brownsugarxxx02
New member
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on w/ me.
Approx. 4 months ago, I developed what felt like a sore throat-it was painful to swallow, tender to the touch, and my neck felt swollen. It was predominantly on my right side. I had no fevers. I went to see the doctor, who did an exam and said that my throat looked "great"-no redness or obvious signs of infection were noted. He did do a rapid strep test which was negative. I continued to have the same problem for about 2 weeks, and the pain and swelling would shift to the left side and up and down my neck. Today, the pain and minimal swelling are in the base of my neck and along both supraclavicular areas of my neck/shoulders. The swelling in the supraclavicular areas remind me of hot dogs-run from the top of shoulder to the clavicle, are about 1.5-2cm in width (that's just my estimate), protrude up slightly, but are not in the exact same spots on both sides of my neck. No doctor can seem to feel these areas, though-however, friends and co-workers do. The left side is more bothersome than the right most times. The left side will pulsate and is very painful w/out being touched/palpated. Sometimes, it feels as if the left side of my neck will explode.
I've had several CBCs done. All show an increase in total white blood cells (ranging from 10.8-13.5) and an increase in neutrophils (8.3-11.9). My platelets are also elevated (435-520). I have had c-reactive protein studies done; both tests were quite elevated (23.5 in June and now 35.4 last week). I am somewhat overweight, but the rheumatologist I've seen says that being overweight wouldn't elevate the levels that much. An ANA was normal. I have had a CT of the neck which showed some small, discrete lymph nodes that were enlarged, but nothing else. A bone scan revealed nothing. Thyroid tests indicated subclinical hypothryoidism earlier this year, but are now normal.
I was recently found to be iron deficient (Hemoglobin is around 12, but my iron saturation is 6%.) I am having severe fatigue, as in "I must sleep NOW", which I suppose makes sense b/c of the iron levels.
I have intense nerve pain, primarily in my arms, but sometimes in my legs and pelvis. I have started to notice some dropping issues, usually in my right arm (however, I am right handed and do most things w/ this arm). The dropping issues occur randomly, maybe 1-2 times a week, and usually during the day. The pain is usually in the evenings, but don't interfere w/ sleeping, yet.
About a month ago, I started breaking out in random hives w/ intense itching. They were only occuring on my extremities, but now are appearing on my torso. They will develop in clusters of 5-8 and will disappear as suddenly as they come after 1-2 hours. For example, a few will occur on my left thigh, and then 15 minutes later, some will develop on my right arm, etc. Taking zyrtec usually relieves the hives.
I really feel like a freak. The allergist that I've seen said that auto-immune disorders can cause the hives. Are these symptoms related or are they all just starting at about the same time and completely unrelated. The hematologist I've seen is very thorough, as is the allergist. The rheumatologist and ENT specialist both blew me off. I'm not one to shop for a diagnosis, but I KNOW something is wrong. I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to include everything, in the hope that someone has had a similar experience. Thanks in advance.
I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on w/ me.
Approx. 4 months ago, I developed what felt like a sore throat-it was painful to swallow, tender to the touch, and my neck felt swollen. It was predominantly on my right side. I had no fevers. I went to see the doctor, who did an exam and said that my throat looked "great"-no redness or obvious signs of infection were noted. He did do a rapid strep test which was negative. I continued to have the same problem for about 2 weeks, and the pain and swelling would shift to the left side and up and down my neck. Today, the pain and minimal swelling are in the base of my neck and along both supraclavicular areas of my neck/shoulders. The swelling in the supraclavicular areas remind me of hot dogs-run from the top of shoulder to the clavicle, are about 1.5-2cm in width (that's just my estimate), protrude up slightly, but are not in the exact same spots on both sides of my neck. No doctor can seem to feel these areas, though-however, friends and co-workers do. The left side is more bothersome than the right most times. The left side will pulsate and is very painful w/out being touched/palpated. Sometimes, it feels as if the left side of my neck will explode.
I've had several CBCs done. All show an increase in total white blood cells (ranging from 10.8-13.5) and an increase in neutrophils (8.3-11.9). My platelets are also elevated (435-520). I have had c-reactive protein studies done; both tests were quite elevated (23.5 in June and now 35.4 last week). I am somewhat overweight, but the rheumatologist I've seen says that being overweight wouldn't elevate the levels that much. An ANA was normal. I have had a CT of the neck which showed some small, discrete lymph nodes that were enlarged, but nothing else. A bone scan revealed nothing. Thyroid tests indicated subclinical hypothryoidism earlier this year, but are now normal.
I was recently found to be iron deficient (Hemoglobin is around 12, but my iron saturation is 6%.) I am having severe fatigue, as in "I must sleep NOW", which I suppose makes sense b/c of the iron levels.
I have intense nerve pain, primarily in my arms, but sometimes in my legs and pelvis. I have started to notice some dropping issues, usually in my right arm (however, I am right handed and do most things w/ this arm). The dropping issues occur randomly, maybe 1-2 times a week, and usually during the day. The pain is usually in the evenings, but don't interfere w/ sleeping, yet.
About a month ago, I started breaking out in random hives w/ intense itching. They were only occuring on my extremities, but now are appearing on my torso. They will develop in clusters of 5-8 and will disappear as suddenly as they come after 1-2 hours. For example, a few will occur on my left thigh, and then 15 minutes later, some will develop on my right arm, etc. Taking zyrtec usually relieves the hives.
I really feel like a freak. The allergist that I've seen said that auto-immune disorders can cause the hives. Are these symptoms related or are they all just starting at about the same time and completely unrelated. The hematologist I've seen is very thorough, as is the allergist. The rheumatologist and ENT specialist both blew me off. I'm not one to shop for a diagnosis, but I KNOW something is wrong. I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to include everything, in the hope that someone has had a similar experience. Thanks in advance.