, my skin no longer resembles my skin.it's covered in bruises, red patches, red dots, eczema- none of this is terribly severe looking to anybody but me. I know this is not what my skin looks like. a few of the red dots have oozed blood.my skin also always looks slightly sunburnt even though i haven't been out in the sun at all.I have a swollen spot( nothing dramatic but still unusual) on my foot right below my ankle. I've had dizzy spells. my muscles are exhausted. I get horrible muscle and abdominal cramps, my eyes hurt and are bloodshot. I have lost 6 pounds in the last week. i am 5'4 and went from 124 to 118. i've also had a sudden increase in my blood pressure . I've always run extremely low. last week it was 130/92. all bloodwork has come back normal- lymes, thyroid, rheumatoid, all kinds of viruses, and platelet count. I had a clean head MRI and neuro exam, and a clean chest x-ray. i no onger know where the real symptoms end and my stress over all of this is causing other ones to start- but the fever pain and bruising in particular scare me, and my doctor doesn't seem in any rush to send me anywhere( although I do have a rheumatology appt in 3 weeks). I apologize for the length of this, but i'm scared, angry and frustrated and any feedback would be much appreciated.


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DoctorAnswer replied on August 8th, 2007
Doctor Answer
Lupus Answer A3063
According to the symptoms you report (joint and muscle pain, fever, itching of the palms, skin bruises…) it is hard to suppose any cause without several diagnostic procedures. You could be experiencing some type of inflammatory disease. The nature of the inflammation could be infective or rheumatic.

Infective diseases are proven by isolating the infective agent or by proving specific antibodies in the blood. Non-infective inflammations are usually rheumatic and can include several conditions: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, polyarthritis etc. These diseases are identified according to their clinical manifestations, serological tests and additional diagnostic procedures (X-ray, CT, MRI, blood work, ultrasound etc.). Some malignant diseases (lymphomas and other) can also cause the same symptoms.

It seems that your GP has done everything in his power but it appears that your case needs expert help from a rheumatologist and an infectologist.




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