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And I can attest to a filling being a nightmare.. especially Friday night after the dentist office closes and NO RELIEF until Monday at the earliest....
In the early 80s, I was in college during the summer. With a bunch of older nurses who were completing their bachelors so they could get their RNs.
I had gone to the dentist, and had a back tooth filled. That man cranked my mouth open so wide with gizmos and hammered on that tooth to get the filling in and by the time he was done, I had bruising on my face. Needless to say it was the last time I went to that man.
The next day the bruising was very visible. I looked like I’ve gotten socked in the jaw. And of course, I had class. So I went to class, not thinking anything about it. During break, a number of the nurses came up to me and exclaimed “you don’t have to take this anymore. We have places were you can go for safety.“
I was like what? Then I tried to explain that the dentist had done this, which of course, they didn’t believe me because, women often try to cover. It got worse when my boyfriend showed up, later my husband. As he walked me to the car, he asked me why are those women all looking at me weirdly and I told him what they suspected, that he was beating me up. So he opened the car door for me, I got in, he slammed the door shut and said “and wait till next time!” really loud!
I laughed as hard as I could.
The next class he picked me up with flowers. I think I managed to convince the nurses it was a bad dentist.
A friend of mine was about the same age 25 years ago when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, he would eventually end up in a wheel chair (15 years ago) but he could still walk with great difficulty around 7-8 years ago. Now there is no way he can walk and is in a full motorized chair, but thankfully he is an Air Force vet and the VA deemed his condition to have been aggravated by his service, which gives him a tax free, six figure yearly income as a 100% disabled veteran. He recently was given a 30K grant from the VA to customize a Chevy Tahoe that he can drive by hand (even though his hand strength is very weak, he still has enough strength to drive his Tahoe and his chair, which locks into place with the front seat removed.)
I'm more worried about my 64 year old brother. I know him well. The other person is way out on the fringes of my life.
My anthem for tonight performed by someone in the network.
Since 1987 medication was never discussed with me by my personal doctors or any Employee Health representative. For example I worked at a major hospital from 2003 to 2006. Every year I had to go to Employee health and complete a questionnaire about TB symptoms, because I tested positive. Thats it. No Chest x-ray required unless one reported TB symptoms.
If one does have TB it is reported to the County Health Department. You may have to be observed taking daily medications if you cannot be trusted to do it. You have to wear a mask, as you can infect others, among other precautions.
As I mentioned, guidelines have changed and it is recommended to take anti TB drugs now as a precaution so you don't get TB (If you have ever tested positive).
Wow, this is all news to me. I am an RN & have worked with other RNs who would test positive & it was always such a non-issue.
I haven't worked since 2006 to care for my disabled child. It must have changed since then?
I was always healthy and full of energy with relative few, if any, health issues, until a year ago. I am pushing 60, but can't retire yet financially, unfortunately. I quit a casual smoking habit over 20 years ago, and if anything, it has been dental issues I have had more than anything else. Until last year.
Last year I had a headache so horrific that I went to the hospital worried I was having a stroke ( I hate doctors and hospitals, and taking medications, but felt compelled to go). As it turned out, I wasn't having a stoke, but high blood pressure was diagnosed. It does run in my family. The medicine they prescribed gave me hives, and I just basically told myself that I would "handle" it naturally with a better diet and some exercise, and cut out my beloved salty foods and my nightly glass of wine (or two).
Well, I basically didn't stick to the "plan" and now suddenly my ageing and loss of vitality have hit me like someone draped a heavy wet coat over my shoulders. It's all I can do to get up and go to work, and then come home to rest each night. I have no "zest" for anything. I have gained 20 lbs. and I really don't think I overeat, but I do have a sedentary job. I realize that if I don't change my poor habits, I may not MAKE it to retirement.
I think for one thing, it's hard for me to accept my age, because I don't feel this old "mentally". This is probably true of a lot of people in my age bracket. But today I had to end my usual Saturday errands early because I was so fatigued and listless. Very unusual for me, and a wake-up call that I must make some changes, NOW. I guess they don't call high blood pressure the "silent killer" for nothing.
I know I have been blessed with good health so far. I have some physical problems but nothing that I am going to complain about here. However I do have one kind of story on a health issue that blindsided me recently.
I am retired and just turned 62. Months prior to my birthday I felt in the best shape of my life and my golf game was improving. Turned the corner from my carpal tunnel surgeries and my hands and upper body was beginning to really respond.
Then something happened and my shoulders were achy and stiff. I blamed it on my very old mattress since I felt as though I was sucked into it crunching my body. Then I went on a trip to South Korea to have dental implants started.
Throughout the 6 weeks I was gone my symptoms went wild. They went from my shoulders stiff to my hand which became numb. Then the other arm. Soon my knees were inflamed. The trouble is that the symptoms eased through the day. Walking would ease the pain I felt on the backs of my knees. The flight home was excruciating. Walking off the plane was painful. Bringing my bags up my stairs was impossible. I had no upper body strength it seemed though nothing outwardly physical was obvious. I couldn't sit on the floor because my body just felt so awkward. It was two weeks of visiting my PCP and then finally my VA PCP to diagnose my PMR or Polymyalgia Rheumatica.
I tell you this because I thought I had any number of things from Cancer to HIV. The morning pain became horrible. I had trouble getting dressed. Putting on socks hurt my hands and body so much. I had thought first a pinched nerve in my shoulder causing my hand to be numb. Then my other symptoms hit and I thought of Lyme disease.
PMR is fairly rare and usually hits women rather than men. It is estimated 50 people out of 100,000 come to this. It is only people of 50 years old or older. The treatment is really rough on women in particular since it is a steroid called Prednisone. Side effects lead towards diabetes and osteoperosis, but it is the only known treatment. It is as much a psychological condition as it is physical. The pain you feel is not a permanent disability. It is an autoimmune illness where it is the body attacking itself that is causing all of it.
So if anything the sooner you can diagnose it the quicker it goes away. It starts from the shoulders always. You get a mild fever and your shoulders ache like you have marbles in them. I hope that maybe my story can help someone else. Total time I had not knowing what what going on was about 3 months. One month of that became very unlivable. The key to the diagnosis outside of blood tests is the symptoms. The pain moves around. It isn't the same knee that hurts or throbs. Sometimes it is the wrist. It was just maddening. Oh the diagnosis came from the blood test that showed elevated white and lowered red blood cell counts.
Thank you for posting this. My mother had PMR and her experience was similar to yours in that it took a long time to get a proper diagnosis. She had concurrent pneumonia which complicated diagnosis as the doctors were looking for one blanket ailment causing both the PMR symptoms and the pneumonia symptoms. Finally she went to an infectious disease specialist who split the symptoms into individual components, ran the proper tests, including a SED rate (which was through the roof) and got to the bottom of the problem.
In many people, the PMR will abate after several years. That wasn't the case with my mother. Unfortunately, she was one of the rare ones who also developed Giant Cell Arteritis (aka Temporal Arteritis) in spite of correct treatment for the PMR. It does happen and cost her the vision in one eye. There is believed to be a connection between the two autoimmune disorders. So be especially suspicious if you suddenly develop terrible headaches or vision issues and check in with your doctor post haste.
I'm so sorry you had to go through such a long ordeal to get to a diagnosis. Best of luck to you and I hope you're one of the ones for whom it resolves relatively quickly.
Edited to add: I do know a man who has it. He's had it for about two years now and has been able to keep his prednisone dose down to 5mg after being as high as 15mg. He's stable right now. My mother's highest dose was 60mg and we were never able to get it lower than 15mg, and that only for short periods before we'd have to go back up (gradually of course and with the doctor's guidance). It's best to keep the prednisone at as low a dose as possible to mitigate some of the steroid side effects. With any luck you'll be able to stay at a low dose and be off of it sooner than later. Prednisone is a miracle worker but not without its issues.
In the early 80s, I was in college during the summer. With a bunch of older nurses who were completing their bachelors so they could get their RNs.
I had gone to the dentist, and had a back tooth filled. That man cranked my mouth open so wide with gizmos and hammered on that tooth to get the filling in and by the time he was done, I had bruising on my face. Needless to say it was the last time I went to that man.
The next day the bruising was very visible. I looked like I’ve gotten socked in the jaw. And of course, I had class. So I went to class, not thinking anything about it. During break, a number of the nurses came up to me and exclaimed “you don’t have to take this anymore. We have places were you can go for safety.“
I was like what? Then I tried to explain that the dentist had done this, which of course, they didn’t believe me because, women often try to cover. It got worse when my boyfriend showed up, later my husband. As he walked me to the car, he asked me why are those women all looking at me weirdly and I told him what they suspected, that he was beating me up. So he opened the car door for me, I got in, he slammed the door shut and said “and wait till next time!” really loud!
I laughed as hard as I could.
The next class he picked me up with flowers. I think I managed to convince the nurses it was a bad dentist.
That's kinda the way people reacted to me after my husband and I were in a car accident back around 1980. We weren't wearing seatbelts and I richocheted back and forth in the seat, hitting my head on the dashboard ( it will still hard plastic with a hard edge at the time. I ended up with a large hematoma right in the middle of my forehead, and a couple days later, the bruising started down my face, started with two very large black eyes. It was those black eyes that made people assume I'd been a victim of domestic violence, and some of the remarks were not to be believed. It took about six weeks or so before I had healed well enough not to look like I'd been on the losing end of a schoolyard brawl.
Thank you for posting this. My mother had PMR and her experience was similar to yours in that it took a long time to get a proper diagnosis. She had concurrent pneumonia which complicated diagnosis as the doctors were looking for one blanket ailment causing both the PMR symptoms and the pneumonia symptoms. Finally she went to an infectious disease specialist who split the symptoms into individual components, ran the proper tests, including a SED rate (which was through the roof) and got to the bottom of the problem.
In many people, the PMR will abate after several years. That wasn't the case with my mother. Unfortunately, she was one of the rare ones who also developed Giant Cell Arteritis (aka Temporal Arteritis) in spite of correct treatment for the PMR. It does happen and cost her the vision in one eye. There is believed to be a connection between the two autoimmune disorders. So be especially suspicious if you suddenly develop terrible headaches or vision issues and check in with your doctor post haste.
I'm so sorry you had to go through such a long ordeal to get to a diagnosis. Best of luck to you and I hope you're one of the ones for whom it resolves relatively quickly.
Edited to add: I do know a man who has it. He's had it for about two years now and has been able to keep his prednisone dose down to 5mg after being as high as 15mg. He's stable right now. My mother's highest dose was 60mg and we were never able to get it lower than 15mg, and that only for short periods before we'd have to go back up (gradually of course and with the doctor's guidance). It's best to keep the prednisone at as low a dose as possible to mitigate some of the steroid side effects. With any luck you'll be able to stay at a low dose and be off of it sooner than later. Prednisone is a miracle worker but not without its issues.
Thank you for your post as well. The GCA aspect came in after I started looking at the illness. I then set up an appointment at the VA optometry clinic. They ran all the tests to ensure the Temperal Arthritis or GCA Giant Cell Arthritis. I was found clear of that so my story is of me getting better. I started a couple of months ago at 20 mg 2 weeks then to 15 mg for 2 weeks then 10 mg for 2 more weeks. I was then on 7.5 mg until this week when I was put on 5 mg. So far it is working. They have me for that 5 mg for a 30 day period then to 2.5 mg until finished. My numbers all went to normal within a month of starting treatment. But as you know this is not all about the numbers. The body is controlled by the mind and well they haven't found that connection to the pain that I still experience even though my numbers say I should be over it.
It is really good to know that other's have had this and recovered. I found this illness particularly painful as it hurt me mentally more. It made me feel like I was going to become a burden to my wife.
It is really good to know that other's have had this and recovered. I found this illness particularly painful as it hurt me mentally more. It made me feel like I was going to become a burden to my wife.
My Dad also had this. Took several years (not sure how much of that time was trying to get diagnosed and convincing him to follow a treatment plan) but it did pass.
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Solly says — Be nice!
