I am seeing a rheumo for the second time in March, a year ago I was dismissed without examination basically as an anxiety case. The referral to a rheumo was on the basis of continual foot pain, induced by weight bearing, standing still or slow meandering type walking. I am ok walking briskly and with distance and I have no swelling or inflammation. I had a similar problem maybe 10-12 years back which seemed to resolve with shoe inserts, a more recent podiatrist examination was unremarkable as they say. I was referred for an EMG on my legs which was fine.
I want the rheumo to know that I also have had 18 months of continuous calf tenderness/tightness, daily calf twitching and buzzing in my feet, this comes and goes. My hands and feet feel weird…it’s like an excessive dryness or smoothness, as if the top layer of skin has been filed off. It started in my hands then more recently it’s also in my feet and now my legs. I literally need to run my hands under the tap to make them feel normal although the feeling does vary through the day. I definitely have cognitive issues and am struggling with my typing and handwriting – poor accuracy for the first and almost a mental block for the second.
I also developed a tremor in both hands at the same time, it’s more what I term “unintentional” as when I am tasked to perform a movement it’s controllable. Generally from my shoulders down I feel weak but there is no actual lack of strength.
I’ve had the GP surgery reflex tests and strength tests, two rounds of blood tests and a brief but normal EMG on my legs. Other than the odd hands sensations which I’ve had on and off f for 4-5 years, all of these symptoms pretty much came on in one go and have never left – the only decent GP I saw dismissed RRMS on this basis.
My last blood test did throw up a marker and the GP mumbled about expensive blood tests, something about hepatitis (I know I don’t have that) and briefly about Lupus which also doesn’t really seem right.
Finally a question about MRI scans – does anyone know how specific they are? I’ve had half a dozen brain scans to monitor a lesion in one auditory canal and also the other side as I have tinnitus in both ears now. Would they pick up a wider picture of the brain? The lesion identified is an odd one to the point where the dx has been tossed around from acoustic neuroma, to a cyst, to simply always having being there. It doesn’t change (touch wood) from one year to the next, doesn’t enhance or otherwise cause symptoms except possibly tinnitus.
Thank you for reading my long post.