Post by StephDRebel on Nov 28, 2018 3:12:52 GMT
I'm calling on y'all because if I'm being real I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of the brilliant women here had more answers than the long line of doctors and specialists that we've been working with.
The patient is my DH- 49 y/o male who has always worked in the auto industry (could be relevant or not, he started as a mechanic so there has been exposed to chemicals/tires/etc) He has no family medical history and no drug use although I've tried to get him to smoke a joint to see if it helps and he's refused. (Hey, I'm practically a doctor some days) Generally healthy with spells of severe W.T.F. throughout his life and intensifying 4 years ago and much more severely in the last 60 days.
A few years ago we noticed that he had a ton of joint pain and some bumps on his fingers. They said they were likely calcium deposits building up, diagnosed with arthritis, and during that time he had a lengthy battle with kidney stone after kidney stone (continuously for probably 18 months) At one point he could barely walk and he ended up taking 6 months off of work just to get to a point of functioning on some level. At the worst, it took him 45 minutes to hobble to the bathroom from our bed, pee, and then come back to bed. It seemed to clear up as fast as it started. He struggled hard for a few weeks and then he got almost better.
3-4 times throughout the past couple of years he's had a red spot on his leg that spreads rapidly, burns to the touch, and feels like fire to him. It usually starts on the top of one foot and goes up past the knee and then clears up after prednisone and antibiotics. Again, it comes and goes.
2 years ago we were worried he had a stroke as the left side of his face was drooping. They diagnosed bells palsy and eventually it got better, but not completely. Recently he's got severe facial paralysis on that same side and it doesn't seem to be improving at all.
During the time when he was flaring up (for lack of a better term) hard, he went through times when his glands would appear to be so swollen that you could actually see it around his neck, his shirts would get super tight. It happened once in the doctors' office and by the time they got him to MRI it was back to completely normal.
He had been complaining about his vision getting worse with age and I made him go to the ophthalmologist. They referred him to a neurological ophthalmologist and they discovered that the left 25% of his vision is completely blacked out.
Most recently, he is exhausted and his joints are super sore. He's walking like an old man and can't seem to stay warm. He's always been super hot, but has been using heated seats, turning the steering wheel on, using gloves, a warmed bed, warmed towels, using the bedroom fireplace, etc. He's just cold.
He gets mild headaches daily, and has some memory loss (had to start carrying a notebook at work) and it seems like he's struggling with his hearing some too.
The worst recently is that he lost his sense of taste and smell for a few days, it's come back but it's bad. For a long time he said that things smelled of burnt hair, or like it had gone rancid. There have been days when he says things smell really bitter or like vinegar.
He's struggling to find something that he can eat that doesn't make him wretch and he's losing weight.
Right now the only things he's been able to stomach are falafel, pita, plain baked potatoes, spicy ramen/pho, and a vinegar dressed pasta salad. He can do iceberg, but tomatoes, apples, bananas, and leafy greens and veggies are awful. Coffee is horribly offensive and sometimes the tastes/smells change by the day.
In the last 30 days they've done a MRI above the shoulders that ruled out a brain tumor or lesions on the brain and they've ordered one from the waist up with one of the strongest levels in the country. He had dental work/testing to rule out an infection, and they've done just about every bit of bloodwork they can even think to order and everything is coming back in the normal range.
He has tested low in testosterone, and his ANI goes up and down. Blood cell counts are normal. Blood pressure was elevated but has been managed easily with medication. They've got him on an antidepressant and topomax currently.
Hit me with your best shot?
I promise, nothing you think of will be scarier than not knowing wtf is going on and how bad it is. He's ready for any answers, as long as they're answers.
Edited to add things I forgot: He's practically numb on the same half of his body. The doctor took a safety pin and jabbed it into his skin at multiple points across his body, face, and neck. He winced and jumped on thes good parts and it's almost perfectly down the middle that he couldn't feel it at all. His balance and perception are off, he kept fussing at the dog for walking right in front of him and laying down (when the dog hadn't moved and couldn't really aim for him if he tried...the dog has no eyes)
The patient is my DH- 49 y/o male who has always worked in the auto industry (could be relevant or not, he started as a mechanic so there has been exposed to chemicals/tires/etc) He has no family medical history and no drug use although I've tried to get him to smoke a joint to see if it helps and he's refused. (Hey, I'm practically a doctor some days) Generally healthy with spells of severe W.T.F. throughout his life and intensifying 4 years ago and much more severely in the last 60 days.
A few years ago we noticed that he had a ton of joint pain and some bumps on his fingers. They said they were likely calcium deposits building up, diagnosed with arthritis, and during that time he had a lengthy battle with kidney stone after kidney stone (continuously for probably 18 months) At one point he could barely walk and he ended up taking 6 months off of work just to get to a point of functioning on some level. At the worst, it took him 45 minutes to hobble to the bathroom from our bed, pee, and then come back to bed. It seemed to clear up as fast as it started. He struggled hard for a few weeks and then he got almost better.
3-4 times throughout the past couple of years he's had a red spot on his leg that spreads rapidly, burns to the touch, and feels like fire to him. It usually starts on the top of one foot and goes up past the knee and then clears up after prednisone and antibiotics. Again, it comes and goes.
2 years ago we were worried he had a stroke as the left side of his face was drooping. They diagnosed bells palsy and eventually it got better, but not completely. Recently he's got severe facial paralysis on that same side and it doesn't seem to be improving at all.
During the time when he was flaring up (for lack of a better term) hard, he went through times when his glands would appear to be so swollen that you could actually see it around his neck, his shirts would get super tight. It happened once in the doctors' office and by the time they got him to MRI it was back to completely normal.
He had been complaining about his vision getting worse with age and I made him go to the ophthalmologist. They referred him to a neurological ophthalmologist and they discovered that the left 25% of his vision is completely blacked out.
Most recently, he is exhausted and his joints are super sore. He's walking like an old man and can't seem to stay warm. He's always been super hot, but has been using heated seats, turning the steering wheel on, using gloves, a warmed bed, warmed towels, using the bedroom fireplace, etc. He's just cold.
He gets mild headaches daily, and has some memory loss (had to start carrying a notebook at work) and it seems like he's struggling with his hearing some too.
The worst recently is that he lost his sense of taste and smell for a few days, it's come back but it's bad. For a long time he said that things smelled of burnt hair, or like it had gone rancid. There have been days when he says things smell really bitter or like vinegar.
He's struggling to find something that he can eat that doesn't make him wretch and he's losing weight.
Right now the only things he's been able to stomach are falafel, pita, plain baked potatoes, spicy ramen/pho, and a vinegar dressed pasta salad. He can do iceberg, but tomatoes, apples, bananas, and leafy greens and veggies are awful. Coffee is horribly offensive and sometimes the tastes/smells change by the day.
In the last 30 days they've done a MRI above the shoulders that ruled out a brain tumor or lesions on the brain and they've ordered one from the waist up with one of the strongest levels in the country. He had dental work/testing to rule out an infection, and they've done just about every bit of bloodwork they can even think to order and everything is coming back in the normal range.
He has tested low in testosterone, and his ANI goes up and down. Blood cell counts are normal. Blood pressure was elevated but has been managed easily with medication. They've got him on an antidepressant and topomax currently.
Hit me with your best shot?
I promise, nothing you think of will be scarier than not knowing wtf is going on and how bad it is. He's ready for any answers, as long as they're answers.
Edited to add things I forgot: He's practically numb on the same half of his body. The doctor took a safety pin and jabbed it into his skin at multiple points across his body, face, and neck. He winced and jumped on thes good parts and it's almost perfectly down the middle that he couldn't feel it at all. His balance and perception are off, he kept fussing at the dog for walking right in front of him and laying down (when the dog hadn't moved and couldn't really aim for him if he tried...the dog has no eyes)
