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Any ideas

Posted , 9 users are following.

george82764
george82764

Hi all,

i woke uo uo this morning and the left side of my face is extremely sore, jaw, teeth and eye. Anyone experienced this with polymialgia. Thanks

1 like, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • tina-uk_cwall
    tina-uk_cwall george82764

    Posted

    Hi George, yes I did, but only for 1 day and it was my right side. I suffer very badly from cold sores and sometimes for about 2 days before 1 erupts I get a very 'nervey' feelings on the side of the face were it will come up. However, on this occasion no cold sore came and as I said the pain was gone by the following morning. However, stay vigilant for the jaw pain when eating, headaches, something different with your vision, and in such a case get yourself to the drs Asap. Since I developed PMR I've experienced all sorts of pains that give me the hibbygibbies, most have resolved, but this condition really makes you aware of every inch of your body. If you're unhappy get to your GP. All the best christina 
    • george82764
      george82764 tina-uk_cwall

      Posted

      Thanks Christina, I'm phoning the doctor now for an emergency appt today, it's too sore and I have a referral from optician to hospital for the same eye that hurts. Thanks again.
  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey george82764

    Posted

    George, good advice from Christina to get yourself checked out asap.  You might simply have been in a draught which has caused some neuralgia-type pain, but when suffering from PMR we have to be alert to the possibility of succumbing to it's linked condition, GCA, which needs immediate intervention with high dose steroids to get the inflammation under control in order to protect our eyesight.

    The jaw pain in GCA is usually only experienced whilst chewing, rather than at other times, so hopefully this isn't what is causing your soreness in that area.  However, any eye problems should be investigated immediately as there can be a number of possible causes.

    Good luck and do let us know how you get on. 

    • george82764
      george82764 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Thank you Mrs O,

      just back lack from doctor got amoxicillin as she thinks it is because I have a cold. Must say I a still a bit dubious as I have never had. Cold that has hurt my jaw, teeth and eye on one side of my face. However, she's the expert.

    • EileenH
      EileenH george82764

      Posted

      Expert eh? Giving antibiotics when she thinks and tells you that you have a COLD - which is a viral infection and abx do nothing against viruses?

      Why did the optician send you to hospital for the eye?

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey george82764

      Posted

      George, "expert" or not, as Eileen has said, antibiotics are not generally given out for a cold!  I doubt, therefore, that she is even aware of the PMR-linked condition, GCA - sadly, it wouldn't be the first time!  You would think that at the very least, if you are someone who had raised inflammatory markers at diagnosis, she would have requested an urgent blood test (ESR and CRP).  George, can you get to a good optician today, explaining that you are on steroids for PMR and are at risk of GCA (also known as Temporal Arteritis) and ask them to check the back of your eye for anything untoward?

      I hinted at the possibility of neuralgia in my previous reply - can you describe the pain, for instance is it a stabbing-type pain or a continuous ache?

    • george82764
      george82764 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eileen,

      thanks for coming back, the optician says I have a distortion in my left eye ( the side that hurts). If I close my right eye I can see a black circle in my field of vision through my left eye.

      funilly enough I just got a letter from the hospital about the eye appt, twelve week wait !

    • EileenH
      EileenH george82764

      Posted

      Ask your optician if they feel that is acceptable? My optician in Scotland would have told me what sort of time scale he wanted me seen - and anything that might be GCA had a letter written and pressed in the patient's hand with a phone call to the eye department at the local hospital before they were sent straight there. 

      And frankly - despite winter pressures and A&E waits and whatever, if it gets worse, I know where I'd be going. It wouldn't be back to a GP who hands out amoxicillin for a cold...

    • george82764
      george82764 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eileen, I'm in Scotland too, I will phone them and ask them. Thanks.
    • EileenH
      EileenH george82764

      Posted

      My daughter lives in Rosyth. Works in the neonatal unit at the Vic!

      My optician is (was?) in Blairgowrie. I used to return to him when I lived in the north of England and for a while since I lived here. In Scotland I think they are more empowered than in England so they are a good port of call in GCA queries.  

  • Susanne_M_UK
    Susanne_M_UK george82764

    Posted

    George, I would ask for a blood test to see if your ESR/CRP markers are up. My GP didn't link my various symptoms to GCA until I finally had a blood test and it showed they were sky high.

    Hopefully it's not GCA, but it should not be dismissed as "just a cold".

    • EileenH
      EileenH Susanne_M_UK

      Posted

      Never mind even that aspect - there is a massive campaign on-going to persuade us, the patient, not to demand antibiotics for colds and flu. That is what is leading to resistance to antibiotics of large numbers of bacteria. If the blasted GPs can't get it right - how can they expect us to! She's paid a lot of money to know better.

      It's yet another: if I  know that - why doesn't she? 

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