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intense burning pain

Posted , 4 users are following.

cumbrian_in_yorkshire
cumbrian_in_yorkshire

I am not sure if I have pmr or not but am in a bitof a fix. I am 54 and well over twelve months ago I got a problem with my left arm, the muscle at the top. You know when you do a Popeye type pose and show your muscles off? Well that' the bit that hurts. I found I was unable to extend my arm or use it really at all....couldn't reach to put something away in a kitchen cupboard or reach to close car pasenger door when I was sitting in car - all caused unbearable pain and almost made me vomit it was so bad. I had a bad back and slipped disc on and off for years from being around 20 years old - it ceased in my early forties but I always had a numb area on the outerpart of my right thigh and this would either be quite numb or itch like crazy....similar area on my back, just under right shoulder blade. Right...sorry to go on but I want you to know my symptoms as my GP has always put everything down to my disc problems and now I am not so sure. I have experienced great pain over the last four or five years on walking any great distance - for instance if shopping I would get a dull pain in my right hip area and know it was time to head home. I have always been able to cope with this but lately it has been rather worse, walking in Tesco or B & Q after driving there in the car with my husband - after about half an hour - bingo - pain and discomfort....but just about bearable until yesterday. We drove into Sheffield to do some quiet Sunday Christmas shopping and I almost collapsed. The pain started as usual in my right hip area but moved down onto the right outer thigh, it stayed above my knee on the outer edge and every time I tried to put my right foot down it was like an electric shock running up and down my thigh....burning hot and absolutely redugcing me to tears., literally. I felt so silly and had to be helped to walk by my husband to get to our car. We had been looking around in one department store only for about an hour but I couldn't take another step and had to come home. When I sat down at home it eased off completely. I also wake in the night with horrendous sweats and have been taking a tablet called Dixarit ( or Clonidine) 25mcg 3 twice daily fro over a year now - my GP prescribed this for menopausal sweats. It never works at night though it does help in the daytime. I also have a sort of toothache like pain during the night when I wake and this affects my hips and legs seeming to be worse on the side I have been lying on.It is no too bad though and I find if I adjust my position I can go to sleep again fairly easily. I also have complete numbness in my hands - sometimes only one hand sometimes both when I wake during the night and have to shake them to try and get the life back into them. Can be awkward to actually do anything with no feeling in them - try going to the loo without hands...a bit difficult! I work from home so I am very lucky in that area however I am today too afraid to go to the post office around the corner in case I get the pain and burning symptom I had yesterday...I don't know how I would get back home again. I feel frightened today - I don't want to be a burden to my husband who is five years younger than me and as fit as a flea and I want my life back. Does anyone identify with these symptoms? Please please email me on mary@net192.com or reply via this website if you think this sounds like pmr I am so depressed today I hardly know what to do. I have tried to make an appointment to see my GP today - no appointments this week so I asked for one in two weeks time when my husband is off work to take me - guess what? Its not possible to make an appointment two weeks in advance. I just got to keep trying I suppose on a daily basis and hope for a cancellation. Thanks in advance for taking the trouble to read this and apologies if I have gone on too long - but thanks anyway.One more thing - I cannot seem to take a bath anymore - it absolutely exhausts me and I used to love a long hot soak at the end of the day. If I take a bath I sweat and then have chills for about two to three hours afterwards and feel so bad I have to lie down. This has been the case for about eight weeks or so and I am having to take showeres instead which have no ill effects to date. Thanks again, MARY

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I think 'disc problems' is a understatement to say the least :? I dunno whether youve got polymyalgia rheumatica or prolapsed discs, but I do know youve gotta get that appointment,, dont the GPs have emergency appointments? Take one sad
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I do not know if you have PMR but many of your symptoms are simialr to ones I have had,(burning pain, numb hands, night and day sweats, pain at night in many joints, problems bathing, fatigue etc) and I did get a diagnosis of PMR. My symptoms also spread out over a long period of time just getting worse and worse until I really was crippled and in unbearable pain.(as opposed to the more frequent sudden onset type). I was luckier than you seeing my GP who did lots of tests, ruled out arthritis and RA and put me on VERY LONG waiting list to see a rheumatologist consultant. I paid to see one privately - cost £125 + £65 who diagnosed PMR and then worked with my GP to get more back up tests and prescribe the steriods that gave me back my life.(I did eventually see another consultant on the NHS but by then I had been on steroids for nearly 6 months. I am not sure I would have survuved those six months!). I know it really does depend on where you live what kind of service you get from the NHS but do persevere. If you have PMR you will suffer until you get the right treatment and it is so easy for Doctors to treat when they know what it is. Good luck!
  • gillb
    gillb

    Posted

    Poor you - I'm sure we can all sympathise with the pain - whether it is pmr or another cause - pain is not good.

    I can identify with the night /day sweats ( not associated with the menopause) and the difficulty to reach across the car with the pain, also the toothache type pain - although with me, that was after the inital pain had settled with the taking of steroids. Go for the quickest GP appointment you can get and get a taxi to the surgery if your husband can't get time of work to take you ( but be warned -some of the london cab type taxis are difficult to get into if you can't lift your legs or pull up due to shoulder pain!) Ask the GP to consider blood tests to check your ESR and CP factors - they will show if there is inflammation and are probably the initial indicator if it is PMR - but what ever - they should give you some form of pain relief. I know that once they had given me strong enough pain relief - then i could get some sleep - once I had some sleep then i could think a bit more clearly and ask for further investigation - eventually things do start to pick up again - but don't be shy in asking for help - if it is PMR then steroids will help considerably.

    By the way - I know it shouldn't be the case - but my husband taking me to the Gp seemed to signify to the GP that this should be taken seriously - so it is worth getting his help!

    Good luck - let us know how you get on. Gill

  • Janetta
    Janetta

    Posted

    All of that is good advice and it could be that you have a couple of things going at the same time. Nevertheless, Polymyalgia can easily be ruled out and you should insist (a) that you are in severe pain and need to see your GP ASAP and (b)that he tries you on Cortisone. The ESR tests are not necessarily conclusive but a couple of days on Cortisone can change everything! Even if you are able to get rid of some of the symptoms it will help with the rest. I've just re-entered the NHS system after being abroad and, thanks to having some medical knowledge, I have the confidence to go toe-to-toe with my GP. It seems that often is the only way to get treated with respect. Or take your husband - aargh!
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