Become an Insider

TKR Red dots...Do I have an allergy to my TKR??

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wow Mimi, that's not good. I hope you get into Johns Hopkins ASAP. Will be thinking of you. Please keep us posted! :console2: :console2:

Dawn
 
My Dr. called and thinks this might be rheumatoid arthritis. I have had osteoarthritis for over 20 years. I have never had swelling of any joints. My RTKR swelled a lot but that was due to an infection and too much PT. Right now my joints feel great. I have no pain in my joints, no redness. The dots on my legs are burning but not near joints. I just have a hard time believing that it could be rheumatoid arthritis. My 640 ANA is what makes her think this. Now it is confusing as to what kind of specialist I should go to...a rheumatologist or a immunologist and dermatologist.

Has anyone had this problem with the red dots and larger patches of redness who had rheumatoid arthritis? :scratch:
 
I'm tagging Josephine so she can see your update and comment.
 
I don't know anything about the dots, but I do know the ANA could be a sign of any number of auto-immune conditions like RA. I would think a rheumatologist could be a good place to start.
 
I'd try all three and see what they each come up with.
 
Google rheumatoid arthritis rash, click on images, and compare notes.

What a maze it is to have a condition that's hard to diagnose within the context of a medical system that is, well, you know. I think rashes can be very hard to diagnose. I'd be also thinking about a real good internal medicine doc. Sometimes specialists really have a narrow range of knowledge, which I'm sure you already know.

Good that you are pushing for the answers.
 
That would be good news (kind of), wouldn't it? It may last up to 6 months and is treated with NSAIDs for comfort. The internet really can be great for sorting out medical stuff. It's empowering to patients although I know some docs say specifically, Don't go on the internet (!!) Without internet I wouldn't have found Bonesmart and gotten smart about my knee!

Anyhow, the workup tab on the emedicine article gives you an idea of what tests to expect. I believe some of these have been run. Hopefully this turns out to be nothing more than a scare.
 
Maryo, there is a saying in our family that my kids say,"Mom only gets the weird stuff that no one ever heard of.":gaah:
 
I've got a son like that!!!! I totally know the drill. The last year he's had something that looks like MS. Before that, a pediatric illness, hand foot and mouth disease (age 27). Before that, shingles at age 23. He's had malaria, plus a mystery illness that damaged his kidneys. First poison ivy, then mango, then bee sting allergy (needs epipen). Mystery illness at age 8, could barely walk while we were on a Caribbean vacation. I'm sure I'm forgetting 2-3 or three other things. Maybe someday "they" will figure out you medical mystery people but in the meantime it's quite a maze. I know how your kids feel.
 
Oh I hear you! When I was diagnosed with hyper parathyroidism, even the Endocrinologist Dr. said to me, " In 22 years of my medical practice, I have only seen 2 cases of this, and yours symptoms do not resemble any that the other 2 patients had. It took a lot of wild tests to finally get the diagnosis down. And I had suffered with my weird symptoms for 4 years. It took many months to get the diagnosis, and it was a rhematologist that found a tiny difference in my calcium levels to even question them. That started the path to a diagnosis.

Unfortunately, I have moved away from those Drs. and where I live now healthcare is really bad. I do have a good GP who is a good diagnostician. My dermatologist is 2 1/2 hours away and Hopkins will be 3 hours away.
 
Thanks to the Internet, I self-diagnosed primary hyperparathyroidism. I was getting horrible kidney stones, together with fast-decreasing bone density. I even told one of my doctors that "something is leaching the calcium out of my bones into my blood and that is giving me kidney stones" but he still didn't get it - fortunately, he was a locum, not my regular doctor, who is better than that.

So, after several tests, my diagnosis was confirmed, I had the rogue parathyroid gland removed and, lo-and- behold, no more kidney stones and an increased bone density.

My regular doctor knows I will always look everything up on the internet. He tells me, "I may as well give you all the information, because I know you're going to look it up anyway!"
 
Though it is important to go to reliable sites like Mayo and a few others.
 
Celle, at least you had "normal" symptoms of hyperparathyroidism. I didn't. My main symptom was what looked like little tiny peasized raised areas in my nails. My other symptom was total body bone pain. My calcium levels were only .2 tenths higher than normal. Only a great rhemutologist found it. Thank goodness cause I was feeling really bad. But it was a slow process over many years before a diagnosis. It was pre internet!!! I think I could have found it sooner with the internet! Oh an 2 months after I had the surgery and the parathyroid was removed, THEN I had a kidney stone attack!:sad:
 
Well, I have gotten very disgusted with the slow response from the specialist at Hopkins. Actually, they have not responded to my Dr. at all and they said that they would call back in 24 hours. That was last Wednesday. I can not get an appointment with the specialist. They have to talk to my Dr.

So I decided to call a rheumatologist that I had seen before. They were very helpful and responded to my needs. The receptionist said to send my blood tests that I had last week. When I told her what my ANA was she said, "I will have the DR. look at them and he will decide on an appointment." They were not making any appointments till November. I also emailed them the pictures I took of my legs.

Five minutes after I sent the blood tests and pictures, the phone rang! It was the Dr.'s office and she asked me if I could come in tomorrow! Yes I will be there!

I am so glad that I will finally get to a Dr. that can diagnose this mess. Each day I am getting very tired and have slept more this last week than I have in years.
I think I have figured out what is going on and will find out tomorrow. I really needed to see a Dr. cause my symptoms are getting worse and tonight I have burning red areas on my ankles and they are very swollen. Also I have had very itchy arms with hive like lumps. The Dr. will have plenty to see tomorrow!
 
Saw the Dr. today. He thinks that it is vasculitis caused by lupus. He did a lot more special blood tests and a DNA test, I will see him again in a week.
 
You are getting closer tos finding the answers you seek! I am interested to see how things go with your blood work and the diagnosis next week. Please keep us updated as to how things are going, how you are feeling, and what the Doc says!
 
Thanks, Tim. I started feeling very tired last week and I have slept more this last week than I have in years! Also my ankle turned blood red today (capillary leak) and swelled to twice its size. So I am icing and elevating and resting. He gave me prednisone to take till I see him next week.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Corganics CBD

Staff online

  • djklaugh
    djklaugh
    Staff member since December 30, 2020

Members online

Total: 2,634 (members: 3, guests: 2,631)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom