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Both my left elbow and right knee have developed "pressure points" and resting on my elbow or kneeling a certain way results in nervy "electric shocks" (like hitting your funny bone) and several second of excruciating, burning and rather horrid pain.
I am quite flexible and bending or extending these joints is fine; it just happens when I put pressure on them in a certain way. So I don't, LOL. But it is a nuisance.
I'm 55, female, post-meno, and as far as I know in excellent health. Thin and pretty fit. I have an annual physical scheduled for late June and will ask my doc about this but in the meantime does this ring any bells? Is this common as we age and our skin gets thinner and fat pads diminish, or something?
Just a guess but if you went to a neurologist they would probably say Fibromyalgia and it might be that. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia several yrs ago with similiar symptoms but I also started having seizure/black outs so I knew their was more to it. After many, many dr's that don't have a clue or care I did my own research and it sounded like Lyme disease. I got tested and it was positive. That does not mean you have it but do some research online and see if you have any of the other symptoms. Do you remember having any type of rash in the past few months? I had Lyme 3 yrs w/o treatment and then from that got Fibromyalgia. I have everything you descibed and about 30 more so maybe just look into it. Good luck, hope you feel better soon.
Just a guess but if you went to a neurologist they would probably say Fibromyalgia and it might be that. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia several yrs ago with similiar symptoms but I also started having seizure/black outs so I knew their was more to it. After many, many dr's that don't have a clue or care I did my own research and it sounded like Lyme disease. I got tested and it was positive. That does not mean you have it but do some research online and see if you have any of the other symptoms. Do you remember having any type of rash in the past few months? I had Lyme 3 yrs w/o treatment and then from that got Fibromyalgia. I have everything you descibed and about 30 more so maybe just look into it. Good luck, hope you feel better soon.
Interesting!
I read up on fibromyalgia and wondered if this could be it...which would really suck, actually. I am bipolar/depressive and have been treated for both since the 1980s and I know the two are associated.
No rash. I have been seriously and robustly healthy my entire life, I barely even get colds.
It is so far not a big deal except for the pressure thing....put pressure on a joint just the right (or wrong) way and I just about faint from the pain for 30-60 seconds, it burns horribly. And this is a fairly new thing.
I am now going to Dr Google Lyme disease, thanks to you LOL. I am sorry you're dealing with this; my ex had rheumatoid arthritis and was initially tested for Lyme disease and I know it can be very painful and debilitating.
Yes, I was told Bipolar/depression can trigger FMS or trauma or infection. It can be managed if you have a good dr but for me thats been the biggest challenge. Usually they test for everything else to rule out other things. In my case, I had an arrogant neuro. that didn't want to do anything and just said FMS. So it took a long type to figure out Lyme and it did a lot of damage. It could be arthritis pain because I know that can be very painful. Just don't let them guess, put you on all kinds of drugs and make you come back every other day. Some of them will do this. I guess you can tell I'm not thrilled with dr's at this point. As far as the Lyme, I was just wondering if you saw a rash but 50% of people that have it don't see the rash. Also, the tests sometimes give false negatives and false positives so it's not easy to diagnose unless you are seeing a dr that treats people frequently with Lyme. Just my suggestion but I would do some research of your symptoms and write down the couple things that match. Ask a dr you trust to test and also what do they think it could be? You might just need something for imflammation. Also look up neuropathy.
Wait. I recently got an itchy bumpy rash on one elbow, I thought it was a cluster of mosquito bites, since they're just starting to re-emerge.
Some sort of peripheral neuropathy. Electric shock followed by intense burning pain, both elbows if I lean on them "just wrong" and my right knee, if ditto. It's definitely nerve pain, not arthritis. I'm petty sure, anyway.
Otherwise I feel 100 percent fine, so I'll just wait until my physical. Maybe I'll put myself on ibuprofen for a week to see it reducing inflammation makes a difference.
Rapture, thanks so much! I'm sort of the opposite of a hypochrondiac usually and tend to an "ignore it and it will go away" approach to minor things, but I suppose I should start being a bit more attentive to my health at this point.
I have Fibromyalgia and there is a more widespread pain. There are 18 pressure/trigger/tender points and you have to have 11 of these in order to be dx with FM. I think this is strange because I can have any or all of these at a given time and none at another.
I would venture to say that more people have FM than are dx with it. Here is a link:
I have chronic "tennis elbow" which is similar to what the OP describes in many ways. One doc told me I had a congenital incomplete closure of the bone covering the nerve running on the outside of the elbow. When I lean on the point of my elbows, I get a stabbing pain running down to my hands, like an electric shock and my hands get numb and weak.
When I moved and overdid it painting the new house, I had terrible pains in both arms as I switched hands when one got bad. Since then, I've been told I have a chronic enlargement of the tissues at that spot so I have to be very careful what I do.
Pikantari, I don't have fibro, of that I am sure. No tiredness, no overall pain and the pressure points don't match up. I think it's irritated nerves, one way or another...I have a friend with diabetic neuropathy and she agreed that trying anti-inflammatories might help. Although I certainly don't want to take them all the time. The pain is only if I rest my elbows on a hard surface or kneel on my right knee...as long as I do neither I'm fine. But I am mildly concerned that this might get worse and become a problem.
Southern, there ya go...I am a painting contractor of 35 years and have had "tennis elbow" mildly for over 20 years. Not surprisingly, given all these years of repetitive and overhead motion. I have found that getting professional massages help enormously for the numbness and tingling; have you ever tried that?
Not for my arms. I like massages, when I can afford one, for my back (couple of spinal fusions).
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But I am mildly concerned that this might get worse and become a problem.
