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What Causes Unexplained Swelling Of Arms And Hands?
Question: Hi. My dad has an unexplained swelling of arms and hands with past few weeks. After many courses of strong antibiotics there is no alleviation. He is also in pain and is not sleeping because of it. Hands strength is poor. He has an under active thyroid and a previous diagnosed pernicious anemia but no longer receive the b12 injections as doctor says no need following recent blood tests. Any advice.
Brief Answer:
I do have a few possibilities to suggest
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for writing to us.
I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. It was indeed wise to rule out vitamin B12 deficiency as this causes weakness in the blood vessels which can result in pain and weakness.
Based on the provided information I do have a few conditions that could be suspected and ruled out and so I would like to list these conditions for your better reference, they are:
-Vitamin D deficiency or calcium deficiency: Please request for a serum calcium and serum vitamin D check
-Rheumatoid arthritis: Check RA factor
-Gout: Serum uric acid
-Diabetes: Blood glucose level
-De Quuervain's disease: Finkelstein test
and a few others.
But I would also like to point out that an under active thyroid can also cause symptoms like muscle pain, aches, muscle cramps, numbness, pain and swelling. So I would also recommend correction of thyroid levels to reach a euthyroid state.
I strongly suspect a vitamin D and/or calcium deficiency, but it would obviously be best to rule out all the possible causes. I hope you find my response helpful. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help you.
Best wishes.
I do have a few possibilities to suggest
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for writing to us.
I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. It was indeed wise to rule out vitamin B12 deficiency as this causes weakness in the blood vessels which can result in pain and weakness.
Based on the provided information I do have a few conditions that could be suspected and ruled out and so I would like to list these conditions for your better reference, they are:
-Vitamin D deficiency or calcium deficiency: Please request for a serum calcium and serum vitamin D check
-Rheumatoid arthritis: Check RA factor
-Gout: Serum uric acid
-Diabetes: Blood glucose level
-De Quuervain's disease: Finkelstein test
and a few others.
But I would also like to point out that an under active thyroid can also cause symptoms like muscle pain, aches, muscle cramps, numbness, pain and swelling. So I would also recommend correction of thyroid levels to reach a euthyroid state.
I strongly suspect a vitamin D and/or calcium deficiency, but it would obviously be best to rule out all the possible causes. I hope you find my response helpful. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help you.
Best wishes.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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