Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesfan
Hi Mat52
Sorry to hear of the trials you're going through. Just a couple of quick suggestions (my computer's on a 'go slow' today so getting anything done is a hassle).
Firstly - did your RA originally start as a result of some other illness? eg my family has a strong tendency towards autoimmune; my father developed RA after getting Leptosporosis, my brother got RA after a bad bout of pneumonia. Could there be some other underlying undiagnosed condition that is contributing to this?
Re your Neuro review appt. Focus on what is important to you - both in imparting info to the doctor and getting your questions answered. Sometimes they don't want to commit themselves to specific treatment choices - especially if your symptoms are in remission on the day of your appt. Try asking them if it would be possible to get an urgent appt. during the middle of a flare. Also see if the nephrologist can forward a report to the neurologist before your appt. Her input could be important.
Is the pain in your mouth definitely TMD or could it be Trigeminal Neuralgia? - I've got both - fortunately both under control at present. It's good you're seeing the Maxillo Facial specialist as this is how I got my TMD sorted. They made a custom fitted jaw splint and gave me facial exercises to do - these have definitely helped and I feel are a better option than the $5000 surgery proposed by an orthodontist. TMD can be due to both a physical cause (changes to the jaw from RA are possible) and a psychological process -all the stress you've been through could be adding to it.
Hope this helps - please feel free to ask more questions.
|
This is really helpful thanks. I am very stressed out but I don't think this is causing my jaw/ mouth / nose problems because they are pretty much the same pain I have in my peripheries. I do think it's probably neuralgic rather than arthritic because I can open my mouth reasonable well and have no clicking or jaw locking but my muscles are swollen and my gums, lips and teeth all feel sort of tight and swollen and they sting. I can't really describe this pain apart from saying it feels the same as the pain in my feet age ankles. As if my mouth and nose are out of sync with the rest of my face somehow?
I don't think my ESR would be at 78 if all this mouth pain was stress deleted somehow. If it's a case of what came first the chicken or the egg then the nerve pain arrived over two years ago and I've never know how to deal with it.
Last time he suggested cymbalta and I had a very horrible experience with this latest drug, Imran. I Had my RA verified by a doctor last year so I'm really hoping it is all part of the unusual presentation of my RA and I will back to autoimmune diseases.
I did have swine flu and severe tummy problems pre RA some years ago. My mum and dad both died from heart related vascular disease so the mention of vasculitis did worrywart a lot,