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Are Heart Palpitations, Headache And Weight Loss Symptoms Of RA Or AS?
Question: hello! I have been on here a few times with weird symptoms and am still trying to get to the bottom of what is causing everything. I will go over everything that has happened and what I've been tested for. I am 23 years old/male and about 170 lbs. history of smoking but no real history of family diseases except lung cancer.
It all started about 7 months ago when I was dealing with some fatigue and chest discomfort. I got a chest xray and CT scan and everything came back normal so I attributed it to anxiety which I definitely suffer from.
So I went on about life. In July I visited my girlfriend in Argentina for 1 month. I felt pretty fatigued and not 100% all the time but it was nothing too bad. Never was I scared for my well being or my health. When I returned from Argentina my symptoms really started coming on very strong. The chest discomfort came back, along with shortness of breath and weird heart palpitations. I felt like crap all the time and would sleep 8+ hours and still feel I was exhausted. my mind started racing and I kept researching my symptoms which made everything 10x worse and my anxiety sky rocket. I decided to go to the cardiologist and pulmonologist. I had previous EKGs and they were normal. I did an echo cardiogram and stress test which showed normal heart function. Although when I was on the treadmill I was super short of breath. This made me question what smoking had done to my lungs. I went to the pulmonologist and all tests showed normal lung function.
This eased my mind a little bit and I had a lot less anxiety.
A few days after I woke up and my left knee was swollen for no apparent reason. It was hard to bend and I assumed I slept weirdly on it. A few days later my right knee started doing the same.
Out of nowhere, both knees were now swollen. It was right above the knee cap. I tried icing them and putting them up. I tried alieve also and nothing helped.
It got to a point where they were so swollen I could not walk right. I was limping hard and things such as sitting on the toilet or getting in the car were so painful. I went to the ER because at this point I couldn't work and I was scared.
At this point I knew it wasn't all in my head and from anxiety which my doctor was so sure of.
The doctors checked me out and did a lot of blood tests.
my thyroid was fine, liver and kidneys seemed fine, cholesterol was normal, sed rate was also normal along with tryglicerols. My CRP ( c reactive protein was high I believe they said around 5.9
I was also told my inflammation markers were high. They did another chest xray(normal) and an xray of my pelvis. the pelvic xray showed signs of degeneration around my sacrum. I've had sacro illiac pain for years and attributed it to my job as a waiter and constantly being on my feet.
The doc said signs point to RA or possibly ankylosing spondilosis. gave me prednisone for my knees which worked wonders and referred me to a rheumatologist
The thing Is I cant get to a rhumetologist for months due to being fully booked.and my symptoms are worsening.
I am losing a lot of weight, feeling crappy all the time. I am very gassy and passing gas all the time. I have now had a headache for about a week. it is a tight pressure feeling headache around my temples. It is making my head and face get weird hot flashes. It's never super painful but always there and won't seem to go away
Could all theese symptoms be from RA or AS? Heart palpitations, headaches/, weight loss?
Am I in immediate danger with these worsening symptoms? I don't know what to do and I'm scared of what will happen if I wait 2 months for the Rheum app.
also I am curious if this could be from a parasite I caught in Argentina or Peru. I spent a month in each in july 14' and 15' . My symptoms really came on strong when I came home. I've read parasites can mimic symptoms of arthritis among many other things.
I reallyneed some help and input. what else could be causing all this besides RA or a disease like that? Thank you for your time.
It all started about 7 months ago when I was dealing with some fatigue and chest discomfort. I got a chest xray and CT scan and everything came back normal so I attributed it to anxiety which I definitely suffer from.
So I went on about life. In July I visited my girlfriend in Argentina for 1 month. I felt pretty fatigued and not 100% all the time but it was nothing too bad. Never was I scared for my well being or my health. When I returned from Argentina my symptoms really started coming on very strong. The chest discomfort came back, along with shortness of breath and weird heart palpitations. I felt like crap all the time and would sleep 8+ hours and still feel I was exhausted. my mind started racing and I kept researching my symptoms which made everything 10x worse and my anxiety sky rocket. I decided to go to the cardiologist and pulmonologist. I had previous EKGs and they were normal. I did an echo cardiogram and stress test which showed normal heart function. Although when I was on the treadmill I was super short of breath. This made me question what smoking had done to my lungs. I went to the pulmonologist and all tests showed normal lung function.
This eased my mind a little bit and I had a lot less anxiety.
A few days after I woke up and my left knee was swollen for no apparent reason. It was hard to bend and I assumed I slept weirdly on it. A few days later my right knee started doing the same.
Out of nowhere, both knees were now swollen. It was right above the knee cap. I tried icing them and putting them up. I tried alieve also and nothing helped.
It got to a point where they were so swollen I could not walk right. I was limping hard and things such as sitting on the toilet or getting in the car were so painful. I went to the ER because at this point I couldn't work and I was scared.
At this point I knew it wasn't all in my head and from anxiety which my doctor was so sure of.
The doctors checked me out and did a lot of blood tests.
my thyroid was fine, liver and kidneys seemed fine, cholesterol was normal, sed rate was also normal along with tryglicerols. My CRP ( c reactive protein was high I believe they said around 5.9
I was also told my inflammation markers were high. They did another chest xray(normal) and an xray of my pelvis. the pelvic xray showed signs of degeneration around my sacrum. I've had sacro illiac pain for years and attributed it to my job as a waiter and constantly being on my feet.
The doc said signs point to RA or possibly ankylosing spondilosis. gave me prednisone for my knees which worked wonders and referred me to a rheumatologist
The thing Is I cant get to a rhumetologist for months due to being fully booked.and my symptoms are worsening.
I am losing a lot of weight, feeling crappy all the time. I am very gassy and passing gas all the time. I have now had a headache for about a week. it is a tight pressure feeling headache around my temples. It is making my head and face get weird hot flashes. It's never super painful but always there and won't seem to go away
Could all theese symptoms be from RA or AS? Heart palpitations, headaches/, weight loss?
Am I in immediate danger with these worsening symptoms? I don't know what to do and I'm scared of what will happen if I wait 2 months for the Rheum app.
also I am curious if this could be from a parasite I caught in Argentina or Peru. I spent a month in each in july 14' and 15' . My symptoms really came on strong when I came home. I've read parasites can mimic symptoms of arthritis among many other things.
I reallyneed some help and input. what else could be causing all this besides RA or a disease like that? Thank you for your time.
Brief Answer:
Is it Ankylosing SPondylitis
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Thank you for writing on health care magic
I have gone through your history, and I would like to summarize the symptoms first before moving ahead. :
1. Constant fatigue which has been increasing over the past
2. History of both knee swelling and pain which responded very well to steroids
--> Goes in favor of inflammation as they had a dramatic response
3. History of Low backache( which has been persisting for years)
--> With X ray changes of sacroilitis
4. History of chest pain and shortness of breath causing great deal of discomfort with normal cardiac and pulmonary tests--> Probably attributed to Costochondritis which is common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis
5. Raised inflammatory markers( I am not sure if they have performed your HLA B 27 yet)
-->Your symptoms go more in favor of Ankylosing spondylitis than RA. RA never causes low backache or chest pain symptoms like you had( Costochondritis due to enthesitis which is due to tendon inflammation).
-->The tight pressure around the head can be due to your neck pain as well which is common in this arthritis and it can also involve intestine causing inflammation there if left untreated.
-->About the parasite, I am not too sure if are causing your symptoms as you had symptoms before visiting Argentina as well and your backache seems to have persisted for long enough with X RAy showing significant changes.
--> My final impression would be ANkylosing spondylitis in your case considering all the findings you have told. About serious, it is not so serious if we treat it early considering the progression in your case as it is involving the knees as well. For now I would suggest your start with some exercises like daily walk along with Anti inflammatory( COX 2 inhibitors as and when needed) to help curtail the inflammation till you visit a rheumatologist. You may need to go on 2nd line drugs as well( Sulphasalazine/Methotrexate) if the inflammation still persists. But it is too premature to say how your disease will behave at this stage.
I hope the information was useful
Do let me know for more queries. Would be happy to help out
Regards
Dr Naval
Is it Ankylosing SPondylitis
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Thank you for writing on health care magic
I have gone through your history, and I would like to summarize the symptoms first before moving ahead. :
1. Constant fatigue which has been increasing over the past
2. History of both knee swelling and pain which responded very well to steroids
--> Goes in favor of inflammation as they had a dramatic response
3. History of Low backache( which has been persisting for years)
--> With X ray changes of sacroilitis
4. History of chest pain and shortness of breath causing great deal of discomfort with normal cardiac and pulmonary tests--> Probably attributed to Costochondritis which is common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis
5. Raised inflammatory markers( I am not sure if they have performed your HLA B 27 yet)
-->Your symptoms go more in favor of Ankylosing spondylitis than RA. RA never causes low backache or chest pain symptoms like you had( Costochondritis due to enthesitis which is due to tendon inflammation).
-->The tight pressure around the head can be due to your neck pain as well which is common in this arthritis and it can also involve intestine causing inflammation there if left untreated.
-->About the parasite, I am not too sure if are causing your symptoms as you had symptoms before visiting Argentina as well and your backache seems to have persisted for long enough with X RAy showing significant changes.
--> My final impression would be ANkylosing spondylitis in your case considering all the findings you have told. About serious, it is not so serious if we treat it early considering the progression in your case as it is involving the knees as well. For now I would suggest your start with some exercises like daily walk along with Anti inflammatory( COX 2 inhibitors as and when needed) to help curtail the inflammation till you visit a rheumatologist. You may need to go on 2nd line drugs as well( Sulphasalazine/Methotrexate) if the inflammation still persists. But it is too premature to say how your disease will behave at this stage.
I hope the information was useful
Do let me know for more queries. Would be happy to help out
Regards
Dr Naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
thank you for your response.
I can't do much more then wait for my appointment but at this point I am getting scared about the feelings in my head.
The headache has been constant for about a week. I have a lot of pressure on both sides of the temples. I am getting hot flashes in my face/head and sometimes it feels like a cold sensation and a pins and needles type of feeling. I have also been waking up with somewhat blurry vision. Also I seem to urinate very frequently lately especially at night. I am scared about these symptoms pointing to a brain tumor or something like MS . I don't know if either of those would cause swelling of the knees. Its hard to believe RA or AS could cause all these symptoms but is it possible?
I can't do much more then wait for my appointment but at this point I am getting scared about the feelings in my head.
The headache has been constant for about a week. I have a lot of pressure on both sides of the temples. I am getting hot flashes in my face/head and sometimes it feels like a cold sensation and a pins and needles type of feeling. I have also been waking up with somewhat blurry vision. Also I seem to urinate very frequently lately especially at night. I am scared about these symptoms pointing to a brain tumor or something like MS . I don't know if either of those would cause swelling of the knees. Its hard to believe RA or AS could cause all these symptoms but is it possible?
Brief Answer:
Further query
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Well, the sort of headache you are having in the temporal region is mainly due to stress and excessive thinking. It is one of the most common sites for tension induced headache.
No, no you dont have multiple sclerosis. It would have presented by now in a different way, not as arthritis/backache/chest pain
My impression still remains ANkylosing spondylitis, but will have to wait and see what the rheumatologist says as examination will hold the key here. Do get your HLA B 27 done as well to be sure about the long term prognosis( but after consulting your rheumatologist)
Do let me know what they feel it is.
And dont stress yourself out. Keep exercising. Even if it is ANkylosing, exercises will help in it and release your tensions.
DO let me know for more queries. Would be happy to help out
REgards
DR Naval
Further query
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Well, the sort of headache you are having in the temporal region is mainly due to stress and excessive thinking. It is one of the most common sites for tension induced headache.
No, no you dont have multiple sclerosis. It would have presented by now in a different way, not as arthritis/backache/chest pain
My impression still remains ANkylosing spondylitis, but will have to wait and see what the rheumatologist says as examination will hold the key here. Do get your HLA B 27 done as well to be sure about the long term prognosis( but after consulting your rheumatologist)
Do let me know what they feel it is.
And dont stress yourself out. Keep exercising. Even if it is ANkylosing, exercises will help in it and release your tensions.
DO let me know for more queries. Would be happy to help out
REgards
DR Naval
Note: For further information on diet changes to reduce allergy symptoms or to boost your immunity, Ask here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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